Originally Posted by
Surrealdeal
I tork mine down to the point that I got to loosen one when I approach a stop or an unsure situation where I might need to put a foot down in a hurry. Over the years the motion of reaching down and loosening the strap has become second nature to me. In an all-out emergency I could get my foot out if I had to but nowhere near as gracefully.
I am riding on a 22 year old pair of Nike cycling shoes with integrated cleats that have been worn down to nothing; the end is in sight. I do ride pretty hard and fall under what a previous poster referred to as a good candidate for clipless. I'm leaning in that direction, my thoughts are to Mtn shoes with recessed cleats as opposed to road as I will want to be able to walk a few steps in them here and there.
Then you need 'touring' shoes not mtb shoes. Touring shoes have a deeper recess to allow the spd cleats room to clear the ground so one doesn't 'click' while walking around. The trade-off is that the soles of touring shoes are softer than mtb shoes. Lake, Cannondale, etc. make good touring shoes.
Also, make sure to get cleats than are more thin than normal from shoe to ground/street surface. That will help to avoid ground strike in your shoes as well. Just a mm or 2 makes a big difference.