I found these a long time ago. British made bicycle "Touring" style shoes for nail-on cleats, probably from the 1960s to 70s. The sole is backed with a steel shank and very rigid like modern road bike shoes... and since they are just as impractical to wear off of a bike, I'll probably never actually use them. ... But they sure do bring back vivid memories of the days when our cycling shoe options were VERY limited!


They got me thinking about modern lace-up casual shoes which might be suitable for riding with pedals like the MKS Sylvan Touring pedals - and even without toe-clips attached. Then I came across these casual retro shoes from Perry Ellis and bought them on sale a while back. They work great on traditional pedals - the ridges of the rubber soles actually grab the pedals as well as a slotted cleat. And they are comfortable to walk in too!


So now, like our brother cyclist yogurt reinventing the BORN Sherwoods, I catch myself looking for similarly suitable shoes, unintended as cycling-specific shoes, but coincidentally of a good useable design for the purpose. And I'm sure there are dozens of them out there waiting to be discovered.

With "Power Grip" straps on a set of conventional pedals, even an old pair of Stan Smith leather tennis shoes from Adidas would be a decent choice... anything with a rather flat and fairly supportive sole might work.

These look promising... and comfortable... and would be unique choices as cycling shoes!