complete touring newbie
church10
Posts: 2
Hey guys,
Im totally new to touring so you will have to excuse me, basically i am currently working my *** off in france to save as much money as i can to go cycling in europe this summer. ( my aim is to cycle to istanbul).
Im currently going through the stages of what to take etc. I am very experienced in climbing so packing as light as possible is not new to me. I plan to rough camp the hole way apart from big citys i will stay in hotels and get the bike serviced etc. I have decided im going to do this ride on my 2008 gt avalance ( yes i know, its a bolt standard MTB) BUT i have serviced this bike and rebuilt it numerous times and have never ( touch wood) had a big problem with it and am very comfortable riding it.
My question today is shoes, I have ridden with spd and cleats before but they are the football boot style ones and can be pretty dangerous walking around in supermarkets especially when a bit wet so i am looking for a set of shoes that can double up as normal walking shoes/ trainers and not horrible to look at. I will also need the cleats and pedals so if anyone has some spare time to help a complete idiot with a dream, it would be much obliged. My budget for pedals,shoes and cleats is round the £100 mark.
Thanks Dan
Im totally new to touring so you will have to excuse me, basically i am currently working my *** off in france to save as much money as i can to go cycling in europe this summer. ( my aim is to cycle to istanbul).
Im currently going through the stages of what to take etc. I am very experienced in climbing so packing as light as possible is not new to me. I plan to rough camp the hole way apart from big citys i will stay in hotels and get the bike serviced etc. I have decided im going to do this ride on my 2008 gt avalance ( yes i know, its a bolt standard MTB) BUT i have serviced this bike and rebuilt it numerous times and have never ( touch wood) had a big problem with it and am very comfortable riding it.
My question today is shoes, I have ridden with spd and cleats before but they are the football boot style ones and can be pretty dangerous walking around in supermarkets especially when a bit wet so i am looking for a set of shoes that can double up as normal walking shoes/ trainers and not horrible to look at. I will also need the cleats and pedals so if anyone has some spare time to help a complete idiot with a dream, it would be much obliged. My budget for pedals,shoes and cleats is round the £100 mark.
Thanks Dan
0
Comments
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I have done quite a bit of touring, and in fact did Sussex to Istanbul a few years ago. It's a great ride - lots of ways to do it, too - and you're sure to have fun and an adventure.
As for shoes, I rate the Shimano MT60 pretty highly. They are sturdy, well made, comfortable. I prefer flat pedals myslf, especially when touring, and these are great - comfortable to walk around in, and stout enough for hiking. Obviously you can use these with cleats as well.
I wrote a longer review of them on my website (see below)
They are certainly worth a look and within your price range.0 -
Shimano M540 pedals are £30 at Merlin Cycles and are reliable. I use these on my mtb.0
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Shimano, Northwave and Pearl Izumi all do shoes with Vibram-type soles which give better grip.
There are the Specialized Tahoma/Taho shoes but IME the uppers don't dry very quickly. There are also fancier shoes that look more like normal shoes, but I think they are leather so again won't dry very quickly if they get soaked.
Your budget looks a bit tight to me (although I'd second the recommendation for the 540s).0
