noglider 

I've been using these for years, and I like them a lot.

I can flip to the side I want without looking. I guess it's hard for some and easy for others.

cyccommute 

There's any number of SPD compatible shoes that don't look like bicycling shoes. Canvas type, almost wingtip, athletic, another athletic, and even hiking boots. The Giro is a very smart looking shoe and comes in more than one color.

Wiggle wouldn't be a bad place to start looking. Nor would SJS.

acidfast7

Thanks for the tips!

Anything a little more like this:

MEN - Fiorentini+Baker

noglider 

A few years ago, I found that I like SPD so much that whenever I need to buy shoes, I try to buy SPD. Now I think have more SPD shoes than non-SPD shoes. I have a pair of SPD sandals, a pair of Pearl Izumi shoes that appear to have started out as running shoes, a pair of "touring" shoes kinda-sorta like the MT-33's that @cyccommute cited, plus a pair of mountain racing shoes that I don't wear much any more. I still haven't found a pair of dress shoes designed for wearing in an office. There have been rumors that they exist, but I haven't seen them yet. The ones @cyccommute calls almost-wingtip still look athletic to me, but I guess that's a matter of taste. They also don't look great for walking because of the curved sole.

One of these days, I might have a cobbler merge two pairs of shoes to make SPD dress shoes for me. I have a worn out pair of SPD sandals I can use for the sole.

Walter S

I have a pair of shimano clipless shoes with spd cleats I've been wearing for thousands of miles a year for 19 years. They don't look pretty but they're still very functional. Just recently the velcro strap has started falling apart. But I'm trying to get one more year out of the pair.

PaulRivers

I currently own mountain bike shoes (clipless). I walked a mile home this summer due to a flat (long story, my dad wanted to fix the flat at home rather than where we were for some reason) in mountain bike shoes, and it was uncomfortable. Doeable, but uncomfortable. There's no way I'd walk any significant distance in them. I've gone grocery shopping in them - they worked ok, a little slippery. And I've used softer soled clipless - they gave me more knee pain as the cleat squirmed around (that part may not happen to everyone), and they're not as useful as clipless with a stiff sole for power transfer either. They also have a fashion problem sometimes, depending on what else you're wearing.

I can't be sure since I don't live in Europe, but it seems like wearing clipless being a fashion item (which seems to be most of the people going for pro-clipless for a 4 mile commute in this thread) is a fairly american thing. Whenever I see videos of people commuting in Europe, in the countries where bike commuting is a regular source of transportation rather than a niche racer-oriented thing like it is here, I don't think I ever see people wearing clipless (people who aren't racing).

There's a reason - because clipless for speed isn't useful at all for short distances. It's debated whether it actually improves your speed on long distances for racers even. (Not weighing in that it does or it doesn't.) It certainly isn't going to improve your speed if the max distance you ever ride is 4 miles. I guess you could debate whether you prefer the "connected to the pedal" feel of clipless, but I just can't imagine it being worth the hassle if the longest you ever ride is 4 miles. It doesn't seem like in countries where bike commuting is common, that people there are claiming clipless is at all necessary if you're not racing.

acidfast7

This is the most sensible post I have seen within the commuting forum in the last 12 months!

Bravo!

joeyduck

I have walked all day in my clipless mountain bike shoes and never experienced pain nor discomfort. I regularly shop in them, spend the first hour of work in them, spend the day at the aquarium or science center on the weekend. I guess this is another example of different strokes for different folks.

I do agree the shorter the distance of my commute the less likely I would be to switch to clipless if I had not previously. But my commutes have never been less than 11 km (~7 miles) and that short is once a week if I am lucky. I used to ride 50 km round trip and now average 35 km round trips everyday.

To run out to store in the evening it is easier to put on my clipless than tie my sneakers.

But I have gotten used to them and I would find it hard to switch away.

mikeybikes

Completely agreed. Clipless is silly for four miles.

qclabrat

i've known a few folks who won't try clipless again because of bad first impressions. I suggest speaking with an LBS on your riding style. Many of us have cycled through many varieties, I started with SPDs but wasn't from me then gravitated to Speedplays then to Look and more recently back to Speedplays, after using the Look the Speedplays seem to have way too much float when off the saddle. However for MTB, I'm a huge fan of Eggbeaters. They are the easiest for me to disengage, but I know they are not for everyone.

ratell

I don't think clipless is silly for four miles. I actually think if the reason you are clipless is performance it is silly to use them for commuting at all. That said I use spd pedals commuting because it's the easiest system to keep my feet from sliding off the pedal when it is raining. Any performance benefit is gravy on top of that.

I use the shimano pedals that are platform on one side and spd on the other. I am always mystified by people who say they have to look down. I suppose I've gotten lucky with mine, but this has never been a problem for me. The balance of the pedal is that it's almost always spd side up and if it isn't I take my foot off for one revolution and then it's spd side up and you clip in. At this point I do it without noticing let alone looking.

cyccommute 

I, too, have walked all day in my clipless mountain bike shoes. When I've had to, it's not a choice but because I couldn't ride the terrain. Most recently, I walked 8 miles of a 3 day 60 mile trip because I didn't have gears low enough to ride. That includes 3 miles of downhill. It's doable and no more or less comfortable than a hiking boot.

