I had been curious about these shoes after seeing several mentions of them here. I have been experimenting with shoes that work with toeclips, without going full Italian-leather etc. So an eBay search brought these ones up and I scored them at a reasonable price...$25 for a shoe that works in clips and can be comfortably walked in. I don't mind the generic gym-shoe look either.

So far it's a mixed result though. I am only putting in miles in my basement and the shoes seem to do well in clips, the soles are reasonably stiff so that's good. Walking is a different matter; unlikely regular 'trainers,' these have a slightly elevated heel, and it's fairly narrow, so for anyone with pronation they are not quite solid under the heel.

Also the fit is odd. These are marked 9-9 1/2 which is usually my size, but there's lots of room in the toebox, and my heels are loose and the sides gap around my ankles. Hard to believe I'd go down a full size but maybe...

Please chime in with your experiences with this (apparently) once ubiquitous shoe. Or if you have a pair of 8 1/2s...

BTW anyone used Cannondale or Avocet touring shoes from 'back in the day' and have any thoughts?

I'm sorry I ever parted with my Bata Bikers. I can't seem to find anything with as stiff of sole in a casual shoe. I happened to see a Bata store in Europe and asked if they still made these and they didn't have anything close. I still have a pair of white Cannondale shoes that I will break out occasionally but the leather is really checked and the soles are pretty worn and slippery. The Bata's were a little different to walk in because the heal was so low but they worked well and didn't get hot. Nice find Al.

I remember having a pair of Bata Bikers in the late 70's. They were pretty much the Chevrolet of biking shoes but seemed to get the job done.

I had a pair. They got kinda worm out, so I tossed them and went looking for a new pair, only to find I had just tossed the last pair in existence. Bummer.

Great shoes! I had a pair back in the 80's that wore out. I had a difficult time finding another pair, but finally found some that were exactly the same, but sold under the name "Power". I assume that Bata decided to stop making them and that another company bought the rights to them. I still have the "Power" shoes. I seldom wear them, but I will keep them.

I also had a pair of the Avocet touring shoes. They were nice, but a little too small. I wore them on a five-day tour and, at the end of the tour, both of my big toe nails were so damaged that they eventually fell off. I think I got rid of the shoes after that. If they had been the right size they would have worked very well. They had molded ridges on the sole that acted like cleats to hold the pedal. Not as secure as true cleats, but they functioned pretty well.

Like badger_biker, I regret ever getting rid of the pair I had in the early 80's. And like you noticed, Al, the fit is hit or miss and they require a bit o' thinking during the first few steps after getting off the bike. I believe I wore mine out, then found a pair Vittoria Touring shoes for cheap before switching to Sidis with the yellow cleat. Not so sure the Sidis were such a great move in the long run.

My wife still has her Avocet shoes but her bike hasn't turned a wheel in years. She never liked riding in toe clips and the ridges in the sole caused her enough concern that she switched to platform pedals and sneakers. There may still be a pair of white and red C'dales in the closet, too. Or are they Avias?

Add my name to the list of those who hated parting with theirs. I finally retired mine last year, at the point of the uppers beginning to disintegrate. They were my only shoes for some time, and were used a lot on rides where I needed to be walking around off the bike, and didn't want to be sliding around on my cleats.

Looking for replacements, I found a flat sole touring shoe (Exustar IIRC), but much higher price point than the old Batas.

I believe the Bata Bikers were what I wore on my trans continental ride in 1977. I also had leather cycling shoes with the nail on cleats at the time, IIRC I took both pairs with me on that trip. I still have a pair of Avenir cycling shoes from the 1980's? They are better made than the Bata were. Currently the best thing out there that is similar seems to be indoor soccer shoes. I have my eye on a pair of the Dromarti shoes....

Aaron

I still have a pair of Avocet Mod30s. I haven't used them for a couple of years, having gone to mtb clipless, but like them a lot. Particularly had I had the foresight to get these 1/2 size larger I haven't ridden anything real long using them, but hope I wouldn't have the problems Palmer related with his above.

Good shoes though, and the ridges on soles do act as a mini cleat, aiding foot retention and making you feel nice and secure in the pedal.

LL Bean 'gumshoes', or the Moccasin version are probably easier to put on, than the 6" lace up boots I got
but they are a practical bike shoe , particularly in the Wet, which we do so well out here, on the PNW Coast.

160 takedowns when 32 matches were the limit (including the Tri-State invitational).
Not possible without Bata Bullets, the finest gripping wrestling shoe I ever wore.
You could leap across the mat without a drop-step, just push off with a toe-hold.

Asics' Dan Gables weren't even close.

I just tossed mine in the trash bin this week. Waiting for me to take them to the dump. The tops had finally seperated from all that rubber on the bottom. Rode them duct taped together for a while. Didn't see them anywhere in my size (13). Found some Merril's with a Vibram sole that fit nicely in clips & are pretty stiff. Certainly don't look vintage but I'm happy with them. Found them in that size at a close out/overstock place. I was very happy with mine, bought them in the spring of '80. A 400+ mile trip along the upper Mississippi in '06 in 100+ degree heat did a number on them. Kinda nursed them from that point forward.

I bought a pair of size 13s in 1979--they were great, and I used them until they wore out. My memory of them is that they had a slightly negative heel, which seems to not agree with the OP--maybe I misremember. One thing I do vividly remember is wearing them in a 4-mile road race (running race) with my girlfriend at that time because I didn't have any sneakers. It was a fund raiser of some kind, as I recall. I hadn't run in years--since cross-country in high school--but I was in pretty good shape from commuting 25 miles to work each way, so I was pleased to find that I could move right along. I remember that I was exactly the median finisher--number 216 out of 431 or something. The next day my legs were so destroyed I could hardly walk--had to come down the stairs backwards.
I'd snap up a pair of BBs again if I could find them in my size.
JV

I wore out two pairs in the 1970s. When they became unavailable, I found some Sidi shoes which I wore through the early and mid 1980s - they were made of chain-woven red nylon thread, they were very breathable, and black smooth-leather patches over the toes, outer metatarsal region, and heel. Negative heels, like the BB. They had a very stiff hard black rubber/plastic sole, and I wore them daily for maybe six years - commuted and toured in 'em. Great with toe clips. No provision for SPD cleats. I still have 'em, but the BBs are long gone. I picked up a pair of Shimano shoes which worked OK with toe clips more recently (meaning 10 years ago!). If BBs were still around, yeah, I'd have a pair.
I'd need a time warp though!