Road Cycling - SPD Sandals

Does anyone know if the cleat is completely sunk into the sole of the shimano spd sandals to where you can't even feel the cleat underneath your feet when you walk?

My wife has a pair and the cleat is sunk in so you wear them like normal sandals.

My wife has a pair and the cleat is sunk in so you wear them like normal sandals.
How does she like them? I've been thinking about getting a pair, are they worth it?

I have some and I think they are great.

I have some and I think they are great.

Ditto - the greatest!

Wish they would make them Look compatible.

I have a pair that I wear, and they are incredibly awesome. I even wear them on non-riding days when I'm puttering about town. It's good stuff.

Koffee

She loves them, she doesn't use her regular SPD shoes anymore, luckily my oldest daughter can wear them on the Tandem.

One of the guys I ride with has a set and he loves them. I think he wears them more than his shoes.

I have them and I dont like them so much.They are ok for walking,
the soles are not stiff enough and that caused me pain in my foot when pedaling.
About the cleats, they are sunk but still scrape the ground.

I find them to be great for summer cycling. They are not so great for general walking. I wore a pair exclusively for about a week and a half during a tour and they got pretty uncomfortable walking around towns and camp. No complaints about them on the bike though. Nice and cool.

Everyone using the Shimano variety? I notice Nashbar also carries Lake and Exustar sandals...
-chris

I got the Exustar from Nashbar because they were half the price of Shimanos. $80 or $90 bucks for sandals seems a little extreme to me. They are great. Not the most comfortable to walk around in, not as efficient as real riding shoes (i.e. looks), but overall they serve their purpose perfectly.

I also had to decrease the tension on the pedals. I think the cleat is so far up in the sole that it made it more difficult to snap out.

I have the Shimanos. Again, very comfortable.

Koffee

I have the Shimano sandals and they are great... The break-in time is long but I love them. I wear them for a twenty mile commute. Anyone have any trouble with the last two piggies going numb while wearing these things?

I have them and I dont like them so much.They are ok for walking,
the soles are not stiff enough and that caused me pain in my foot when pedaling.
About the cleats, they are sunk but still scrape the ground.


ronyex - thats exactly what I was wondering. If I'm just riding to the store or around town, I just wear my vans, but it would be nice to have something with a cleat. Its kind of a pain if the cleat is scraping the ground though...

I have the Shimano sandals and they are great... The break-in time is long but I love them. I wear them for a twenty mile commute. Anyone have any trouble with the last two piggies going numb while wearing these things?

I've had no break in need. They were comfortable right out of the box. I have no toe numb issues either. It helps to tightened the toe straps, but you certainly don't need to overdo it. Or maybe they are too loose and you are clenching your toes to get a tighter grip.

I find them great for walking too, but haven't walked more than 4mi in one go in them. I have worn them for 3 days straight (and while traveling thur airports, with lots of walking and standing). The cleat never touches the ground, unless on a dirt trail with a rough surface.

Al

I have the Shimano sandals and they are great... The break-in time is long but I love them. I wear them for a twenty mile commute. Anyone have any trouble with the last two piggies going numb while wearing these things?

What break-in time? I wore mine right out of the box. The cleats do not scrape. No numbness. Perhaps yours are too tight?

What break-in time? I wore mine right out of the box. The cleats do not scrape. No numbness. Perhaps yours are too tight?

I've had no break in need. They were comfortable right out of the box. I have no toe numb issues either. It helps to tightened the toe straps, but you certainly don't need to overdo it. Or maybe they are too loose and you are clenching your toes to get a tighter grip.
Al
I think my foot is too wide for the sandal. The numbness comes when I'm not hammering the pedals but more when I'm just spinning. Should there be any excess room around the toes?

I think my foot is too wide for the sandal. The numbness comes when I'm not hammering the pedals but more when I'm just spinning. Should there be any excess room around the toes?

