oldlanesign

I just bought my first pair of cleats/clipless pedals. Riding is even more heavenly now.

Shoes - Shimano SH-R087 (road shoes)
Pedals - Welgo SPD (compatible with Shimano 98a cleats (included) or 51s

I wanted to get MTB shoes for walking in stores while running errands during my commute, but the Shimano SH-R087 road shoes were super cheap, on clearance in my size, which is why got them over MTB shoes.

However, walking in them is a nightmare, as expected. Cleat covers look a little too temporary for my needs. That being said, does anyone have any luck with pontoons? If so, can anyone recommend a good pair that are compatible with my gear? I'm researching on the internet, and so many reviews are talking about compatibility issues.

Thanks in advance!

Leebo

You can walk much easier in mt bike shoes. Some of the sport models have recessed cleats. Don't know what a pontoon is though.

oldlanesign

These are pontoons.
https://www.amazon.com/Shimano-PD-741...=pd_sbs_shoe_7

RaleighSport

This.. I have both road shoes and mtb shoes, I wear road shoes if there's no stops/it's a performance ride.. if I'm going somewhere or going to stop along the way it's the mtb shoes..

oldlanesign

Maybe I didn't articulate myself clearly on my initial post.

I know MTB shoes are easier to walk in. I wanted those, but I am on a budget, and found some road shoes for substantially cheaper. I am looking for a way to make short walking (store, errands, etc) easier with my road shoes. No hiking, long walks.

I've been reading about cleat covers and pontoons to remedy this road shoe/walking situation without having to by MTB shoes.

Pontoons look like a bracket with two rubber sides that create a faux-recess and prevent your cleat from entirely hitting the ground.

Cleat covers seem to not have a long life, and don't seem very reliable.

Thanks!

Leebo

Nope, you were clear. But you are still trying to walk around in road shoes. My solution is flat pedals and keen shoes, YRMV.

CommuteCommando

I have both MTB and road shoes, Shimano R087 and M087. The road shoe are more comfortable on the bike for longer rides, but the MTB shoes are easier to walk in. If you are riding a bike with some carrying capability I suggest packing a pair of flip flops.

noglider 

WHAT IS UP with those images on that page?

urbanescapee

LMAO!...it makes no sense. I see that sort of thing every now and then on amazon.

tsl

Nope. They don't create a recess. They create a wider protrusion.

You'll still duckwalk, just not on the cleat.

Try this at home: Duct tape a rubber ball to the bottom of your sneaker under the ball of your foot. Now walk around. Then duct tape a rawhide dog chew toy--the kind tha looks like a bone, or your "pontoons"--in the same place. Walk around again. See? The wider protrusion doesn't make walking any easier.

Take it from someone (me) who's both car-free (since 1999) and big fan of clipless (all my bikes have clipless): Get MTB shoes.

Even those can be a treat in the grocery store on wet lino, or those trendy textured ceramic tiles. Still, I don't need to use my cart as a walker.

J.C. Koto

The one in the person's hand: is that some funky pedal, a camping stove, or... what?!

gregjones

I have a pair of low end Shimano Road shoes that use recessed SPD cleats. They don't walk anywhere near as well as my MTB shoes or even the SPD sandals that I have. The MTB shoes I have are not the all-out cleat tread, more like a pair casual/athletic walking shoes.

The difference is the stiffness of the road sole and the way the the MTB sole has a bit of flex and "rolls" up at the toe.

RubeRad

As advised above, I think there's basically no solution that makes road shoes/cleats anything close to walkable, which is why mtb shoes were the only consideration for me. And unfortunately, you can't just "get mtb shoes", you have to get mtb pedals as well. Unless anybody knows of a shoe with a mtn-type recessed tread profile, but with three-hole mounting for road cleats.

EDIT: Ah, simul-post with gregjones up there; maybe whatever model road shoes he's using would work better for you?

RaleighSport

My specialized shoes do both look and spd cleat compatibility. I still wouldn't want to walk on them as they are standard road shoes...

fietsbob

if they were included with the pedals as they would be if you got the SPD-SL type pedal you would have them ..


the pontoon is an accommodation to use the SPD MTB cleat on Road shoes .

There is going to be wear on the cleat Be prepared to take off the shoes if you have much walking off the bike .

Commuting , It does not seem like a good choice,
long weekend rides that you stay on the bike for Hours, is a better use.

Years ago I got a pair of Shimano Touring shoes , they look like road shoes ,
but have a pocket so the cleat is recessed to be functional, off the bike, like 'Spud' MTB shoes.

oldlanesign

I was thinking the exact same thing! hahahaha

oldlanesign

Thanks so much for your help everyone.

I am using SPDs, by the way. I didn't clarify that earlier.

I've decided that I might bite the bullet and buy another pair of cycling shoes to solve the walking debacle. Pontoons help minimize the cleat/ground contact, but still make walking a nightmare. And the pontoons for my shoes are $25, which is a little too expensive for something I might not really benefit from.

Since I don't MTB, ever, I might buy some Chrome Truk Pros and ride with them for hop-on-and-off riding (errands, dinner/pub with fiance, lunch rides), and keep my road shoes for longer rides that require minimal walking. I wear black canvas Vans pretty much all of the time, and I am due for a new pair, so rather than buy another pair of those, the black Chrome Truk Pros could kill two birds with one stone. I was riding with the Vans and toe clips for ages, so it might not seem all that different.

Thanks again, all!

tjspiel

I went down the same road. My feet would go numb on long, hard rides with my SPDs and commuter shoes. So the road shoes were an experiment.

Some road shoes work especially poorly with SPDs and mine fell into that category. The pontoons made it easier to clip in and I think that's really their purpose. They may have helped with walking some but not much and it was clear the rubber bits were not going to hold up too long.

I then tried some Crank Bros Quattros which were sort of a hybrid road pedal. Worked OK but was I wasn't quite happy with those either.

IthaDan 

The pontoons are $7. And Rubber for traction. You're still going to walk goofy, but you might have some grip while you're at it.