Entry level road shoes - your experiences ?

yertez

Need my first pair of road shoes. I have been doing up to 85 miles with my MTB SPDs, but have a couple of 100 miler days coming up.

BTwin Triban 5 bike only cost £400, so a bit reluctant to splash £200 on Sidis (+ pedals).
(Bike is excellent BTW)

Entry level shoes are the BTwin Road £30, Shimano RO64 £40, DHB R1.0 £40.
Next level up are the Shimano RO88 / RO87 range at £70 to £80, but then you start to consider splashing out the £200.

Any experiences to share with entry level shoes ?

arran77

I've got the Shimano R087 shoes which are very good if you did want to spend that bit more.

No experience personally of any of the others but I believe the DHB shoes are well regarded.

Essex Rouleur

What size are you?

yertez

UK 44 (small size 9) plus not particularly wide feet.

iPete

I use the Shimano MO range (the same as the road shoes but SPD) and got a good 8,000+ miles from the first set (MO66 or similar, have MO77 now).

I've also spent large sums of money on said £200 shoes and went back. More expensive doesn't mean better, not if you don't find something that fits right and stays comfortable.

Tjgoodhew

Another thumbs up for the Shimano R087.

I initially started off with a cheap pair of shoes that cost me about £30 and they were dreadful. Bought a pair of Shimano R087 a few months later and thy have served me well for the last 18 months and are still perfectly fine to ride in. I have just bought a pair of Fizik R1 and they are better still but they are in the Sidi price range

IMO shoes are a very important piece of kit so altho maybe dont spend £200 I wouldnt just go for a budget pair

yertez

Take your points, thanks for the input.
RO88 are £70 in Decathlon at the mo (£10 less than the RO87) so might grab a pair then.
Added bonus is I already have the SPD-SL pedals too.

tomhowells

I started off with the dhb m1.0 spd's, lasted for about 5,000 miles before they started to look tired. I was impressed with them as they took a proper battering in all weathers.
I have recently moved on to the dhb R1.0, and can say that they are very good as well, nice & comfy & to my untrained eye, very stiff.
Ultimately, as with most things cycling, fit is the most important thing, so get out there & try a few pairs on - you can get the dhb's & send them back if they aren't what you are looking for?

upperoilcan

What's the reason for the change ?

Dont change for the sake of changing them.

rhysrolfe

The dhb R1.0 are nice shoes i only replaced them with the dhb R2.0 after damaging them in a crash.
You should probably order a size up as i found them tight on longer rides but am fine now i went a size up with there replacements.

Miles253

+1 for R087

They were my first road shoe, plenty comfortable, stuff enough, and didn't drag my ankles off In weight. I still commute in them.

Curious Yellow

Road Crank Bros pedals on my road bike for years. Swapped to 105 pedals and Sidis one day and never looked back. I've been using them almost daily, in all seasons for 2 years now and they're as good as the day I got them.

Wish I'd done it sooner. My Sidis are one of the few expensive purchases I do not regret.

norvernrob

Have you considered Shimano R078's? They are a bit cheaper at £50, I have a pair and they're really comfortable. I can't think of anything to actually say about them, I put them on and forget about them so that has to be a good thing!

blackpoolkev

I have just bought a pair of Specialized Elite Touring shoes(SPD) to replace my similar but very worn (15,000miles) Specialized Sport Touring shoes. http://www.evanscycles.com/products/specialized/elite-touring-shoe-ec043380
If you have Tesco clubcard vouchers they are worth double at Evans cycles. - £90 shoes for £32 worth of vouchers.
I am happy to recommend them, unlike most SPD shoes they look like a normal road shoe.

rodgers73

+1 for Specialized shoes. Very comfy as a range generally.

luv2ride

+1 for Specialized entry level. Still using some of their BG Sport MTB shoes after buying them in a sale many years ago. Not really any signs of wear and very comfy.

I went for Mavic Avenirs on my first road bike, and they're still in use today although I also bought some Mavic Road Pro's. The Pros are better (lighter, stiffer) but also a better fit as I got them in a half size smaller than my Avenirs. Getting the right size first time around is probably the most important bit.

defride

When I bought a new pair I debated whether to buy on line or visit a shop. In the end I went up to the dealer and I'm glad I did. Trying them was well worth it, I assumed the Shimano road shoes would do the job as I have Shimano mtb shoes but the couple I tried either didn't feel nice or the heel slipped. There were a few brands that I'd seen cheaper on line but the fit while alright wasn't as good as the pair I ended up with.

