Cycling Shoes - Help with buying first pair

BLW

Hello,

Following on from a previous post, would anyone be kind enough to suggest/recommend me a pair of cycling shoes.

Bike is a Boardman Sport FI with Wellgo Platform 9/16’’ pedals, I’ve removed the toe clips (the plastic part) but I’ve still left the triangular section on the pedal (sorry, I’m not very technical or down with the correct lingo…bare with I'm still learning) anyway I’ve been using my trainers for the time being which are not causing any problems, but I’ve read that one of the benefits of a cycling shoe is the hard sole and obviously designed for pedaling ....not running, but I’m not ready yet for clip in shoes n peds, I saw a friend forget to take his out when he stopped and I can imagine me doing the same to be honest.

So I’d like a pair of road cycling shoes that don’t clip in or can I buy a pair that would be suitable for both my road bike and my MTB? (I know the style and trend varies between road and MTB shoes) but I just wondered if there was any out there that would look ok and work well for either perhaps?

I'm not after a an expensive pair, I'll treat myself to a decent pair if I become worthy of them, for the time being I'm just enjoying cycling solo and getting into to doing some sportives etc, so cheap and cheaful will do for now.

Thank you

Oh, I’m a lady, size 5 but I’m not into girly looking kit, prefer black/white/grey colours etc

Schoie81

In my (very limited) experience - I wouldn't do what you are suggesting. I use what many refer to as 'mountain bike pedals' on both my MTB and road bike and as such have 'mountain bike' shoes. When I switched to clipless pedals I bought the shoes and ordered the pedals online - the shoes arrived first, so I decided to ride in them on the flat pedals until the clipless pedals arrived. It wasn't a good idea. It may well differ depending on what shoes you get but the grip on the sole of mine are very different to normal trainers and as such I could only put by foot in one position on the pedal - and it wasn't the right one, end up with foot pain after just one ride and the edges of the flat pedal also damaged the sole of the shoes slightly. I would stick to trainers until you're ready for clipless pedals. (of course this experience could be a problem specific to my particular shoe and flat pedal combination and may not happen to you!)

dj58

You want something like this, you can use them without cleats fitted with your existing pedals, then when you decide to go to clip in pedals fit the cleats and away you go. These are 2 bolt fixing SPD shoes not 3 bolt fixing road shoe type.

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/spe ... 5#features

http://road.cc/content/review/41343-spe ... uring-shoe

You are probably better going to a shop than buying online. If you are planning to go clip-less for the future on both your MTB and Road bike I would recommend 2 bolt SPD shoes/pedals, you can use the same shoes for both. Also, consider shoes with an off-road tread pattern for better traction when walking, if you are riding XC type terrain.

markhewitt1978

I wouldn't bother really. Either use your trainers or get clipless pedals, it's not worth putting money into cycling shoes if they aren't clipless.

simon_masterson

SPD shoes work fine with plain platforms; if you wanted to try clipless later, you'd only need to buy the pedals, and options for non-clipless cycling shoes these days are limited anyway. I would recommend wearing some kind of cycling shoe for cycling.

If you don't want clipless though, or want the option of using other shoes, get some better toeclips and straps (the ones you get on new bikes are awful). Loose straps are very easy to get in and out of (and intuitive - no twisting), but give you much of the benefit of being clipped in.

Initialised

For riding on flat pedals you want shoes with flat soles, think skate shoes or basketball shoes rather than trainers, running shoes or walking boots. Two reasons:

1: Pedals will eat the raised lugs on treaded shoes.

2: Flat soles give a bigger contact area on the pedal, more contact = more control.

Look for a stiff, thick, flat sole also consider how well the shape of the shoe supports your foot when your standing on the ball of your foot.

If you are riding in flats on a sportive you get a bonus point every time you overtake someone in cleated shoes.

Before you write off the pedal what model is it?

From your description I'm guessing this:

[/img]http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41wdfzs+ZML.jpg[/img]

in which case it'll be awful riding with anything but as shoe with a triangular cut out to match the front of the pedal.

You could get a pure flat pedal like DMR V8 (Awesome on a BMX or MTB) or a half flat half SPD pedal like Wellgo WAM-D10 Clipless/Platform Pedals 9/16" on the MTB and Shimano A530 on the road bike to give you the choice of running SPDs in future when you feel ready and you'll only need one pair of shoes. If you get a pair of MTB shoes that are essentially the same as road shoes but with a tread and recessed cleat they'll be fine and not look out of place on either bike.

@Simon Masterson: Depends on the shoe and pedal some combos will work, not others.

simon_masterson

Initialised wrote:

@Simon Masterson: Depends on the shoe and pedal some combos will work, not others.

I wouldn't go that far - some are just better than others. Pedals like the A530 are ok for popping to the shops, but little more; to recommend using them this way primarily is very poor advice.

giant_man

The most important thing is to go and try some before you buy - you don't want to buy blind on kit as important as shoes, they have to be comfortable.

