Cycling Shoes with Straps/Cages
 

When buying my new bicycle I really debated between going with straps/cages or going with a clipless system. Ultimately I decided on straps/cages because of the convenience of being able to bike in a regular shoe for shorter commutes. I think this was probably a good practical decision.

I also like to do longer recreational rides, however, and I find that my shoes wind up giving me some mild discomfort in my feet. I was wondering if anyone had suggestions on some hard sole shoes I could use. Would buying a clipless shoe and just not puting in the cleat be a workable option?

yeah, you can just buy some casual mtb or touring shoes and not put the cleats in.

I've been an avid road biker for years and really don't like riding anything more than a few casual miles without being clipped in. Having said that I recently have been building a commuter bike that will also be a grocery getter and casual around towner. If I'm going 1-2 miles to the grocery store I don't care about being clipped in, don't want to walk around the store clicking and clacking, but I would like to have a solid platform to push off for the sweet wheelies and curb hops I do. ;) This is the solution I went with

http://bike.shimano.com/publish/cont..._mountain.html

I can wear my SPD MTB shoes for commuting, and anything from running shoes to loafers to flip-flops the rest of the time. Keep in mind these things aren't light. They're heavy but also feel stout, like they could take quite a beating. Hope this helps.

I use SPDs for my commuting bike, and I have a pair of Shimano mtn shoes that I use (got them on sale too wich was a plus).

The shoes come with the cleat adapters not even in the shoes, so it's not even like you would have to remove something. Plus the mtn style shoes have tread, and while they aren't as stiff as road shoes, they are still pretty stiff. Plus you can walk in the without looking like a clown (a definate advantage).

I orginally had a pair of shoes that looked like regular sneakers, but you had to remove a portion of the sole to get the cleats in. If you never removed that section of sole, you would have never been able to tell they were bike specific, except for the fact that the sole was more rigid.

Get something like this with SPD on one side and a good grippy pedal base on the other. You can even install toe clips if you want.

http://austinbikeblog.org/wp-content...anopd-m324.gif

The Shimano version is called the PD-M324 and runs about $70. There is also a version from NAshbar called the Rodeo pedal that is eternally on sale for $25. I've go the Rodeo pedal for my travel bike and it works fine, but some have had problems with it. For a bike I'd use every day, I'd go for the Shimano version for durability.

Best of both worlds....

http://www.performancebike.com/shop/...egory_ID=10046

i didn't like the clips that I tried for a couple weeks. the slight performance boost they might have gave weren't worth it for me. they made the pedals top heavy and flip over and hard to get into half the time.

Power grips!

They sell a specific shoe for riding with clips and straps, but they a bit expensive.

What you need to do is find yourself a real good pair of sneakers with a good stiff sole. Part of the equation is also what your pedals look like, is your foot resting on two ridges

http://shop.irocycle.com/shop/images...sylvan_kit.jpg

Or is it more of a platform

http://pages.nyu.edu/~jh15/bikes/images/pedal2a.jpg

I typically wear a pair of either indoor soccer shoes like Adidas Sambas

http://www.karstadt.de/dbimages/sp/0...78200023_d.jpg

or one of the Adidas Classics

http://theyachtclub.files.wordpress....02/1008573.jpg

I just wear my cycling shoes (Lake Hybrid) in the straps for longer rides.

The hard sole prevents foot fatigue, and the shoes don't mind that I'm riding clips...

I wear them on my commuter for longer rides too, though the BMX pedals have dug holes out of the soles of the cycling shoes. Though it does look a little chewed up on the soles of the shoes, I can't say that it's really that bad since I've gotten about 5000 km (3000 mi) out of the shoes so far.

In the winter I wear security boots (Tactical 511 right now, but I have used Magnums as well), on BMX platforms. They are relatively warm, have hard soles, steel shanks on the bottom, last me fairly long given that they are exposed to salt, slush and rain, and they cost less than $100.

I use some regular nike air low tops with my toe clips. I often get some numbness during a long ride, but if I consciously pull up on the clips while pedaling for a while, it gets the circulation back into my feet, and the numbness goes away very quickly.

That's pretty much the precise pedal I'm using. So is the sole as stiff on those adidas as a cycling shoe?

For me the performance boost is less important than how much harder they make it for your foot to slip off the pedal accidentally.

I bought a pair of hiking shoes for this very purpose. The soles are a little stiffer than running shoes, but more flexible than biking shoes. I use them with platform pedals for commuting and with Power Grips on my tourer. You can pick up some really nice ones at outlets like REI, but I got mine from Target for $30.

They are also quite useful for hiking... if you ever need to.

Another Shimano M324 (dual sided pedal) user here! I wear black New Balance 576 walking shoes, which I can also wear to work and not create a stir or wear regular biking shoes with them for longer rides...

The Carnac Carlit.
http://www.evanscycles.com/product_i...jpg?1217470183

The best strap and cage shoe ever made.
No longer produced, but every now and again you can find them.
Evans Cycles and Ebay are the only two places Google can find them available currently.