SPD shoes that are good to walk in and look semi normal

daniel_b

Evening all,

I took my Langster out for the first time today shod with mudguards, a rack and notably FLAT pedals, to ride with my gf and my little girl, to go and find a steam train that was refuelling at a nearby station.

I've even fitted a stand to the rear stay :shock:
It has destroyed what was a beautiful bike, but I was messed around buy a buyer, and decided to sod it and put it to work.

The reason I fitted flats, is that I wanted a town\pub bike that I could just hop on and ride.

I had forgotten quite how bad flat pedals are - admittedly it was moist out there, but my shoes were not gripping very well at all, and putting down any power seemed precarious at best.
These are the Wellgo V8 Copy pedals I opted for:


So, what I am planning to do now, is refit the M520's and then look for a shoe that is designed to take a cleat, but that is fairly, or more flexible.
I have plenty of (black and yellow) spd shoes, but they all have rock hard carbon soles, and although you can walk in them, they aren't ideal.

Any shoe gems out there, models, or makes I should be looking at?
Ideally, if there was one out there where the surrounding tread meant the cleat was completely recessed that would be even better.

Budget - up to £100, preferably half that, but appreciate this may be a bit more niche, so less offers out there.

daniel_b

These Giro's are currently favourite:

pedal_power556

Choose ones that have a grip on the sole and the cleat indented and not pronounced.

I like these ones...look on the 360 degree image your see what I mean.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/shim ... prod138001

DrLex

I like DZR shoes - example.
Not too chunky, and with enough flex to allow walking normally. I tried those Giros (?Rumble) and found them comfortable, but a bit bulky in comparison.
The shimano ones often look rather...err...
... orthopaedic would be polite.

pedal_power556

DrLex wrote:

I like DZR shoes - example.
Not too chunky, and with enough flex to allow walking normally. I tried those Giros (?Rumble) and found them comfortable, but a bit bulky in comparison.
The shimano ones often look rather...err...
... orthopaedic would be polite.

I like the look of those, do they have a plate through the sole to keep rigidity, or are they flexible?

dhope

Five ten too
http://www.fiveten.com/uk/bike/filter/p ... e/clipless

meanredspider

I used to use Spesh Tahoe https://www.evanscycles.com/specialized ... Aksl8P8HAQ

N0bodyOfTheGoat

Have you considered simply swapping to different flat pedals? They are not yellow, but I bought a pair of gold (more orange IMO) C162s for £25 from https://www.merlincycles.com/wellgo-c16 ... 55464.html and I'm very happy with their grip. With the Brucey bonus that they are insanely lightweight.

daniel_b

Thanks for all the useful replies, I will consider and investigate the shoes mentioned above, as well as the pedals - they do seem very good value, though I would go for silver.

Additionally, I have realised I have these shoes, which I think I may just need to take a stanley knife to, to make the cleat securing points available:



Anyone cut through on a shoe like this themselves - and if so do you have any tips?
Slowly and surely I guess is the answer.

DrLex

Hmmm - are you sure? I'd expect to see a more obvious panel to trim out - see the underside of DZR, Chrome or Five:Ten shoes. It's not uncommon for some styles to be available in both clipless and flat versions, so you might be about to trash the flat version.
If you're confident, new blade in a Stanley knife and go slowly; watch where you other hand is and where the blade will go if you slip.
</egg suck>

mcstumpy

I have these and would recommend ...... http://www.wiggle.co.uk/shimano-rt82-sp ... cle-shoes/

meanredspider

Are you sure they're designed for cleats? I'd be looking n the inside too to remove the insoles and check that there's a plate in there

daniel_b

meanredspider wrote:

Are you sure they're designed for cleats? I'd be looking n the inside too to remove the insoles and check that there's a plate in there

Will do that tonight ta - their predecessors certainly were, as they had a bolt on plate, but I see some other shoes now have it where you need to carve the area out with a knife, and peel it off with some pliers.

meanredspider

Yup - you had to do that with the Tahoes - it was just a bit more obvious than those Scotts. My boy's Scotts (with a Vibram sole) have an area that is screwed on using the same sort of screws as the cleats

daniel_b

Here is a t'internet pic where it looks like he has carved off one, not too well, and the other one is intact:


And here is, what I believe, to be an older version, that did have a bolt on cover:


Anyway, hopefully popping the sole up tonight will decide whether i start hacking them about or not.

wolfsbane2k

I'd second the Spesh Tahoe, had mine 5+ years now, and the cleats are "just" sunk enough to not cause a problem. Wouldn't want to walk on a laminate floor with them though.

