bccycleguy

I'm planning to buy a new pair of cycling shoes this year and would appreciate any suggestions/advise anyone has. I've been using Specialized Rockhoppers for the last 5-6 years with Time ATAC peddles and they have been ok, but these shoes have softened up a lot and I'm looking for a new pair to use with some Speedplay Frogs with the Speedplay G3 cleat (compatable with SPD, SPD-R Shimano cleat mounting holes).

I'm looking for a pair of shoes that are walkable, i.e. have a recessed cleat mount (as do most MTB shoes), but I also would like something reasonably stiff for good road cycling performance. By walkable I mean casual strolling about town a bit, not hiking any distance. I don't have a strong preference between laces, velcro straps or combinations. Some suggestions so far have been the Shimano SH-MT20D, SH-MT40 or SH-RT50 but I don't know any thing about them, other than what is on the Shimano web-site.

CC Rider

For the last year I've been using Shimano SH-MA80's (with Crank Bros Quattro pedals) which have recessed cleats and 3 velcro straps. I've found them to be very comfortable, even when walking for short distances. I did a 3 day, 200 mile tour last summer and never got any hot spots over the cleat area, had decent ventilation, support, and flexibility. I did have to modify the sole slightly to accomodate the Quattro pedal axle but this was no big deal. Overall I would highly recommend them.
Regards,
Carl

Machka 

Personally, I like my Lake mtn bike shoes. They look pretty much like normal footwear so I can wear them into stores and things without attracting too much attention. They are also extremely comfortable both on the bicycle ... even for ultradistance riding (I use them on my randonnees), and during fairly long hikes. I've found them to be very versatile shoes ... especially for touring when you want to do some activities off the bicycle, but you don't want to carry a different pair of shoes for every occasion.

roadfix

I use both the Shimano MA-80 and Time's XC racing shoes which I picked up from Nashbar for $45 on sale, down from $174. I use standard eggbeaters.
Although the Times are noticably stiffer than my Shimanos, they are still very comfortable to walk in...
The Shimanos almost feel like wearing sneekers....very comfortable to stroll around in...

brokenrobot

I like the Shimano SH-TO92 and the Diadora equivalent (model number escapes me...) Both are "touring" shoes, being basically road shoes with walkable soles.

khuon

I've used Lake CX125s with Speedplay Frog cleats and they worked out quite well. The shoes are stiffer than most MTB shoes but they have a tread pattern that makes them quite walkable. You can even run road cleats in them and still have a walkable combo. Lake no longer makes the CX125 but they do make the successor... the CX120.

CdCf

I bought a pair of Shimano SH-MT030. I use them for commuting, and wear them in school all day. They're almost as comfortable as a pair of regular shoes, and walking with them for a few miles every other day is not a problem.
They're quite cheap as well, but perhaps not very stylish. Unless you like black.
That's the only advice I can offer, since they're the only pair of clipless shoes I've used.

BubbaDog

Just got my first pair of clipless shoes and pedals, recommended by the Shimano rep as a good entry level set. The shoes are SH-FN20 that are sold as 'fitness shoes' like you would use in spinning class. Laces with one strap at the top, good stiff sole, recessed SPD cleat and pretty good for walking around in. Pedals are PD-A520, single sided road version of the M520 mountain pedal. Tried them for the first time yesterday on a short 30 miler, should've gotten clipless a long time ago ....

B'Dog

FarHorizon

Best clipless for touring? Contradiction in terms. Clipless SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCKS for touring (and everything else except racing). Platform pedals and sneakers RULE for every type of riding except racing. Don't accept the mindless mantra that "serious" cyclists must be attached to their pedals. It just aint so!

spokewrench55

Hi,

The Sidi mountain shoes. I suppose there are better cycling shoes to walk in, but I never found it that bad. Viewings of tourist sites and grocery shopping was fine. Anything longer I would be inclined to more safely secure the bike and change to mocs and nylon long pants. Tourists spend long times pedaling, so that should be the first priority. Walking type shoes with cleat mounts are not as good of an idea as they might seem IMO. Durability is also important, and so far Sidis have been far and beyond the best for me in that respect.

I suggest you reconsider the Speedplays. They are awesome pedals but not for touring. Even recessed in my MTB shoe, walking on my Frog cleats eventually broke them. They don't like concrete with stones and pebbles on it. Spare cleats are hard to find.

