Fifty Plus (50+) - Ford vs Chevy on shoes?

I know asking what is the best shoe is the same as asking what is better, Ford or Chevy, but what I would like suggestions on is;

What do you look for in a road bike shoe besides a good fit?

This is my first pair of shoes I have ever used & I have gotten suggestions to go with a mountain bike shoe because you can walk in them without looking like a duck.

The guy at the LBS suggested I go with road bike shoes because if I plan on riding the bike long distance then I'll be riding without many stops. If I decide to do shopping then I'll ride my hybrid.

As for pedals I have read that some people get hot spots on there feet with smaller pedals. He suggested a bigger pedal so then there is more pressure on the pedal.

I plan on riding to & from work, which is 25 miles one way. Won't be every day but a couple times a week once I get my butt & legs in shape.

Planning a century ride the first of June & want to do a couple rides in the mountains for training.

So I'm looking for a good shoe, but don't really want to spend an outrageous amount if I can help it.

I only have one pair of bike shoes and they are Nike mountain bike shoes. They are comfortable to ride and walk in, I see no need for anything more. I ride on SPD 520 pedals and do not know what a hot spot is. Thankfully.

...asking what is better, Ford or Chevy...

Ahem. This is a bike forum, get with the program. It's Campy vs. Shimano.

I have been researching shoes for the past couple of weeks and came to the conclusion that I am sticking with platforms with clips and going to pick up some Shimano MT70's. They look a lot less like mountain bike shoes and more like low hiking shoes. They are gortex lined thus water proof. My current ankle high mountain bike shoes don't seem to be tight enough and I'm getting a sore heel from movement while pedaling.

Ahem. This is a bike forum, get with the program. It's Campy vs. Shimano.
I'm sorry, I'm a gear head & just trying to learn all this stuff about bikes. ;):D

I wear two kinds of shoes, both of which I like:

- Some older (1994) Sidi mountain bike shoes for SPD cleats. One of the really nice things I discovered recently about Sidi is that all of their straps, screws, fittings, etc. are available as spares. They're pricey shoes, but they seem to last forever. I have thousands of miles on mine and they are like new.

- I have some Specialized Defroster mountain bike high-top shoes/boots for winter riding. Fantastic in the cold and wet; too hot if the weather is over 45 degrees.

I don't like road shoes that I can't walk in...even on longer rides I at least want to be able to walk into a cafe and have a meal w/out duck-walking.

I have recently looked for some even more casual shoes...Specialized has some models (like the Tahoe, I think) that are even more walkable than my Sidi's but still have SPD cleats.

BTW, I used to have problems w/hot spots on pedals but the cure for me was not changing the pedals but making sure I bought shoes with *very* stiff soles. It feels to me like you want the soles to be the "platform" that is distributing the weight...my SPD pedals work just fine.

I can only tell you what I do. Based on the riding you described, I would go with a road shoe and a true road pedal system with a large pedal/cleat interface such as Look or SPD-SL for the reasons cited by the guy at your LBS. This is assuming you'll change shoes when you get to work. I just don't see where you'll be doing much walking in your bike shoes.

Just as he says, I use a different bike with different shoes and pedals when I plan to do more walking.

Hot spots are caused by the shoes, not the pedals. I ride up to double metrics with mtb/spd setup and my feet never bother me. I have had ill fitting shoes cause pain while using Look road pedals.
If you get road shoes you can carry cleat covers for walking.

I would recommend real road shoes too. You don't sound like you're going to be doing much walking, and even if you walk like a duck:

1. Everyone else wearing real road shoes will walk like a duck, so you'll fit right in.

2. Ducks are actually kind of cute, re: www.quackcyclists.com (http://www.quackcyclists.com)

I use Shimano SPD-L Pedals, like them a lot and have never had a problem with them, so they get my vote.

Re: SIDI, yes they are painfully expensive. I'm part Scots, so very painful for me. But, that said (and done), they are worth it. I still save them for double centuries and "important" centuries and wear my Lake shoes otherwise. But if you want the best (IMHO) buy SIDI.

Rick / OCRR

+1 for Sidi shoes. I've been wearing a pair of low end Sidis for going on 10 years. Comes to about $12 a year and dropping. Very comfortable and durable shoes. I'll step up to Genius for my next pair.

What do you look for in a road bike shoe besides a good fit?


I wear cowboy boots for comfort, ankle support, and to tuck my pant legs into as to avoid the arm on the left, and the chain ring on the right. I try to get lighter pairs for ridinng, but have used those heavy motorcycle boots with the steel in the soles. But I am weird..... :D

+100 on the Sidi's. The day I bought mine, my hotfoot disappeared forever.

This like Bibs and the saddle is one place you don't want to cut corners. If you are primarily doing road riding and have very little need to walk around a lot then SPD-SL is the way to go. I like the Ultegra pedals as the new ones have a very wide platform and they are easy to lock in/out of. The cleats last way longer than Keo cleats as well, like 6000-8000 miles. They have little yellow nubs on them for walking but like any SPD-SL cleat the front of your shoe is raised and trying to walk on a wet tile floor would require moving slowly. You can get these from Probikekit on sale for $70 or so.

For shoes, Sidi's are pretty widely accepted and some of the best you can get. I have a pair of Genius 5s that I love. They took a little bit to break in but now they fit like gloves. The sidi's run around $200 but you can find deals on them.

Again from personal experience if you ride more than 3-4hrs a week you should not scrimp on shoes, nothing is worse than sore feet at the end of a 3hr ride.

If you do decide on a road pedal system, cleat covers make the little bit of walking you need to do much safer and keep the cleats clean.

I wear cowboy boots for comfort, ankle support, and to tuck my pant legs into as to avoid the arm on the left, and the chain ring on the right. I try to get lighter pairs for ridinng, but have used those heavy motorcycle boots with the steel in the soles. But I am weird..... :D


Now that is a solultion I never would have thought of!

OP: Get the shoe that fits your foot. Do not buy online if you don't know how the brand fits. I can comment on the following: Nike road shoes, the high end ones, are made by DMT in Italy and generally run slim on the width, Specialized road shoes are also very durable and run a bit wider than Nike. For me the only Sidi's I can wear are the narrow sizes. The lower end Nikes are made in China but are still pretty well made and durable.

Based on the description of your riding, I would try to go with a wide platform road pedal such as Look(or Nashbar equilavents) or Shimano(newer ones). The little rubber covers($12) for the cleats make walking on them way better.

OP: Get the shoe that fits your foot.
Took your advice & tried on about 7 pairs of shoes tonight at Performance & I got lucky, the pair I bought was on sale with a 29% off the sale price.

They really fit nice & I hope they are a good brand specially since they were on the sale rack.

I ended up with
pearl izumi vagabond R4 $48.99

I didn't get pedals yet because I'm not sure what pedals I want & they weren't on sale like the shoes were.

I'm headed out for a ride tomorrow but I'll have to wait to try out the shoes.