The Rookie

meanredspider wrote:

I used to use Spesh Tahoe https://www.evanscycles.com/specialized ... Aksl8P8HAQ

Plus one for the Tahoe.....been using mine for 6 years now - that's about 7500 miles commuting plus they used to be used on my MTB as well until I got a second pair (Muddy shoes the day after an MTB ride were not well received in the office!).

rick_chasey

Fashion compromises will always look sh!t.

Either go the whole hog and have bespoke bike kit, or go the whole hog and wear something that is stylish.

The hybrid is just a horrorshow. Don't do it.

daniel_b

Daniel B wrote:

Here is a t'internet pic where it looks like he has carved off one, not too well, and the other one is intact:


And here is, what I believe, to be an older version, that did have a bolt on cover:


Anyway, hopefully popping the sole up tonight will decide whether i start hacking them about or not.

So whipping a sole out this evening showed the tell tale holes - 2 minutes work with a new razor blade, and both sections of rubber are cut out, and came out super easy.

Just need to lay my hands on some cleats now, I know I have some somewhere about the place.

I did stop for a moment, as I wanted a bike I could just hop on to go to work, or take it to work in the morning, so I can pop into town at lunch, do some errands etc, but I have a top box and panniers, so can easily put some work shoes in one of those for the journey.

White M520's I took off last week so I could fit the flatties will now be going back on at the earliest opportunity :oops:

meanredspider

I used to ride to work on my SS fitted with M520s in normal shoes no problem. I kept those pedals on because they made carrying the bike up the incredibly narrow and steep stairs to my Dutch apartment easier.

ben-----

Daniel B wrote:

I had forgotten quite how bad flat pedals are - admittedly it was moist out there, but my shoes were not gripping very well at all, and putting down any power seemed precarious at best.

What about some track/strap pedals? That's actually what I use all the time.

Initialised

Specialized 2FO: https://www.specialized.com/us/en/men/s ... oes/117486

I picked up a pair, fine for wearing at work and I've even used them on club rides (veiled behind overshoes naturally, The Rules...)

The Flat version got bad reviews from MBR and BR for being overly stiff and expensive but thats not an issue (in fact the stiffness is a blessing when riding and Pinkbike liked the Boa equiped version) and they can be had for £60 if you shop around.



https://www.evanscycles.com/specialized ... e-EV251763

They come with black laces in case you haven't earned the right to wear red laces or have a facistical dress code at work technically they break the code where I work but no one has said anything as they look, to the untrained eye, like fairly smart trainers.

On cloder days I don't find my feet get as cold as they do in my MT42 or Spec Carbon Expert MTBs so I tend to only use overshoes with them if its heavy rain.

drshoe

Initialised wrote:

Specialized 2FO: https://www.specialized.com/us/en/men/s ... oes/117486

I picked up a pair, fine for wearing at work and I've even used them on club rides (veiled behind overshoes naturally, The Rules...)

The Flat version got bad reviews from MBR and BR for being overly stiff and expensive but thats not an issue (in fact the stiffness is a blessing when riding and Pinkbike liked the Boa equiped version) and they can be had for £60 if you shop around.



https://www.evanscycles.com/specialized ... e-EV251763

They come with black laces in case you haven't earned the right to wear red laces or have a facistical dress code at work technically they break the code where I work but no one has said anything as they look, to the untrained eye, like fairly smart trainers.

On cloder days I don't find my feet get as cold as they do in my MT42 or Spec Carbon Expert MTBs so I tend to only use overshoes with them if its heavy rain.

Nice spot! thanks, late xmas present for me