Try the Shimano PD-M424 off road pedals. Every shop has SPD cleats which put up with far more walking then the Frogs. Also, those M424 pedals are actually a pedal, not just a tiny bud that hooks to a cleat. While you have all the advantage of clipless pedals, the bike can be ridden with any foot wear. Even tennis shoes!
I find that working through city stop lights or any stop and go situation with cars tedious enough with a loaded tourer without struggling with a miss when I was trying to get clicked in and through the intersection. You can still push through with the M424s miss or not.

halfspeed

What makes them "SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK"?

Flat pedals are fine for quick rides around the neighborhood, but for any kind of distance I find clipless far more comfortable.

tvphobic

Yes, more comfortable. But also, clipless is more efficient* and safer. I got stuck in my clips with sneakers more times than I can count, even "went over" once, but mastered releasing SPD and Look within a few rides.


*arguably the the stiff cycling shoes that work with a cleat and clip pedals are roughly the same efficiency, but we're comparing sneakers here, which bend like crazy.

Shemp

Do you have a preference? Is one stiffer?

FarHorizon

Being unable to INSTANTLY remove your feet from the pedals in an emergency. Clipless pedals or toe clips+straps are undeniably more efficient than platform pedals but ONLY if you're climbing, racing, or riding rough/slippery terrain. Since none of the above apply to my riding, there is no effective advantage for me in being attached to the pedals at all. In exchange for "no effective advantage," clipless pedals or toe clips+straps expose me to the hazard of unwanted falls (potentially in traffic). Even experienced clipless riders sometimes fall over.

If you need clipless pedals or toe clips+straps for those situations where the efficiency advantage is more important than the safety disadvantage, then go for them. For the vast majority of riders, however, clipless pedals are a useless and potentially dangerous affectation. Hence, IMHO, clipless SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCKS!

khuon

I've been in many high-speed crashes (most of them while MTBing but sometimes while road riding too) and everytime, my feet have managed to automagically disengage themselves. It's the slow speed falls when I'm barely moving that cause me to get stuck. The worst injury I've ever received from such a fall was to my pride. Also, I seem to get trapped when I'm consciously trying to wrestle my way out of them. If I don't bother to think about it, my muscle memory just does its job and I can enter and exit my clipless pedals in any situation without problems.

RiotBoi

2 "recent" wrecks come to mind
1-hit by car on front wheel, low speed, I had plenty of time to curse before hitting the ground, dont remember clipping out but I was.
2- kinda odd one- I tried to clip out while skimming past a foot high ledge and my heel bounced and stayed in and I fell and ending up clipping out inwards and kinda mangling myself between ledge, bottle cages, and the boulder my right hlf landed on.

dreamy

Afraid not. It is a far easier (and more instinctive) to unclip with a small twist of the foot than to pull your foot out of straps. I have never fallen with clipless in many years of using them, but have several times due to feet getting stuck in clips. And the efficiency advantage is HUUUUUUUUUUUUGE. Oh, and it is also much safer to have your feet attached to the pedals when standing or climbing than to have one slip off....

FarHorizon

You guys seem to either ignore my points or deliberately misinterpret them. I don't advocate clips+straps at all. If you must be attached to the pedals, clipless is undeniably the best system.

I further concede that there IS an efficiency advantage to being attached to your pedals. I do say that this advantage is negligible-to-non-existant UNLESS you're climbing, racing, or in danger of having your feet slip off of platform pedals.

I do, however, contend that no matter how experienced you are, no matter how "automatic" clipping out has become, there will still be times when an emergency catches you unprepared and you won't have time to clip out. In traffic, these situations tend to occur more often, and falling over has potentially much greater consequences.

