I've been using Giro Rumble VR's for my commuting for the last couple years. I'm a big fan of them. Up to 60 mile event days and commuting days of 20 miles. They are also comfortable for walking around in, but if you need to stand for hours on end the lack of cushion does start to hurt.

Have you looked at the Quoc Pham shoes? Since you're looking for something that can be worn at work they might be worth looking at. They make shoes for flats and SPD's.

Just keep work shoes at work. Or, switch to good pinned platform pedals and ride in anything (except perhaps high heels). The key is a wide platform distributes pressure.

https://www.rivbike.com/pages/the-shoes-ruse

Personally, I gave up on clipless, and I wear a crappy old pair of sneakers for riding, and keep my work shoes at work. (Which also happen to be a slightly-less-crappy pair of sneakers...)

Any specific reason why you choose sandals?

Yeah I am looking at the Rumbles, Quac Phams are nice to look at for sure.

Thanks for the article. I will test it out.

I also wear New Balance most of the time. My daughters tell they're "dad shoes." Being a dad, I'm ok with that.

On the bike I wear Pearl Izumi All Road shoes, with Crank Brothers cleats. They're very walkable and a decent compromise on sole stiffness. They do look exactly like bike shoes though. When I get to the office I change into skate shoes.

That's right about the Quoc Phams. They are nice to look at. It's been such a long time since I looked at them that I forgot the price!

They're very comfortable.

Me too.

Old school: Detto Pietro touring shoes with toe clips and straps.



I used to have these and left the toe straps a little loose to get around in easily.

More modern: Just pick a clipless system, leave work shoes at work and switch when you get there. Not a great example, but I just stuck with look pedals and cleats and switch to my work shoes when I get to work. Just about anything will do the job. Just depends on what you like. If I were to do it over again, then maybe I'd get an SPD combo pedal with the cleat on one side and a flat cage on the other? The eggbeaters mentioned above sound good as well. If you go clipless, then you can do some retro cool shoes like these:


I actually bought these and have them stil sitting in the box. Am looking forward to getting the new cleats on them soon.

Check out the quoc pham and giro republic options. Both have fairly stiff soles so if you do lots of walking they may not be ideal, but if you just want a pair of shoes that clip in and don't look out of place in the office these will work.

I have these and they are great - although my foot is very narrow so ymmv:

The Detto looks really nice, and with all the revival of retro looks today it should fit in pretty well on the streets.

Shimano SH UT71

Yeah I tried the rumble out at a shop, it is a bit too stiff and lack that cushion for all day riding.

How far are your guys' commutes? Do you face a lot of hills during your rides?

Mine is about 13.5 miles each way. I don't have many hills, but one of them is very steep.

I've been riding mostly with cleats for a very long time. I had medical foot problems, so on my podiatrist's recommendation, I moved my cleats way back, and it has helped tremendously. When I ride without cleats, I find it hard to position my feet far back on the pedals because my habits are so old. So my feet move around, and I feel a little insecure. Now cleats make me feel safer than no cleats. But to each his own. Ride whatever works for you. I've let go of the belief that cleats give an indispensable improvement in pedaling efficiency, so I don't proselytize their use any more.

I wonder about this. The last time I tried SPD's I bought my normal shoe size and the cleats seemed way too far forward. But I get that size for toe room, and by length I should be buying half a size smaller. That's going to make a good like 1/4" - 3/8" difference in position. This time I got the "right" size but a different brand. They haven't arrived yet.

[MENTION=339610]Darth Lefty[/MENTION], same here. Sometimes I get TWO sizes bigger. My new shoes have so much arch support that it almost hurts. With the cleat under my arch and all that arch support, I'm spreading the pressure across my whole foot. I can pedal a lot harder now, with no pain.

Keen sandal user here. Nice grip, thick sole, nice and cool for the ride during 1/2 the year. Comfortable. on bike and off bike. Rain water drains right out. Can hike abike over the shoulder going across streams. That's more for bike packing than commuting though.