mack_turtle

i got my first set of spd pedals today and i want to make some cleats out of some old sneakers. i have seen it done, so i know it's possible.

one way would be to cut the sole off an old pair of spd cleats, glue then inside your sneaker under the insole and cut a hole out of the sole for the cleat.

i am looking for an old pair of spd shoes to try this, but if i dont find them, i can try something else. any suggestions?

and before all you bike snobs say "just buy some real shoes," i am poor and i prefer to make my own stuff when i can, so get lost. if you don't have any useful DIY solutions, don't bother posting.

CollectiveInk

I to prefer the DIY approach to most things (though I did buy my shoes.)

The one thing I'd suggest paying attention to is the shoes stiffness. If you notice most cycling shoes (spd or not) they are very stiff in the soles. You might have to reinforce your frank'n-sneeks with something.

Good luck though and let us know how they turn out!

reverborama

I have to admit, this thread disappoints me. I thought this was going to be something like:

I've seen a few threads here and there talk about making regular sneakers or sandals into cleated bike shoes but the problem is always sole stiffness and I've never seen anyone finish the project. If you start with something really floppy, like Chuck Taylor's, how do you put something stiff in there to support the cleat without changing the comfortable nature of the shoe?

If you're really hot to do this, maybe you could find a good, thick piece of plastic, carve it to the shape of the sneaker's sole, route the slots for the cleat, cut out the bottom of the shoe a bit, then put that plastic and the cleat above the sole but below the insole. It sounds like a lot of work, though. I think the only way using an old shoe would work is if it were a really big one that you could cut down to perfectly fit a smaller sneaker. This would never work for me as I wear 49's!

If you do this and it's successful, post pictures!

dobber

I would tell you the fallacy of your effort, how any DIY shoe would be prone to failure or be extremely uncomfortable, but you've evidently got a chip on your shoulder.

Good luck and after your epic fail, check out Nashbar for end of year clearances.

stevetone

You can buy the "cleat nuts" without purchasing an entire shoe.

I have to say, though, that a little less attitude and being a little more appreciative of the free help you get from posters might attract more helpful solutions.

Steve

Longfemur

Haven't you ever noticed people who are riding with regular shoes or sneakers? Their feet are always curved down over the pedal. Not a good way to ride if you ride enough to want cleated pedals in the first place... unless you can somehow put a stiff plate on the sole.

nubcake

you need a hug man, before you even post you are *****ing about people. Do a search on the topic and after reading through the posts realize that its not going to work well (street shoes are just way too flexy) and find you a cheap pair of spd shoes on ebay or nashbar and realize they cost less than alot of typical street shoes.

HillRider

Us bike "snobs" are that way for a reason. We've tried alternatives and realize that purpose-built stuff is worth the money.

Anyway, even if you could salvage the soles from an old pair of SPD shoes, gluing them inside your sneakers would leave a much deeper than standard cleat recess and the sneaker's outsole would interfer with the pedal and probably prevent cliping in.

You could try to get a set of Shimano "cleat nuts" from an LBS and fit them inside your sneakers with a reinforcing plate and then rout out the outsole to form a cleat pocket but it would be a lot of work for poor results.

As recommended above, check Nashbar or Performance for closeouts. Their house-brand SPD-specific shoes are reasonably priced and very functional. They may, in fact, cost less than your sneakers.

mack_turtle

sorry if i came off with a lousy-sounding attitude. i appreciate the voice of experience. i just knew ahead of time that people would say "just buy shoes" and i wanted to pre-empt that. i appreciate your concern, but i am dead broke. new shoes are not on the agenda. it right now its:
1. continue to ride with regular flat pedals,
2. make some cleats out of old shoes, or
3. rob a bank and buy some shoes online, then return them because they won't fit because you can't try on shoes through the internet. i have odd-shaped skinny feet and i have to try on a shoe before i buy it.

on the other hand, where is your adventurous sense of DIY spirit? sometimes the "voice of experience" is the voice of those who never tried something different. i have made tons of stuff for my BMX bike that is stronger, lighter and works better than anything i could have bought at a bike shop. road bikes is a new frontier for me and i am not jaded and ready to fork over money for stuff that i am probably make myself. through trial and error, i will make a decent shoe at a fraction the cost of new shoes and i will feel better knowing that i made something myself rather than just caving to convenience.

by the way, if i do end up liking spd shoes (if i try them and hate them, that would be a huge waste of money, wouldn't it?), i might eventually buy some decent shoes. is it easy to find spd shoes made from synthetic (not leather) materials? i prefer not a wear dead animals on my feet.