Bar Shaker

Spend all of your budget on better SPD shoes and avoid the cost of having to buy new pedals.

rickeverett

Found Shimano be best comfort and build wise.

peggrinder

+1 for the Specialised Elite Touring, size up a half & you will find a nice fit. Mtb Sport shoes the same, comfy as a comfy thang...

Dan Walton

I've just ordered some R088's from CRC for £59.99, Pedal Pedal are doing them for £54.99 but they didn't have the 105 pedals I wanted (possibly because they sold them all at £38.00!!!) so got the whole order from CRC instead.

I'm a UK 9, which is a EU 43, I already have some Shimano mtb shoes in a 44 which are apparently equivalent to a UK 8.7 and feel a bit small so I've gone for a 45 in the R088's. Fingers crossed they'll fit better and be a bit more comfy.

yertez

Bought the RO88s from Decathlon (£69.99). I'm a small size 9 (sometimes an 8.5) and the size 44s fit perfectly.
Did 60 miles in them today and they were absolutely fine. In fact, it felt a lot easier than in my SPDs.

My road bike came with SPD-SL pedals, so no need for new pedals. Though they are Wellgo (I think) and there is about a 3 mm vertical play when clipped in. If you chock it with some rubber strip, you can't unclip.
I think its just how SPD-SL's are .. ?

Hope you get on well with your Dan.

blackpoolkev

Bar Shaker wrote:

Spend all of your budget on better SPD shoes and avoid the cost of having to buy new pedals.

+1 - Plus the added benefit of being able to walk comfortably when not on the bike. (Steep hills and cake shops!)

Dan Walton

Well, my bits arrived during the week and I did my short cycle to work and back on Friday. The RO88's in a 45 wide were much more comfortable than my XC shoes, which are definitely too small!
Really pleased with the R088's, only negative for me is the same with all road shoes, trying to walk in the cleats. Walking down the stairs out of my office was the worst, but hey, they're not designed for wandering around in.
Also, taking a bit of getting used to with the pedals, not quite as easy to clip in as SPD's, but I'm sure it'll get better with time.

duckson

Bought some Shimano R170 for £100 today from Ribble (inc 10% off code), i'm a 9/43 in normal shoes and these are perfect in 44 but i've yet to try them on the bike.

http://www.bikeradar.com/road/gear/cate ... -13-47416/

Dan Walton

Now, you say your're a 9/43, but looking at my trainer collection a lot of them say 44 and I'm a 9... regardless. As long as they fit you ok in a 44, then enjoy!

northpole

Really pleased with the R088's, only negative for me is the same with all road shoes, trying to walk in the cleats. Walking down the stairs out of my office was the worst, but hey, they're not designed for wandering around in.

I'm slightly paranoid about regularly walking around in road shoes - in part because I have a bit of a walk in the basement area of my office each day. I leave a pair of old deck shoes in work and wear them between the secure bike park area and showers, leaving the road shoes with the bike. I realise everyone can't do this, but having to walk the walk twice every day (in and out) it's only a matter of time before the cleats slip on the painted concrete surface and that could be painful!

Incidentally, regarding the topic of this thread, I have an old pair of Spesh BG road shoes which have been extremely comfortable and much more robust for the daily commute than my much more expensive weekend shoes. The only demerit (and why I don't also use them on the weekend) is that they are without doubt considerably heavier and the sole does not provide quite the same level of stiffness which the better Sidi and Spesh shoes possess. I'm sure they will however last much longer than the top of the range weight weenies.

Peter

Downward

Bar Shaker wrote:

Spend all of your budget on better SPD shoes and avoid the cost of having to buy new pedals.

I have used SPD's forever

Is it better off paying more for decent SPD shoes than changing to SPD SL ?

Is there a noticeable difference between the 2 ?

yertez

On longer rides, you definitely feel less flexing of the shoes compared to SPD. Which means a bit more comfort.
Other advantage is your SPD-SL shoes stay clean and dry as they don't get abused on the MTB unlike your SPD shoes.
Though mine are still a bit too white to be honest.

opus25

Had the DHBs at first and they were fine and would have been my shoes for a good while. However, when I saw some Fizik R2s with a big price drop last year, I picked them up. The difference in fit, stiffness, (lack of) flex, weight and power transfer was really noticeable.

Can't fault the DHBs for the price, though. They should last most people at least until they do an all-round bike and equipment upgrade.