Finally, I say that although being attached to the pedals has undeniable advantages for climbers, racers, and some off-roaders, the vast majority of cyclists are much safer, and NO less efficient when using platform pedals (with no attachment to the pedal at all). Unfortunately, the vast majority of riders have been brainwashed by a cycling industry and by cycling magazines to believe that no "serious" cyclist would even consider riding without clipless pedals+shoes. It just aint so!

paul2

I have never fallen because I couldn't get my foot out of the toe clip. On the other hand, I have fallen because my foot slipped off of a platform peddle.

roadfix

I may be wrong but I assume the vast majority of riders who own other bikes besides their touring bikes use clipless pedals, therefore natural for them to equip their tourers with clipless pedals.
All my bikes are clipless, except for one errand bike which I keep at work which has platforms, clips, and straps. Every time I get on that bike to run to the bank which is twice a week on average, I can definitely feel how inefficient these are UNLESS I cinch the straps down which is unpractical and dangerous in stop and go traffic as I need to loosen one strap each time I anticipate coming to a stop. With clipless, you're clipped in right up til the moment you decide to put your foot down...it really becomes second nature....

FarHorizon

Exactly the opposite of my experiences. You pays your money, you takes your choice.

halfspeed

Where are you touring, or even riding, that you never climb? Is Louisianna that flat?

As others have mentioned, I also feel safer with clipless than with flats. I've had more scary moments slipping off flats than being unable to unclip. Flats can be especially insecure in wet weather. Besides, pedaling in sneakers makes my feet hurt.



Yet the majority here seem not to have the same experience you have. Unless you've got some sort of better evidence to back up your claims of grave dangers, maybe your pronouncements of clipless pedals as "affectations" of "brainwashed" cyclists could be considered a bit excessive.

After all, tourists with their affection for "obsolete" cycling technology like 36 spoke wheels, steel frames, and cantilever brakes are hardly the type to swoon over the latest doodads for the sake of fashion. Maybe you're missing something.

jcwitte

What about when you are riding into the wind on a bike loaded with 50 - 60lbs of equipment and you are on your twentieth consecutive day of 65 plus mile days? No efficiency advantage there, huh?


I use speedplay frogs and have never fallen. I've had them for a couple of months now and they are the first clipless pedals I have ever used and I have not fallen or gotten stuck in them even one time. You maybe ought to switch to Speedplay Frogs as well. They are incredibly easy to clip out of. Maybe that'd change your mind about how unsafe they are.
Any situation in traffic that forces you to clip out is a situation that forces you to come to a sudden and complete stop. I don't believe that these situations happen regularly enough on a tour to merit giving up the efficiency. If you are reallly worried about it, just wear some sneakers while in heavy traffic and then once you hit the open road, where the majority of touring is done, switch back to the cycling shoes.


We are not talking about the vast majority of cyclists. We are talking about a Touring Cyclist, bccycleguy, who is looking for a pair of shoes. Since he is going to be touring, there is a good chance he will be climbing and going long distances with a fully loaded heavy bike. In my opinion, clipless pedals will offer a substantial advantage for bccycleguy.
I purchased these Shimano touring shoes for my Speedplay Frogs....
https://www.performancebike.com/shop/...tegory_ID=2010
They are comfortable to walk in however, if you have wider feet, you may need to wear the lower two straps a bit loose for toe wiggle room.

jcwitte

On second thought, they are the only cycling shoes I have ever had, so I don't have anything to compare them to. I do wear them when in the grocery store or running other errands without problems. However, even though the cleats are recessed and walkable, they do make some contact with the ground making an annoying grating sound when walking on concrete or pavement. I wear them at the grocery store, etc., but if I were going to walk a few blocks along sidewalks and pavement, I think I would prefer to have some sandals handy.

FarHorizon

Obviously, we're never going to agree on clipless. I've stated my preferences and my reasons. If you disagree (and the majority of you do), feel free to disregard me - my statments aren't Gospel nor are the intended to be.

Yes, Louisiana IS that flat (at least the southern half, where I live and ride). I tour, commute, and excercise perfectly happily on platform pedals, thank you. I've tried clipless (and toe clips + straps) and don't care for either.

Another reason I don't like clipless is because of my body geometry. Being flat-footed and bow-legged, my feet "normally" intersect the pedal platform at an angle - shoe soles touching on the outside of the pedal, not touching on the crank side. Using clipless forces my ankles into an unnatural alignment with the soles of my feet parallel to the pedals. This produces excruciating ankle pain after about an hour. If I had "normal" feet and legs, this might not be an issue.

In any case, I do believe clipless to be more of an affectation than a true "need" for the vast majority of cyclists. Those of you on this forum are NOT the "vast majority of cyclists," so if the %*&^)! clipless shoe fits, then feel free to wear it.