Road Cycling - Best way to put on road shoes

I've been using mtb shoes for quite some time but I decided to go for road shoes the other day (stiffer sole, etc). The mtb shoes just had laces. The new road shoes have laces, a cover and straps. That's a lot of stuff to fool around with at 6:30am... What's the preferred way to get in/out of road shoes. Do you leave them tied and just skip/out? Does that wear them out? etc, etc, etc

I got a nice pair of three strap Sidis, in part to avoid that early morning fumbling. Plus, they fit great, even over 70+ miles.

Just wear them to bed, then in the AM you will be ready to go:) ;)

Two straps only on mine. See if you can do away with the laces.

I usually unstrap or unlace them before I put them on.

Also, the upper tongue is a bit long and kind of jabs my leg. What do you all do for this? Cut it?

hehe... I purposely found a pair of shoes that fit comfortably and securely without laces so I could avoid this problem altogether! Three straps for me and off I go....

My best guess - use the lacing system as it was intended to use if you want the shoes to last. Slipping then off and on without unlacing will be bound to put unexpected pressure on the seams and joins, and is likely to reduce the usable life of the shoes.

Originally posted by CarlJStoneham
Also, the upper tongue is a bit long and kind of jabs my leg. What do you all do for this? Cut it?

Is there any stitching at the top of the tongue, or is just a sheet of leather/synthetic?

I'd cut it off myself, but you might need to re-stitch of hem it to prevent it from fraying and/or falling apart.

The tongue part that jabs me is just plain leather w/ no stitches. I'll probably just cut it off then :)

Originally posted by CarlJStoneham
The tongue part that jabs me is just plain leather w/ no stitches. I'll probably just cut it off then :)

I had a problem with that initially as well. I opted not to cut it since there was a seam in mine, but it eventually softened up and contoured to my foot.

Hmmmm. I guess I'll wait for my long training ride this weekend to decide then...

One at a time.

:D