Long Distance Competition/Ultracycling, Randonneuring and Endurance Cycling - How to choose cycling shoes for long distance \ Randoneering ?

Hi, all, I am sure that shoes have been discussed, but I was not able to locate anything that would clearly help me to answer my question. First of all I am still new to cycling and there is a lot to explore. One of the toughest topics is cycling shoes. I find it one of the hardest components to buy. Here are the problem.

1. defining a size you need, somehow shoes sizes are all wrong and do not match regular shoes sizes
2. Decide what shoes to buy
3. what pedals to buy
4. how to properly fit the shoes.

Here is my situation. I currently have specialized mountain shoes that I bought with recommendation at LBS

http://www.togoparts.com/items/images/item-1145067689.jpg


Also I have bought bebops pedals that friend of mine recommended after I complained about knee problem riding some cheap spd pedals. http://www.beboppedals.com/

http://www.beboppedals.com/web/images/cromobig.jpg

All that setup is not that bad, but after 80 miles my feet hurt really bad and I feel that pain in my pedal spots on my feet even after a week of 130 miles ride. Needles to say, that I was able to complete that ride only with a couple of Advils.


I was trying to od some research, but I am completely lost which shoes and \or pedals to buy. I would not say that money is an issue here, but trying every possible pair is expensive. I also read some recommendations here and there, but all of them general and do not help me to choose what I need. I think I would want something that I can walk in and something that does not give me that pain in my foot. tried searching for touring shoes, but did not find much that would be clearly defined as touring shoes.

Did anyone go through the same puzzle? Could you share your experince?

Thank you.

I use Bebop pedals too, and they are great. Never used another clipless pedal system, so can't compare, but I've had no problems with them.

I've gone through a couple pairs of road shoes (PI and Sidi), the Sidi being a "mega" wide shoe, since I have a 9.5 wide foot.

You may have read that feet often swell on a long ride. It's true. I would sometimes get foot pain after 80+ miles with both road shoes and thought it was just fatigue. That is why I ditched the Izumi shoes and spent the bucks for the Sidi Mega shoes. The Sidi Mega's were even size 10, so I thought should have been large enough.

I eventually got tired of walking like a clown with the road shoes, so I wanted to look for a mountain style shoe. I read that most mountain shoes that look like softball cleats are great for mountain bike riding but can be slippery on smooth surfaces trying to walk off the bike, so that was not what I was looking for.

I ran across the Keen Springwater (http://www.rei.com/product/782477) shoe at REI, got it at 20% off, and it is a fantastic shoe. I debated between the 10.5 and size 11, as to which one felt better, and from my previous learning experience went with the larger size 11 (wide not available). Although the shoe feels a little large when I first put it on, I've had ZERO problems with it and it is by far the most comfortable shoe I have worn cycling. When my feet swell on long rides I don't notice a thing, and have had absolutely no pain with these shoes. I think it looks decent, too, and has a really nice sole for walking off the bike. The bebop cleats are almost recessed under the tread, but when I walk on certain types of concrete, I can hear them scraping. No big deal, since bebop cleats are made to walk on.

http://media.rei.com/media/kk/0c61eaf0-a825-4862-a263-6c407b359c54.jpg


So I would say keep the pedal, and try the Keen Springwater or any other shoe that suits your fancy, but consider buying a larger size shoe than you normally wear so that when your feet swell they will still feel good and potentially keep you from experiencing pain. Plus many cycling shoes run small and/or narrow anyway. Some people have good luck just loosening the straps during a ride, but that did not help me with the two road shoes I wore.

BTW - you may have found out or read that some mountain shoes need a portion of it cut away because of the low stack height of the Bebop pedal. No big deal. Low stack height is great because the pedal clearance is awesome and I can pedal through corners without worrying about pedal strike as sometimes happens with platform pedals.

Before you buy anything else, have you tried just moving the cleat to a different position on your shoe? In particular, I would try moving it back towards the heel of your foot by 5 mm, then 5 mm if necessary. This trick has solved a lot of people's foot pain before, including mine.

I sometimes get moderate foot pain on longer rides (3+ hours) with my road shoes and road pedals, but my entry-level shimano touring shoes with SPD pedals have never bothered me, even on 10+ hour days. This could be due in part to the fact that I'm not usually pedaling as hard with the touring shoes, and thus there's less pressure on my feet, whereas my longer rides on the road bike are often at a pretty high tempo. But I also think the stiffer platform of the road shoe results in specific pressure points on the sole of the foot. It's similar to the difference between lying on a matress and lying on a floor.

