Triathlon - Shoes on the bike

How many of you do the whole "Shoes clipped in" routine when getting on and off your bike. I ask this because while I've got it down I'm tremendously slow at it cause I have pretty poor balance. I noticed at the race this weekend I probably wasted the first and last 1/4 mile or so each jerking around with my shoes, I think I'd waste less time either a) running with my shoes on and off the bike, or b) carrying them to the mount area and putting them on there since as soon as I can get on the bike I can hammer it.

In NYC the taransition was on grass so I just ran with them on and off as the cleats just dug in and I didn't fall over. Most other transitions I do are on pavement tho.... Anyone else have this issue?

heck no! its quicker for me to take the extra 30 seconds putting on both shoes, then running to the line and jumping on the bike and going.

I tend to put my shoes on and run/job out of the transition area then mount and clip. I've found it faster than trying to get my feet in the shoes when they are clipped in already. plus i usually pass people struggling to get their feet in their shoes.

But when it comes to dismounting i slide my feet out of my shoes and pedal with them on top on my shoes the last 100 or so before the dismount. then hit the transition barefoot.

It has always worked well for me.

my cycling shoes have cleats that are really hard to run in (speedplay x) so i usu do the clip in thing. i don't necessarily get my feet in right away, tho. i pedal with feet on top of the shoes until there's a good spot (flat or downhill, no turns, light traffic) sometimes for >1 mile.

for dismount, i take my feet out in the last 50 yards or so.

i can do it with my road shoes, but no matter how hard i try i can't do it with my tri shoes. the shoes are just too tight and it's just too hard to mess around with as i come out of transtion. they usually end up unclipping any way when i try to squeeze my feet in. i save myself time by not clipping them in. i don't admire too much, but when i see people who do that i'm honestly jealous! lol.

plus i usually pass people struggling to get their feet in their shoes.


Though those you pass just at the start of the bike probably got out of the water behind you.

It's all about the right tri shoes and practice, unlike most who probably only try mounting the bike with shoes on the pedals on race day...

Only time I put my shoes on rather than have them already on the bike is during IM where I wear socks and use my road shoes.

I'm on SPD's with MTB shoes so I run and jump on my bike as I exit transitions. Yes the aluminum pedals weight a ton, I just attribute the weight as rotational weight for my stroke ;) It's a road bike btw so the platform + SPD allows me to clip in and ride on weekends and rock sneakers when I'm commuting to the park to play ball.

I and everyone I train with leave shoes on bike and practice in and out on every ride, only way to get better at it.

I tend to put my shoes on and run/job out of the transition area then mount and clip. I've found it faster than trying to get my feet in the shoes when they are clipped in already. plus i usually pass people struggling to get their feet in their shoes.

But when it comes to dismounting i slide my feet out of my shoes and pedal with them on top on my shoes the last 100 or so before the dismount. then hit the transition barefoot.

It has always worked well for me.

same here... much easier