What shoes for Toe Clip Pedals?

badboybennyg

Hi All

I fully appreciate clipless pedals have a massive fanbase and for most road cyclists are the only pedal they’d consider but I just cannot get on with them. I have 2 issues

1. cant clip in and out easily no matter how much I practice and adjust
2. I just cant find shoes that don’t end up with my feet being numb after 3 or 4 miles

My current ‘solution' to the above was to get some Eggbeaters and some MTB style shoes. This definitely helped with Issue 1 but sadly not Issue 2. To be honest this is ruining my enjoyment of cycling as I am severly uncomfortable and I have so far spent £££ on SPDs and Eggbeaters and 2 different pairs of shoes.

So I am left wondering about standard pedals with toe clips but no matter how much I have researched this I cannot find the answer to this question…

What shoes do road cyclists wear with toe clip/cage pedals?

Do you buy regular cycling shoes (albeit without the cleats) and just tighten the straps on them? What about the lack of grip?

If you don’t wear standard cycling shoes what do you wear? I know it sounds superficial but if I go down the toe strap route I dont want to wear normal street trainers on my bike. I want to look the part but maybe this isn’t possible with toe clip pedals?

Cheers

Ben

thegibdog

I wouldn't be too quick to write off clipless pedals. It sounds like you just need to find a pair of shoes that suit your feet, you are going to have the same problem with shoes for flat pedals. Either find a shop that will let you try them out or maybe go down the route of picking up second hand shoes off here or ebay, that way if they're no good for you you can sell them on without it costing you too much.

CiB

Standard road shoes won't work with a hard plastic sole on a flat pedal, even if it is inside a rat trap.

I'd stick with proper shoes & pedals. World + dog seems to manage so unless you've got 8 toes or something it's just a case of finding a pair that fits, and practicing. Don't forget that feet will tend to expand so you want shoes that are a loose fit in the shop. Not too loose clearly.

badboybennyg

Yeah you guys could be right.

Didnt mention also that my knees really hurt/ache after using my road bike, even for a few miles. Whereas I can go all day on my MTB. I think it's something about being able to move my foot around freely on the pedal platform to find a comfortable position.

As far as the shoes go I do have really high arches so maybe I need some support there?!

CiB

You sound like a candidate for a bike fit. Plenty of threads on here that all agree how useful a fit is. I'm sure any bike fit fellah could recommend some shoes that work for you.

Monty Dog

From someone whose formative years on a bike were spent with toeclips and straps - modern clipless pedals and shoes are a massive improvement. I rode L'eroica a few years ago, having not really ridden with clips and straps for 20-odd years and it re-introduced a whole world of pain and discomfort, mainly down to the clip and strap digging into your foot. Perhaps your issue is down to set-up ie. using a pedal that provides a greater degree of float? For shoes suitable for use with toe clips and straps there are plenty of touring shoes that come with a ribbed rubber sole - makers include Carnac, Exustar

Monty Dog

I should also add, that Exustar do a traditional pedal cleat suitable for use with a modern, 3-hole road shoes

singleton

To answer the OP's question, I used to wear something like this:



They're cheap and have a hard plastic sole that gave good transfer and decent grip too.