So my suggestion would be to try a touring/comfort shoe if you don't mind the slight sacrifice in performance.

I personally use Look Keo Sprint pedals with Addidas carbon shoes. I too suffered from some foot pain when I first started riding road and doing long distances (70+). A few things I did.

1) keep the shoes loose from the start
2) move my cleats all the way back
3) get a professional fitting
4) keep at it

I now no longer have any problems, and with a shoe that looks wildly uncomfortable. Would I buy the shoe again, likely not. Would I buy the pedals, for sure.

The advantage to a Look style pedal/cleat (the 3 hole ones) is they distribute the pressure across a larger surface as compared to a SPD pedal. Obviously judging by the response so far, and those likely to come, this claimed advantage may or may not be noticeable to everyone or in fact a true advantage. If you can get your hands on a set up try it and see. For me I just dove in with both feet (pun intended :) ). Good luck and keep at it!

Chris W's solution is what helped me. When I had my fitting done, one of the first things the guy did was move my cleats back. It was odd at first, but once I was used to the feeling of the pedal pressure in a different (better) spot, I was able to go longer hours w/o any discomfort.

I wear a cheap pair of Forte CM200 shoes from Performance and use an ancient pair of M545 pedals I bought back in the early 90s.

I'm wearing those same Specialized BG Comp MTB shoes for randonneuring, along with Crank Bros Quattro pedals, which I like because they're two-sided and they have a large surface area. My cleats are as far back as they'll go, which is a huge improvement on having them under the ball of the foot. Feet don't get numb and only get a little sore on long rides ... it helps to remember to wiggle your toes occasionally.

You may just have an issue with your feet that will be present regardless of which shoes/pedals you use. In my second year of rando, I spent six months trying different "solutions" to persistent pain in the ball of my foot and numbness in my toes. One visit to a podiatrist solved the problem. I have to modify my insoles by taping on some Dr. Scholl's moleskin, so it costs practically nothing to be able to ride pain-free.

So ... try some stuff, but if it isn't working, don't cause permanent damage to your feet, go see a podiatrist.

Don't buy shoes online, unless you're replacing an identical pair. Sidi Dominators are pretty standard randonneur equipment around here. Almost always with SPD pedals. Very stiff soled shoes are usually the best - then you don't notice the size of the pedal.

So don't define the size - just try on shoes at a big LBS that has lots of the shoes in which you are interested. Call around. It's important to look at the fit of the heel cup. Of course you want the right width in the ball of the foot and your toes not touching the end of the shoe. Usually bike shoes can feel slightly uncomfortable to walk in, with toes a bit tight, and yet be very comfortable on the bike. Be sure to use your bike socks when trying on shoes. Also be aware that you might want a larger shoe for a winter shoe than a summer shoe, so there's that compromise to consider, also.

Many people complain that their feet swell. I haven't noticed that. My shoes get more comfortable the longer I ride in them, up to a point, as long as my socks are comfortable. I ride with them fairly loose and don't tighten them unless a sprint is coming up or I want to get some extra performance on a climb. I don't ride with cleats set back. I sometimes get a bit of foot numbness, but mostly in cold weather. I should also say that it took a few years to get this comfortable.

I'd say that your shoe soles are much too soft. You shouldn't be able to feel the pedal location at all.

I have no experience with the pedals in question.

My choice for randonneuring was to move to Specialized shoes for the width of the toe box and varus insert. I also moved from SPD to Speedplay X, in spite of the less walking-friendly cleat.

Despite appearance of the pedal, there is actually a very large bed created by the cleat.

I have very few hot foot issues now. Plus, due to unlimited float, my knees thanked me.

Get shoes at an LBS. After getting my toes numb on a 90 mi. ride last week (feet swelling) I got a pair of Sidi "mega" wide MTB shoes. As comfy as house slippers and the SPD cleats don't scrape on the ground like my Shimanos did.

consider getting a pro fit - even if it just for your pedals / feet.
one of the best investments i've made was having inserts made for my shoes.
this required shelling out the $$ for the inserts and a larger shoe to acomodate them... but my feet have been happy ever since.

From your description, sounds like your shoe soles are too soft and possibly the shoes are too small.

I have an older pair of Nike road shoes with carbon soles-very stiff, made a big difference over the softer shoes I'd used previously. I went with slightly wider, bigger shoes than my normal shoes because my feet do tend to swell, noticeably around the 60-80 mile mark. I put in a shoe insert for cushioning inside the cycling shoes. Also, I've noticed that too thick a sock can make a difference, so I use good quality, thin cycling socks. I've had very good luck with Speedplay X pedals as long as I use the cleat covers to walk around in.