Touring - Wearing regular shoes while touring

In a Decathlon store in Paris, I found inserts I could clip into my SPD pedals to turn one side of them into platforms. I bought them and rode the rest of my tour in Europe with them. I really like them!!

They allow me to wear regular shoes if I want, or my cycling shoes ... and what I especially found nice was that in heavy traffic in cities like Paris, London, and Strasbourg, I could ride with my left foot clipped in, and my right foot on the platform ready to drop at any moment if someone stepped out in front of me, or a car suddenly turned in front of me, or whatever.

So in some of my touring photos, when I get around to posting them, you'll see me in sandals, instead of my usual cycling shoes. :)

It might be an option for some of you who like your clipless pedals, but also want the freedom to just hop on your bicycle and ride with whatever footwear you have on.
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My Giant OCR came with those on in the store. I kept them for the same reason, although I haven't really used them.

-D

Yep, I have pedals like that too. That said, the riding shoes I wear are the MTB ones, meaning that the cleat is actually embedded inside the sole of the shoe. The practical upshot if this is that I can walk in them perfectly normally when I'm off the bike, which means that when I tour I only take one pair of shoes.

Yep, I have pedals like that too. That said, the riding shoes I wear are the MTB ones, meaning that the cleat is actually embedded inside the sole of the shoe. The practical upshot if this is that I can walk in them perfectly normally when I'm off the bike, which means that when I tour I only take one pair of shoes.

I do that too ... mine are Lake mtn bike shoes, and I've done a lot of walking in them ... but I also bring sandals of some sort to wear on the beach, or to the showers, or just to give my feet a break from cycling shoes.

(However, I'm on the hunt for a really nice, light, pair of sandals which I can get wet, and which are also comfortable for walking ... the ones I've got are a bit heavy, and are also on their last legs)

Shimano M324s
http://www.deanwoods.com.au/store/images/shim_ped_pdm324.jpg

I use them mainly because its such a hassle cliping in on steep hills!
Like em so much I put a set on my MTB too.

Matchka, what I would recomend shoe wise are Lake sandals, and whatever you call those foam shoes, in our area "crocs". Lake sandals are great for cycling, and I like them for walking too. One can do light walking and hiking in decent "crocs". I had a pair from MEC that lasted about 4 years, and a pair more recently from MEC that lasted about 4 weeks, but they are pretty amazing in fair quality. I wear them right thorugh winter. Lee Valley has them in a fairly narrow last. Of course the "Crocs" can be worn right into the shower since they are closed cell foam and will dry very quickly.

A friend we met along the TransAmerica was using those clip on platforms with his SPD pedals and was very happy with them. I am tempted to try a pair.

FWIW: I too am very happy with my Crocs for off bike footwear when touring. They aren't optimum for hiking, but were at least OK for a mile or three when my feet were weary of my Sidi MTB shoes. They were easy to step into when going out of the tent. They doubled as shower shoes. They are very light weight.

I use the Shimano M424 platform/spd pedals on my touring bike. I like the security of using the SPD on the longhaul but I also can run around town fairly comfortably with my crocs on. My bike sits by the front door so I can just jump on it to run to the market or whatever without putting on special shoes.

I wouldn't recommend regular shoes on them for long trips because the SPD portion does stick up a bit.

I'm going to try the clip-in platforms you recommend on my wife's bike though!

Bruce

Shimano have a new platform/spd pedal out now, the A530. Lighter, and indeed better looking than the M324 boat anchors.

http://gallery.rhapsody.st/albums/ironfist_cyklar/a530.jpg

I'm seriously considering a pair of these for my Thorn.

I bought a cheap pair of the clip on platform pedals or SPDs for my upcoming tour. I like to wear regular shoes when going out to the restaurant at night.

The one thing I do not like about them is they flip upside down because of the added weight of the clip-on pedals. It can be a little tricky flipping the pedals over.

The one thing I do not like about them is they flip upside down because of the added weight of the clip-on pedals. It can be a little tricky flipping the pedals over.

I grew up with toe clips, so flipping my pedals is quite natural to me, and these are much easier to flip than the old, heavy toe clips. :)

I always cycle in civilian clothes, including shoes.

I switched away from clipless pedals in 1999 and have never looked back.

I always cycle in civilian clothes, including shoes.

I switched away from clipless pedals in 1999 and have never looked back.

Hear hear!

I
(However, I'm on the hunt for a really nice, light, pair of sandals which I can get wet, and which are also comfortable for walking ... the ones I've got are a bit heavy, and are also on their last legs)

I have these sandals. They work well and are quite light.

Mojave Sandals @ MEC (http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524442506077&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302734057&bmUID=1189451184413)

http://images.mec.ca/media/Images/Products/Footwear/5003298_v1_m56577569830617712.jpg

I think I'm going to bodge together some PowerGrip type straps to try.

I just recently went clipless, it's fine on long rides but a pain while commuting. I haven't noticed any improvement in either efficiency or clipping/unclipping over metal clips/straps, although they are much better than plastic clips/straps.

I've put a set of the Nashbar SPD/platform pedals on my Bianchi, and have been using them for the summer - quite happy with the result. I initially did run into one problem with them, however: My Shimano MTB shoes weren't clipping in properly. Sometime's they'd clip in, other times not quite. I first figured that it was the clips, so I switched to my road shoes (I use SPD pedals on all my bikes that aren't traditional clips and straps), and they clipped in just fine.

Then I realized that there were three points sticking up on the front blade(? - sorry, can't think of the proper terminology, the front bar, the front of the pedal itself) of the pedal, SPD side up, and they were keeping the shoe from setting into the cleat. Out came the Dremel tool, and five minutes later problem solved.

Highly recommended bit of kit.

And yes, I'm a big fan of one foot clipped in, one foot on the platform when I'm running in close urban situations.

(However, I'm on the hunt for a really nice, light, pair of sandals which I can get wet, and which are also comfortable for walking ... the ones I've got are a bit heavy, and are also on their last legs)

Going through a couple of catalogs, have I actually seen sandals set up for SPD cleats? If so, do they work?

Going through a couple of catalogs, have I actually seen sandals set up for SPD cleats? If so, do they work?

They seem to. Chipcom did the Lancaster covered bridge metric century with the BF.net group a few weeks ago wearing the Shimano SPD sandals. He said they are awesome.

-D