Cycling Footwear

Delmack

Hoping for some help folks.

I'm a newbie to cycling and I'm struggling on working out exactly what I should be looking for when buying suitable footwear.

I have a hybrid bike which I use on the roads and cycle tracks around my home covering anything from 6-20 miles.

I don't have pedals with a 'clip system'. Should I change them or can you get cycling shoes that don't use this type of pedal.

Thanks for any help you can provide.

MichaelW

A lot of people will say that clipless pedals are much more efficient and safer and you should get them BUT ask first, did the person advising you start out as a newbie on clipless pedals or did they switch over as an experienced and competent rider?
In my opinion, a newbie rider has too much to think about to be clipped to the pedals. You have to think about releasing the pedals and your brain gets overloaded. Even experienced riders switching to clipless have some "clipless moments" ie falling off.
Stick with platform pedals for now and ride with any footwear you like. A stiffer sole will make you more efficient so a trail shoe is better than a floppy trainer but you can ride in anything.
If you want help positioning your feet on the pedal you can get a mini toeclip without a strap.

I have used toe clips with straps for years but I was an experienced rider when I started with them. Toe clips should be used with the straps loose for saftey. Removing your feet from toe clips means learning to move your feet back rather than up or sideways. In a panic or slide, I find that I can still move my feet back and have never been trapped in the clips.
Clipless pedals are safer than toe clips if you need a solid connection to the pedals for maximum efficiency, eg racing or sport riding. To remove your feet, you twist out to release the catch. In a panic or slide, many people find that they can't do the twisting action, instead they just try to rip their feet out. Depending on the type and settings, this may remove the shoe from the pedal or may not.

Gizmodo

As Michael said you've got 3 basic pedal types - flat, toe clip and clipless.

Most people with a hybrid will start with a normal flat pedal and if you are riding in busy towns and having to stop and put your foot down a lot, then they are the best type of pedal. In this case a shoe with a stiffer and grippy sole can help you put more power down. There are a number of shoes designed for use with flat pedals - http://www.evanscycles.com/categories/clothing/shoes/f/flats#!

When you are more confident you might want to try a clipless pedal. These attach your foot to the pedal so that you can use a lot more of the pedal revolution to put power into the bike. These come in 2 forms - mountain bike or road (but you can use mountain bike style pedals and shoes on the road no problem, often called Touring shoes).

Mountain bike / Touring shoes and pedals are normally called SPD and are the easiest to walk in because the metal clip on the shoe is normally inside the tread.

Road shoes come in various formats, SPD-SL, Look Keo, Speedplay and a few others. These are preferred by most road cyclists because they allow the most amount of power to be put on the pedals and spread your weight evenly over a large area of your foot so you can ride comfortably for longer. But you do end up walking like a penguin.

Monty Dog

IMO people overplay the 'fear-factor' of clipless pedals - toeclips and straps for example are far worse for emergency dismounts. An MTB shoe with recessed cleat mounting and double sided SPD-type pedals is the most user-friendly set-up- once you get used to a clipless set-up you'll wonder why you persevered without.

alihisgreat

Monty Dog wrote:

IMO people overplay the 'fear-factor' of clipless pedals - toeclips and straps for example are far worse for emergency dismounts. An MTB shoe with recessed cleat mounting and double sided SPD-type pedals is the most user-friendly set-up- once you get used to a clipless set-up you'll wonder why you persevered without.

^ this


with the SPD system (not SPD-SL road pedals though) you can dial back the tension so much that you really don't need to worry about difficulty unclipping.



stop-start town riding, with lots of traffic lights etc. can be an annoyance with clipless, as you can't just cruise up and stop -> there is a little bit of concentration required..

Delmack

Thanks for the help guys.

I'm currently using toe clips with straps and wasn't sure wether I should wear a particular type of trainers or if changing the pedals would suit better.

You reckon that I should just wear a regular pair of trainers..

t.m.h.n.e.t

The thing is,stiff bottomed cycling shoes help you put more power to the pedals. When you wear trainers you are compressing the sponge sole before the pedal is loaded which is less efficient and wasting power.This may not be a factor now but if/when your cycling advances you will notice a substantial difference.

MTB SPD pedals sound like they would suit your needs better than SPD-SL and they aren't particularly expensive. Both wiggle.co.uk and chainreactioncycles.com have shoes and pedals in very affordable price ranges.

They do feel weird at first (doesn't everything?) but when you get used to them you wonder to yourself just what the fuss was about.

MichaelW

I found that for toe clips, you need footwear with the right amount of gripiness to the pedal. Knobbly trail shoes stick too much for safe exit. Slick-soled leisure cycling shoes (Specialized Sonoma) just slip off. Shimano leisure shoes work OK but generally I just use my normal kick-around footwear, Hi Tec Silver Shadow.
The stiffness you need depends on how much force you use for pedalling.

You also need an upper with a fairly slick profile to avoid catching on the strap and a sole that has plain sides without fancy moulding.

daysofspeed

I have "came with the bike" pedals with toe clips and straps and I'm finding them annoying and awkward. I can't imagine cleats are worse as I can't get my feet in these pedals easily at all.

I looked at road shoes today and tried Shimano r077 that felt and looked cheap and fugly. Much preferred Specialized BG Sport. Will use with SPD as I like the notion of double sided.

That might be different for a hybrid and commuting, in my case it's road bike and long rides in parks etc. just thought I'd chip in, hopefully that's not massively pointless info!

Gizmodo

If you're currently using toe clips then clipless pedals are so much better.

All you've got to do is decide if you want to use SPD mountain/touring pedals and shoes which allow you to walk properly. Or go for a proper road system like SPD-SL, Look Keo, Speedplay etc, they are better on the bike but you will walk like a penguin.