Shoe Reccomendations?

TommyDickson

Put down a deposit on my first road bike today, wont be getting it till the end of the month though. (Cyclescheme voucher comes then)

I'm thinking ill be buying it with clipless pedals and wonder if any of you can advise me on, or recommend me some shoes, preferably road, around the £60-80 mark? I think my local bike shop only do Specialized shoes, but im open to suggestions.

On a side note, someone has advised me to get bib shorts, any recommendations there too, preferably around the £60-80 mark as well?

wishitwasallflat

Wiggles own brand DHB are very good at reasonable prices - for shoes fit is all important.

pinarellokid

i just picked up a pair of fox shoes from soccer sports..

they sell cheap ones from £20 upto the most expensive at £50 which are the ones i got...

full carbon sole, look a bit too nice to wear!!!!!!

also do bib shorts but didnt look at them, just thought they wont be up to much

Gizmodo

As mentioned, Wiggle DHB - and Wiggle do free returns if they don't fit.

Or if you want to support your Local Bike Shop and Specialized, these review well
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/clothing/shoes/product/review-specialized-bg-sport-road-shoes12-45808

TommyDickson

Thanks, i'll take a look at Wiggle's own brand ones. The Specialized ones dont look too bad either, that would be the simplest option.

Mikelancs

pinarellokid wrote:

i just picked up a pair of fox shoes from soccer sports..

they sell cheap ones from £20 upto the most expensive at £50 which are the ones i got...

full carbon sole, look a bit too nice to wear!!!!!!

also do bib shorts but didnt look at them, just thought they wont be up to much

Don't you mean Sports Direct and MuddyFox shoes?

I bought the ones at £20 tried a few on an tbh the ones at £20 felt most comfortable ok there's not spec ones and nowhere near that price but they will do and my intention is to use them more of a winter shoe then treat myself nextyear to a better shoe!
TBH the clothing is crap!

smidsy

DO NOT but he MF shoes from Sports Direct.

I had some and they just ruined my enjoyment of the ride. They offer very little support (too soft), have no adjustability (no ratchet type strap), the sole profile did not fit the cleats well (had to put longer screws in to get them to catch) and the fastening went from outside to inside (meaning the end of the velcro strap was catching on the crank arm) VERY ANNOYING.

STAY CLEAR

wheezee

Was in the same position a couple of weeks back. I ordered the DHB shoes from Wiggle (£50) but they had a minor manufacturing fault and had to go back. Impatience got the better of me, and I ended up getting the Specialized ones from an LBS for £70. I'd say that even though the DHB shoes are rated as highly as the Specialized, you do get what you pay for. They're a much nicer bit of kit.

Incidentally, I think you only get free returns with Wiggle if they're at fault. If you return them for fitting or change of mind reasons, the postage is taken off your refund.

mkviken

i bought some of these today from LBS for £72 with a free pair of socks

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/shi ... e-ec025522

could have probab;y got them cheaper online but with shoes its best to try them on first

just waiting for my black shimano 105 spd's to come now


at the moment I'm using MTB shimano spd shoes and pedals and its ok but not ideal on the road

these road shoes are at least half the weight of the MTB shoes i would say

adm1

I am a big fan of Lake shoes. You can get a pair of the CX170 on the web for about £80 if you have a good look. The sizes are pretty accurate - unlike some others , and Lake have instructions on their website as to how to measure your feet, then get the correct size from the measuements you have taken.

They are super soft and comfortable ( certainly when compared to some of the other low to mid range shoes out there - Specialized BG, I am looking at you...) and use the BOA closure system which is excellent.

I currently have a pair of Specialized BG shoes,Måns while they are OK, I will be replacing them with a pair of Lake CX330 or 331 really soon as I find the Lakes to be much more comfortable. ( you can pick up the CX330c shoes for £120 right now and I think that is excellent value)

lostboysaint

wheezee wrote:

Was in the same position a couple of weeks back. I ordered the DHB shoes from Wiggle (£50) but they had a minor manufacturing fault and had to go back. Impatience got the better of me, and I ended up getting the Specialized ones from an LBS for £70. I'd say that even though the DHB shoes are rated as highly as the Specialized, you do get what you pay for. They're a much nicer bit of kit.

Incidentally, I think you only get free returns with Wiggle if they're at fault. If you return them for fitting or change of mind reasons, the postage is taken off your refund.