Let's nip this "clipless is fashionable" stuff in the bud. I don't wear clipless shoes...or lycra or any other bicycle clothing...because of "fashion". I don't know anyone else that does so either. I don't wear them because I'm "racing" either. Most people who ride clipless aren't racing either. We wear them because they are functional. You can say that they don't give any boost when you pull up on the pedals but I can feel that boost when I get out of the saddle to beat a light or when I take off from a light or when I climb a hill on the way to (or from) work. Hopping a curb or lifting the bike over a pothole is much easier with clipless as well. And when I'm dropping down a hill at 30 mph, I feel much safer and more in control with my feet clipped to the pedals then without them.

Are then needed for a 4 mile commute? Depends on the commute. Not all 4 miles are the same. It's 4 miles from my house to downtown Denver and there is a 300 foot drop from my house to the Platte River. Most of that 300 feet happens in 1.5 miles and it's fairly easy to do 30 mph on all of it. I feel far more comfortable with my feet attached to the pedals at 30 mph than I would without. Bad things happen at that speed if you happen to slip off the pedal. It's also easier, by the way, to climb back up that 300 foot drop with clipless.

I have another drop from my house (everywhere is downhill from where I live) that is only 149 feet but it happens over 0.6 mile. It's a 40 mph downhill...nearly 50 if you can pedal fast enough. But you probably can't pedal that fast without some kind of foot retention.

Finally, I fully agree with joeyduck. It's easier to slip on a pair of clipless bicycle shoes than put on regular shoes.

acidfast7

I find it kind of hard to believe that I bike year round in England and don't have trouble with pedal slippage. Perhaps, I'm just more athletic, who knows!

Wilfred Laurier

clipless are superior to flats
in feel and function

and the idea that clipless/flat combo pedals are harder to use
is nonsense
its not like there are an infinite number of pedal orientations
there are two
clip mechanism up
and
platform up
and you do not need to look down to see which one your foot is on
and if you cant figure it out
well
ummm
lets just say
you should be able to figure it out


the one thing I will say about combo pedals
is
get the shimano ones
i had the wellgo kind
sold under various brand names
and in a panic stop
i pulled up on both feet
and the mechanisms on both ripped in half
and when i showed them to the shop guy
he told me it was not the first time he had seen that

i use clipless almost all the time
because that is what is on my bike
and my commute is long enough
that i like to treat it as a ride and enjoy it
and i enjoy riding more
when using clipless

if i didn't have clipless
i would have no problems using platforms
especially if my commute were short
but i do prefer clipless

acidfast7

evidence?

winston63 

I completely agree - I find the notion that people wear functional cycling gear for "fashion" reasons to be hilarious. I mean, come on - we look kind of ridiculous in these getups and there's no way I'd wear this stuff except for the fact that dedicated cycling clothing is incredibly functional and doing so adds to my comfort and my performance.

Clearly, clipless pedals are unnecessary for a four mile commute (or a forty mile commute for that matter). But they may still be desirable. My commute is, in fact, less than four miles. And I use clipless pedals on it because for me, I am safer, more confident and more in control when I ride with clipless pedals. I get that everyone is different, but I see zero downside to using clipless and plenty of upside -- I'll never go back to riding with platform pedals.

cyccommute 

No, you aren't "more athletic". And, unless you changed the pedals on your bike from the "BSO" thread, you have toe clips. That's not the same as a platform pedal. Clipless pedals have the same function as toe clips without the annoying bits.

Wilfred Laurier

i have found that spiked
bmx style pedals are
also quite secure

acidfast7

I took off the toe clips. We can debate the more athletic component later but I don't have slippage issues between 20 and 130 rpm.

cyccommute 

...yet.

acidfast7

1500 miles or so. I'm not about to lug a second pair of shoes around for an issue that happens once per year at most.

cyccommute 

You've been riding for about 4 years now and only have 1500 miles? Or is that just 1500 miles this year? And you said "I don't have slippage issues between 20 and 130 rpm" so have you had slippage issues "once a year" or never? I've slipped off a pair of platforms once and that was enough to convince me not to repeat the experience.

And you don't have to "lug a second pair of shoes around". You leave a pair of shoes at work and wear the bike shoes when you are riding. If you go to dinner or a pub or so other function you wear the bike shoes, no one really looks at your shoes anyway. I've attended all kinds of meetings in bike shoes. I've been to all kinds of restaurants in bike shoes. No one ever said a thing about them.

spare_wheel

Olive and black shimano CT-40s look great and have a flexible and flat sole with a half plate. I routinely wear them when I'm out boozing and carousing.

spare_wheel

clipless pedals allow one to optimize the contact patch between foot and pedal. they eliminate unnecessary movement and can decrease foot and knee pain for many riders. they also encourage the development of cadence and track standing skills. many cyclists in denmark and the netherlands would be better cyclists if they road clipless. it's kind of sad that two of the bikiest nations in the world are largely stuck in the victorian era when it comes to cycling technology. heck, i'm surprised that the dutch don't still use clogs when riding their beloved oma/opafiets.

kickstart

Just did my first commute on oversized pinned pedals and it was a revelation, makes platforms, clips, and clippers seem ridiculous for transport cycling. Makes getting started at intersections on steep hills so much easier. I'm sold.