huskertko

Hey all, quick intro. I am a new rider, haven't ridden a bike in about 15 years, I have been doing a little running but it was taking a toll on the joints. I am 36yrs old, 6 foot, 210 lbs, down from 250+ a year ago.

I just bought a new road bike and will have numerous questions I am sure, I will use the search function as much as possible to keep from asking questions that have already been answered, but bear with me as I enter the world of cycling.

My first question is about shoes. I know that cycling shoes are very important to riding efficiency as opposed to "tennis" shoes, so I am going to purchase some that are on sale at Nashbar, however I have been told that I should look at mountain shoes instead of road shoes because they are more comfortable and easier to walk around in. I don't ride so I can stop at Starbucks to get a coffee, I usually go for a ride and come home so what is everyones take on the choice of road or mountain shoes?

Thanks in advance for your responses.

Huskertko

dark13star

I would get road shoes and road pedals. I am in the camp that doesn't understand sacrificing riding efficiency or comfort for walking comfort. I have plenty of walking shoes already.

I tried my MTB pedals on my road bike when I first got it, but I would get hot spots on rides over 30-40 miles. I have good Sidi MTB shoes too. I now have Look Keo Sprint pedals with Sidi road shoes with Specialized inserts and I can ride all day. I do carry cleat covers for times when I need to walk in the shoes.

merlinextraligh

+1 on road shoes and road pedals. The difference is not huge, but in most cases the road shoes are likely to be stiffer(because they aren't designed for walking comfort) and are likely to be lighter.

So if your intended use is road riding, with not much in the way of off bike excursions, buy road shoes.

monkeyevil

I love my Specialized MTB shoes. Plenty stiff and easy to walk in.

procrit

+1 for road shoes & pedals.

More efficient. More comfortable. Much better stability, which decreases injury, and adds confidence when pedaling hard or out of the saddle. Usually better adjustability over mountain style pedals.

biker_chick

I use mountain bike shoes with not too aggressive tread and SPD cleats that sit inside the sole of the shoe. If you do any organized rides with SAG stops, it is nice to be able to walk across the grass/parking lot for cookies, bananas and water. I'm sure road shoes are more efficient if you want to race and are looking for speed.

rbart4506

Road shoes and pedals....Never stops me from walking around at SAG stops and such....

When my wife and I do our groceries (towing a trailer by bike), we use road shoes. We walk around the grocery store without much problem....

My thinking is, I'm on a road bike...Hence the road shoes and pedals...

dark13star

I just don't get how road shoes prevent this. It is not that difficult to walk in them. I regularly go into a pub for a beer in my road shoes on Friday afternoon. I through on cleat covers, but that is to protect their floors.

saintsfan342000

Be careful about buying your first ever pair of shoes online. They're something that, like bike fit, you have to get right, otherwise you'll never get full enjoyment out of your cycling experience. I felt like a sucker after I paid $140 at the LBS for some Specialized road shoes to replace my crappy Northwave SPD types, but just 15 miles into first ride on the new shoes, I already knew it was worth every penny.

When it comes to shoes and saddle: Save now...pay later.

dark13star

+1 Online shopping is for when you know exactly what you want and don't need service.

biker_chick

I agree about buying shoes online, bike shoes fit differently than regular shoes. Just make sure you can send them back if you do buy online.

To elaborate on my choice of mountain over road. When I was trying to decide what to get I saw a lot of people sliding on wet grass and moving van ramps that carried our stuff across Kansas when wearing road bike shoes. I decided on mountain bike shoes. To be honest, I never tried the road bike shoes.

Have fun shopping!

huskertko

Thanks for all the replies. It sort of sounds like the suggestions are leading me toward road shoes, that is the way I was leaning anyway. It also sounds like my best bet would be to go to the LBS that I bought the bike at and at the very least try some shoes on if I still plan on buying online.

I am debating on a few different pedals, any suggestions when it comes to these choices>

1. Nashbar Izoard Road Pedal
2. Look KeO Classics- used
3. Shimano PD-R540 SPD-SL Road Pedal

Szczuldo

Go with the Look, what price are you getting them used for? You can get them new in various places for 65$ or maybe even less now. Road shoe sizing is a complete monstrosity in and of itself. I wear a 46 in Sidi and a 43 in Northwave. The conversion to US sizes (when written on the shoe); the sidi is 10.5 and the Northwave is 11.5. You just cannot trust those numbers anymore, you actually have to go out and try on shoes until you find the one that you like. Remember the names of the shoes that felt great and then go home and check the prices online. If the price isn't significantly lower just buy them from your lbs and if for some reason the shoe doesn't feel good after a longer ride you can always return it more easily.

malpag3

When I got into road riding and clipless riding, I did buy Pearl MTB shoes with the shimano SPD road pedal (the A520 I think?).

That said, I don't really regret it, but I am looking at getting road specific pedals (probably Look, Shimano, or Crank Bro's) and road specific shoes (probably Sidi). One of the things I like about the Crank Bro's road pedal is that it's a cleat you can have on both a 3-hole road pedal, or a 2-hole MTB shoe (or so it seems).

I would see if a bike shop/retailer in the area would let you try on both shoes with cleats on them and see what you prefer. Some have made the point, and it's a lot like buying skiing or snowboarding boots, you're buying the boots/shoes to use cycling, not for walking. Keep that in mind. If you have a good patch kit set up on your bike then you shouldn't really need to walk a long distance in them.

Hope that helps! It's a tough decision and most of us don't have a lot of money to have two sets of each kind of pedal and shoe. It is nice to have just one type of shoe and pedal, so it's hard!

huskertko

Hopefully will get them for under $50. Where might I be able to find them new for $65ish? If you don't mind my asking. I am really new to cycling, so I need to learn the "places" to go to get good deals. Now if it was fishing equipment, I could rattle off several places to look for good/great gear at lower costs.

halfspeed

Many companies make road and mountain models that are identical save for the bolt drillings and the presence of lugs. The only time I've ever had hot spots was on an entry-level MTB shoe, but never on a better MTB shoe or a road touring shoe using a MTB pedal system, even during 500 mile weeks.

Perhaps if you are the princess of the pea fame a good MTB shoe will still boil your delicate feet, but for my money "road" shoes are pointless.

rb07

If this is your first/only bike and you don't already have shoes, yes, get road shoes and road pedals.

That said, I ride with MTB pedals and shoes on my Allez currently because I already had the shoes. I'm going to be buying road pedals/shoes when I save some $$. I haven't had any issues with hot spots with my Shimano MTB shoes, but my longest ride is 50mi.