Don't agree in the slightest. I spent days wandering between two LBSs (Solent and Hargroves) and trying a pair of DHB R1 from Wiggle and it was blindingly obvious that I'd have to spend double the money to get something as comfortable. Although as has been pointed out, fit is all important and it may be that the R1 just fitted me so much better.

wheezee

Well, I'm crushed.

I had them both in my hands at the same time, and the Specialized felt lighter, were better finished, appeared to made from higher quality materials and were more comfortable. But, hey, what do I know? Could it be that I didn't have your feet to try them on, and consequently bought the wrong ones?

EastTexasRider

Uh forgive me if I missed it, but are you looking for specifically Road Shoes or Mountain Shoes ?

I myself do prefer mountain shoes, even on my Road Bike, as they use the spd recessed type clip. This allows me to wear the shoes on & off the bike.

Around here (East Texas) the stores are pretty high $$$ on the shoes & pedals, of whatever type.

On Amazon, I found the best deal, Pearl Izumi MTB shoes, very nice ones for $ 70 USD.

The Wellgo spd / platform pedals were $ 25 or so = Shoe / pedal package under $ 100 - not bad in my book !

Been using them for 2,500 miles in 10 months, very happy.

FWIW, maybe that will help

mkviken

i weighed my MTB shimano soes at 510g and my new shimano road shoes at 300g so thats a pretty decent weight saving

also they're positioned so you can push throught the pedal stroke further as theyre not flat like MTB shoes

migrantwing

mkviken wrote:

i bought some of these today from LBS for £72 with a free pair of socks

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/shi ... e-ec025522

+1

Great shoes. I've got them in grey.

TommyDickson

Some great advice there, thanks.

Really like the styling of those Shimano R087 shoes mkviken posted a link to. The main concern i have is that i have a bit of a walk from where i keep my bike to the road, including a flight of steps. This makes me think i might have to rule out road shoes, and instead go for mb shoes with recessed cleats. Does walking on tarmac wreck road shoes?

TommyDickson

JUst had another look at my lbs selection of Specialized shoes, and the BG Sport Touring look like they have a recess for the cleats. Can anyone confirm whether these would be more suited to what i described in the post above? (that is, a shoe that would be suitable for walking in, off the bike, for short distances)

migrantwing

These allow for SPD (MTB) cleats to be fitted to flat soled Road shoes and to give a raised platform above the cleat, so that you're able to walk in them. I have a pair of R087's with this fitted. Makes life a whole lot easier. The adapters are not cheap, but I'd rather spend the extra on top of a good pair of Road shoes than wear MTB shoes. Personal choice, obviously, but I just don't like MTB shoes.

I don't see the point in spending £££'s for shoes. Fine if you have money to burn and/or cycle professionally, but for myself and mostly everyone else, I find it ridiculous spending more than £100 on shoes. I'd be hard pushed to spend that much on a pair of best dress formal shoes.

Gizmodo

I use Look Keo pedals and cleats, they have rubber grips on the bottom of the cleat so I've never slipped in them. You do look a bit funny walking, but not that bad. I walk from my house to my garage in the back garden, get my bike and walk it past the house to the end of the drive, all on concrete/Tarmac. I've also had to walk and stand around whilst out and about.

I cycle 3 times a week and I've just replaced my cleats for the first time since buying them 10 months ago. Hope that helps judge the wear for you.

mkviken

went for my first ride with my new shoes today and theyre WAY better than MTB shoes

you can really feel the lightness and stiffness compared to rubber soles. the ratchet system really makes the shoes/pedal feel like part of your foot

also i set the cleats to where i think was best for me and have found no issue yet with comfort. i set them as far back as they would go (more foot over the pedal) and slightly toe out

they have alot of float so you can get away with not being perfect wth cleat positioning



the only draw back is theyre a PITA to walk in. if you can get away with that i would totally recommend these shoes.

TommyDickson

Another good few bits of advice there, thanks guys. Road shoes it is i think.

ElliottG

I made mistake of getting MTB shoes first so that I could walk in them when getting on and off the bike, going for a coffee while touring etc. I probably will use them for that eventually when I get some time for long weekend rides but for daily training I am now on stiff and light Lakes (the ones that fasten at teh back like the odl Puma Disc system) and will never look back, even if they are gaudy like Diadora football boots.

What's the craic with socks? I haven't been bothering but I think I may be making a mistake with this. For the longevity of my shoes if nothing else.

TommyDickson

Wtf maryer? ^