I don't have excess room around my toes. For cycling I keep the toe straps a bit tight (it looks like my toes are a bit squished together. For walking around I loosen them, not for comfort, but for appearance so I don't look pointy toed.

If you are getting deep strap marks on you feet after riding 30min they are too tight. If you get faint marks, that is normal.

I bought size 47-48. My Shimano shoes are 47 (hmm, maybe even 46 - I forgot). My foot size is 11.5. The point is that I think the sandals are better on the large (but not over large) size - you certainly don't want your toes hanging over the front and having them behind the front is good to reduce chance of stubbing toes.

Al

If you are getting deep strap marks on you feet after riding 30min they are too tight. If you get faint marks, that is normal.
Al
We have the same size foot and the length of the sandal is cool... So it sounds like I need to tighten the straps up just a bit. I'll give that a try. Thanks for the help… have a good weekend.

ronyex - thats exactly what I was wondering. If I'm just riding to the store or around town, I just wear my vans, but it would be nice to have something with a cleat. Its kind of a pain if the cleat is scraping the ground though...

miljam-the cleats only just scrape the ground as you can see in this picture.no big deal.

picccccc

Okay, folks, do you wear your sandals with or without socks?

I wear mine with socks.

With socks. I don't want my shoes to go funky.

Koffee

Well Denver, for a guy who wears underwear with his shorts, I guess it's no surprize to hear that you wear socks with your sandals too!! For me, no socks (and no underwear). Socks defeat the purpose of wearing sandals. Let the dogs hangout and enjoy the breeze.

I have a pair of Lake sandals. The footbed is a little soft for my preference, and I wouldn't want to walk miles in them, but overall they are my main summer cycling foot wear. I do like the toe box on the Lake's, it saved me from skinning a couple toes in a wipe out last year (I know, wear socks!). Sandals are the best for riding on rainy days.

Well Denver, for a guy who wears underwear with his shorts, I guess it's no surprize to hear that you wear socks with your sandals too!! For me, no socks (and no underwear). Socks defeat the purpose of wearing sandals. Let the dogs hangout and enjoy the breeze.



Okay, except that when I get sand caught in the sandal, it absolutely tears my skin apart where the sand rubs between the skin and the strap. My foot is still recovering from our trip to California where, when wearing regular sandals, the exact above incident happened.

I guess until my feet get hardened up a bit, I will wear the socks.

(Ridden over 2,500 miles so far this year - wearing undies - with absolutely no rash nor saddle sores nor creamy crap nor "greasy kid stuff." Can you say the same?)

Yes, through 1,900 miles.

My wife makes too much fun of me already... without socks. She does not need any more ammunition. :D

I wear my Shimano sandals with socks, otherwise the little SPD logo on the foot beds irritate my tender, dainty toes. Also because I do have a little anxiety about how much more skin is exposed if I crash. But I do love them.

got the lake sandals here. i'm killing time after an aborted tour, and have spent the past 2+ months wearing either the sandals or... nothing. they're not the greatest for lots of walking, but good enough. no one ever suspects they're cycling sandals except when walking on concrete or asphalt, then you get the metallic cereal crunching sound. the only hassle is that just plain confuses everyone, and you get to explain to bikers and civilians alike just what the hell yr wearing.


good times. can't imagine touring on anything else. great for more casual rides through sketchy weather. dead quiet on flat surfaces like tile, vinyl, wood, whatever, so would probably be good for any commuters. if you can wear sandals at work, at least. i've actually come into habit of unscrewing the cleats if i know i won't be doing any serious riding for a few days.


ramble, ramble. ymmv.



edit:

WOOL SOCKS. ho boy. sandals + smartwool = unstoppable. hot, rainy, whatever. don't matter. sweat in em, they don't stink. well, after a few days they will if you don't change em. clean easy as hell, though.


bare is i'ight unless you's spendin some serious hours in em. the sandals, i mean.


cheers


matt