BCRider

If that's the choice then continue to ride with platforms and regular shoes. It'll cost far less overall and your feet will thank you later. If you can swing it the larger MTB pinned platform pedals spread out the load more so your foot will be more comfy and suffer less from hot spots.

SPD pedals really concentrate the load on a small area and for the shoe to pass that around to your foot as evenly as is needed to be comfortable means that the sole plate has to be really stiff and that it needs to be built into the shoe by design and not just glued on. Fitting into a regular shoe won't work for a lot of reasons. First is the fit. You'd need to buy a running shoe that will accept a stiff sole plate. Now you need to glue it into place. But all cheap shoes these days won't let you take out the inner sole to reach the shoe's sole plate to glue to. So you're stuck trying to glue to the formed inner bed which is a hard foam and fabric which won't glue well. The loads will eventualy tear it apart. Not to mention that by having to buy a grossly oversized shoe to allow the fitting of the plate means that your foot is slipping around side to side so it'll never be happy in any manner.

I'm a big fan of making my own stuff too. But I'd never even think of trying to do something like this for all these and more reasons.

It's cheating but go around and try on some different SPD shoes. Then go order what you need online or buy used from Ebay.

dobber

Knock yourself out champ.

cbtumedic

If you are that hard up for cash buy a set of toe clips and straps and ride, then save the money to go clipless properly.

operator

+1

Cheap plastic cages and straps are like $8.

Or you can continue riding your platforms with no retention. This is seriously an exercise in wasting time. And it's making 'SPD compatible shoes'. You aren't making SPD cleats out of shoe materials. This is an SPD cleat.

Retro Grouch 

[QUOTE=mack_turtle;7512161on the other hand, where is your adventurous sense of DIY spirit? sometimes the "voice of experience" is the voice of those who never tried something different. [/QUOTE]

A fool learns through experience. A wise man learns through other people's experience.

Joshua A.C. New

You guys sound like the Road forum in here.

Mack, calling the people you're helping "snobs" isn't going to get a good response.

Everyone else not helping, why are you even reading this thread?

Mack, these are the shoes I wear. They're inexpensive and work as regular shoes. Because of my own weird foot problems, I don't use cleats, but they're stiff and can take them.

To address your actual question, though, read what BCRider is saying. They're real life engineering concerns. You're basically going to be making a pair of shoes, so pay attention to those concerns. You may find some instructive information over here, too.

mack_turtle

ah, i didn't realized how incredibly difficult this would be. i have a friend how rides hundreds of miles every week on his home-made cycling shoes on a fixie and he made it sound easy to make them. i thought that was something that a lot of riders must do but i guess i was wrong.

i found someone who will send me his old cycling shoes for free. they should be my size but you never know. when i get some decent money, i might buy some decent ones.

joejack951

If his shoes are so great, why not have him make you a pair? Seems like a pretty easy solution.

I'd second the suggestion to get some toe clips and straps as a nice interim solution to going clipless.

dobber

Do we get an apology for your ******-bag attitude?

jsharr

https://www.phred.org/~josh/bike/boots.html

Might be worth a read. Best of luck.

Longfemur

I never suggest anything I haven't used myself at some time...

If you can't get cycling shoes for whatever reason, forget about clipless. Go to a local LBS and for about 5 bucks or maybe 10, get some plastic half clips (sometimes called moonclips), then go home and bolt them onto regular pedals. Then you can get 80% or more of the benefits of toe clips or clipless pedals, and none of the hassles. Just use whatever shoes you want that you already have. Simple.

mack_turtle

apologies are pretty meaningless when prompted by requests, so no. not for you at least. get over yourself.

sorry to everyone else if i offended you by not accepting your unsolicited advice.

Retro Grouch 

How can responding to your question be "unsolicited advice"?

mack_turtle

i asked for advice on making my own spd-compatible shoes. i then anticipated that people would tell me to just buy shoes instead, and warned that i have already determined not to do that, and told people not to waste their breath. bike snobs proceded to give me that kind of advice anyways. since i specifically asked people not to bother with that, the advice was unsolicited.

i appreciate those of you who suggested that toe clips and straps might be a better alternative worth the amount of effort though. i rode today with flats and, yes, it sucked. i might get some old, free spd shoes from someone, and "free" fits in my budget right now.

Josh and others- thanks for the constructive criticism.

dobber

Nice attempt to justify your actions. You fail.

mack_turtle

dobber- you're the one who started this discussion with a chip on your shoulder telling my i would fail. you came into this with nothing but negativity, as i suspected someone would. thank you for living up to my worst expectations of jaded old bike snobs. grow up. i'm done with this.