Pedal system choice, clipless or otherwise, is very much a personal thing, so I won't go there.

simonj

I bet the person who fell over as forgot to unclip was wearing road spd-SL shoes.

Spd's are MUCH easier to clip out and spd's with shimano sh56 cleats with the pedal set loose you don't even need to think as they release in all directions.

I'd really push you to try spd shoes (something like shimano mo64 not ones that look like walking shoes) with shimano multi release cleats and a cheap set of touring pedals (a530 or twin side m520) set as loose as they go. This kind of setup will even be much easier to clip out of than strap type pedals as well as give you a nice stiff sole.

I would wager that within 15 mins of being on the bike, you'll kick yourself for not doing it sooner. My wife and my mate who both protested about not going to cleats, both felt the same when they finally gave in and did - why did I never do this before.

Once confident you can later tighten up the release spring if needed.

BLW

Hello,

Thank you everyone for your replies, very helpful and you've given me some food for thought there.

I think as suggested I should probably just change my pedals and buy the shoes to go with the pedals (spd's with shimano sh56 cleats… as suggested) not that I have a doggy blue what they are but I shall look into it, print the info off and take my little self off to a good cycling shop and ask them to sort me out with what I need, I don’t live too far from an Evans Cycling (thinking they may be more helpful than Halfords!) although would Halfords be able to sort me out with the above, or similar?

Best save up a bit more, meanwhile I can live with my trainers for the time being.

Anyway I’ll have a gander into it, thank you again.

dj58

Have a look at this, explains the differences between SH51 Black single release and SH56 silver multiple release cleats: http://www.shimano-lifestylegear.com/gl ... _table.php
Scroll down past the two tables to ENGAGEMENT AND RELEASE OF SPD SHOES

ElliesDad

I'm about to take the roadie route after 2 years of mountain biking with flats pedals. I'm still going to keep the MTB for trail centres etc, but I intend to start using the road bike with mountain bike SPD's and then when I'm confident add them to the MTB as well so I can use the one pair of shoes on both.

As far as I understand the key is practice, practice, practice! If I think I can do it, I'm sure you can!

mcnultycop

I just went straight for SPD-SLs when I bought my first road bike, just because I thought that was the right thing to do. I've had one clipped in fall (losing momentum up a steep climb and not being able to unclip in time) but otherwise they are great.

However, I do wish I'd gone for the MTB style of SPD as walking is ridiculous, plus the start of my rides involve a few junctions so I'm clipping in and out a lot at in the first few hundred metres - clipping in being a little tricky at times but seemingly much easier on MTB style. I'm sure the SPD-SL style benefits the pros, but at my level I doubt the extra stiffness makes a difference. As above though, either stick to flats (as I do on my MTBs) or clip in, no half measures. Clipping in makes complete sense on the road though, to me.

BrandonA

ElliesDad wrote:

I'm about to take the roadie route after 2 years of mountain biking with flats pedals. I'm still going to keep the MTB for trail centres etc, but I intend to start using the road bike with mountain bike SPD's and then when I'm confident add them to the MTB as well so I can use the one pair of shoes on both.

As far as I understand the key is practice, practice, practice! If I think I can do it, I'm sure you can!

This is the route I took. If you're comfortable with one type of cleat then you might as well use them on the road bike until you are comfortable riding that bike.

I would though recommend switching to road cleats and shoes as soon as possible though as they will probably be lighter and more importantly better suited for the new type of riding.

rolf_f

simonj wrote:

I bet the person who fell over as forgot to unclip was wearing road spd-SL shoes.

Spd's are MUCH easier to clip out and spd's with shimano sh56 cleats with the pedal set loose you don't even need to think as they release in all directions.

You are doing it wrongly if you think that! SLs are harder to clip in to but it's pretty much the same clipping out unless of course you use the multi-way release cleats. A twist of your foot is pretty easy - the problem is, when new to them, remembering to do the twist in the first place.......

simonj

SH56 are the multi release

joannesmith2818

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/shim ... lsrc=aw.ds

I got these, though you can pick them up for about £45 from a different website. Also I am size 5 and the size 5 1/2 is just about right. They are mountain bike shoes, but they come with covers over the clips so you can use them with normal pedals, and then if you ever feel ready for clipless, you can just add cleats. I chose mountain bike style ones so I could also walk around in them a bit easier.

simon_masterson

BrandonA wrote:

I would though recommend switching to road cleats and shoes as soon as possible as they are [...] better suited for the new type of riding.

Not really worth 'switching as soon as possible'. Some people prefer the cleat engagement, and the shoes can be lighter to the tune of a pair of woolly socks, but there's really nothing in it (certainly in terms of performance), particularly for many amateurs. Many, many road cyclists including some very good ones prefer SPD. MTB racing shoes with single sided touring platforms are much of a muchness with 'road' equipment, except that you get much better cleat life and can walk easily if that matters to you; they're also great if you want to switch between road and off road bikes, and the choice of platform styles is much more varied.