Originally Posted by
shouldberiding
I find the notion that cycling shoes will weaken your feet to be a little off.
In the context of cycling... yes it does. We are cyclists... no? For training or just regular rides wouldn't it be beneficial to ride without support and then switch to supportive shoes for a performance advantage during competition, when it matters more?
Originally Posted by
shouldberiding
You said yourself that you'd been buying supportive shoes for decades. Don't you think your footwear choices and gait for walking/running have had an effect on the strength of your foot muscles or do you think it's just the cycling shoes?
Decades of wearing dress shoes for the office and to meet business dress codes and fashion trends has certainly affected my foot shape and changed it from what I was born with. My dress shoes were no different than that of such fashion extremes as Chinese female foot-binding practices. It's only been a few months since I've changed over to wearing sandals, flip-flops or minimalist shoes exclusively and my feet have transformed dramatically in shape and strength. YMMV.
Originally Posted by
shouldberiding
Muscles only get stronger when they have to work harder.
If your foot muscles have to work harder while wearing "regular" shoes that means your pedal stroke is less efficient.
If pedaling efficiency doesn't matter to you, wear regular shoes.
If it does, wear cycling shoes.
And how do you base the importance of efficiency? By ending up at the front of the pack of a bunch of amateur weekend warriors instead of in the middle or at the end of the pack... when your accomplishment is forgotten by your peers at the end of the day? Continue on your quest for efficiency if you need to impress your peers. Or ride for yourself and the pure joy of just riding and obtaining your personal goals.