terrymorse 

I'm searching for road shoes that you can walk around in easily. There used to be a bunch of decent road shoes that would take a recessed SPD cleat, but they seem to be getting harder to find. What remain are "fitness" shoes that are more like slacker sneakers or hiking boots than cycling shoes. And most MTB shoes have too aggressive a tread to make them good for walking around on manmade surfaces. I want a road shoe, darnit!

I want a lightweight shoe with a stiff sole, and the ability to walk around, climb slippery ladders, and walk around the roof of our van without getting myself killed. A few of the possibilities:

Shimano T091 (discontinued):


A decent enough bike shoe with a good walking surface, but pretty heavy and not very stiff.

Nike Granfondo WRX (discontinued):


My favorite shoe to date, and the ones I wear on tours. Essentially a carbon road shoe with replaceable lugs. Easy to walk in, lightweight, stiff sole.

Carnac M1 Touring (still available):


Pricey, but no doubt about its road shoe design. I have a pair on order, I'll report back.

Louis Garneau "fitness/multi" shoe:


Probably not stiff enough, and tending towards the slacker styling, but I have a pair on order to try out any way.

Any others that I have missed?

mmerner

Lake has a bunch.

terrymorse 

Thanks, I had forgotten about Lake. These look interesting:



The only walkable shoe I've found that takes SPD and 3-hole cleats. I'll have to order a pair.

CastIron

I got a pair of Lakes like those a few years back. Cheap, heavy, not especially comfortable. They were bottom of the scale, but pretty much as depicted. I may yet give them away.

Does this mean you're walking up hills now?

halfspeed

The T091 was superseded by the T092 which has been superseded by the SH-RT50.

Cochise

I have a pair of Specialized.

Fox Farm

I love my DMT and Sidi Genius shoes but in the winter I put on my SPD pedals and Sidi winter shoes. They are actually mountain bike shoes. When I stopped for some hot chocolate, I was walking into the store and realized how nice it was to "walk" after getting off the road bike. I had not experienced this since perhaps the late 70s when I had a pair of those funny Avocet touring sneaker shoes with the ridge in the ball of the foot and it sort of hooked on the pedal cage. So, I left the SPDs on for a while and used my low summer mountain bike Northwave shoes and found them really comfortable and one day was asked how come I didn't use road shoes and it hit me that I had not switched back. Don't know where I am going with this other than to say that you can get hung up on feeling that you are not looking cool or correct by using mountain bike shoes on your road bike. Don't.

operator

I don't get it. If you want to have walkable shoes, but then you put SPD's on them, why not just have MTB shoes instead?

btographer

I use a pair of Shimano M-225; mountain shoe with a carbon sole. Very stiff and quite light. I've done up to 76 mile rides on them with no problems.

johnny99

Are they any good? Stiff? Light? Comfortable?

crhilton

Shimano's '08 touring shoe is okay for walking, pretty stiff though. But the clip is covered, and it's just rubber tread no nobbies.

I do hear the cleat rub (started immediately, so it's not a sole wear issue) on cement, and tile. So I try to avoid tile (ceramic) flooring for fear of damaging it.

halfspeed

If you want nobbies, there are a zillion MTB shoes. That's kind of the point of a touring shoe. If the sole is like the one on the T092, then it's perfect for frog cleats.

terrymorse 

Thanks, it's hard to keep track of Shimano's numbering scheme.

The SH-RT50 Touring Shoe:



No longer listed on the Shimano USA web site, so apparently they've been discontinued.

MTB shoes have hard nobbies, which can be annoying and slippery on hard, manmade surfaces. They're also not very stealthy when walking into wineries, stores, hotel lobbies, etc.

ruppster

I picked up a pair of these Specialized BG Sport MTB shoes to replace old Answer Speeders. I use them for a little mtn biking & laid back centuries/light touring. They are alot stiffer than the Answers & more comfortable. The knobbies are a bit soft, so they don't make much noise. Last year's model is on sale.

CoreyD

I've got those specialized shoes and am really happy with them. They're real nice if you actually have to get off the bike for anything and don't feel too weird to walk in.

recursive

What's wrong with slacker styling? What are you? Some kind of achiever?

Little Darwin

The shoes you have chosen are stealthy??? I don't think of road shoes as stealthy... they always look like cycling shoes.

Anyway, to my input in the matter:

I have nothing to compare to, but I ride with Lake MX-101 shoes. Listed under "Adventure" which means mountain, with shorter lugs.

I don't have any trouble walking in them.

I don't know how they stack up weight wise, or in stiffness, but I am happy with them.

Again, I have nothing to compare to.

halfspeed

It's still there: https://bike.shimano.com/catalog/cycl...=1202938004504

It's a relatively 'new' redesign of the same old shoe so I wouldn't expect it to be discontinued soon.

halfspeed

Because touring shoes like the Shimano models are much better for walking than MTB shoes. They don't clump up with mud, they have a non-slip rubber tread, and they aren't as noisy as MTB lugs.

halfspeed

Oh, there's one more model I know about. Time makes something called the Axion. I wouldn't recommend it though. The recess is too shallow, the materials aren't especially good, the silver color is too much and I prefer three straps to the two it comes with. The price is right, though.

terrymorse 

Yes, most cycling shoes have that certain look that says "I'm a road shoe". But at least the ones I wear on tours don't go "cloppity cloppity clackity clack" as I walk across a room.

Little Darwin

Ah, I forgot about stealth as related to sound.

I see your point... or hear it?

Snuffleupagus

Motion is seconded. They're great MTB/cross/touring shoes. Super comfy and not too loud.

operator

Interesting. Thanks for that.

sentral dogma

regarding those shimano shoes... does anybody know if the metal cleat hits the floor while walking?