Originally Posted by 3Kcarbon

Funny how times change. As a teenager my buddies and I had plain basic stiff-soled bike shoes and we rode strapped into clips (that was in Europe), but in the seventies, when I started riding again at 40+ (in California), I went to the biggest LBS in the SF bay area to buy a pair of bike shoes. They offered me a single pair of overpriced Italian shoes, one size only (5 sizes too large for me), and I had to go home empty handed. Most shops never heard of bike shoes, let alone stock any. Now they act as if you would die without them! How times change - they discovered Latte and bike shoes!