I'm riding 5-20 mile paved and gravel road loops in the country and need better foot support, especially as I'm recovering from last year's ankle surgery. It's going to be at least 6 more months before I could consider adding toe clips. What should I think about when choosing bike shoes?

I'd suggest getting a referral to a physical therapist working in sports medicine.

I broke my ankle a couple years ago, then had it rebroken 10 months later as surgery to fix it after it didnt heal properly.

I get ankle breaks. I was able to use spd shoes and pedals 3 months after the surgery. Probably could have been sooner but it was winter and i didnt try.

What happened that you are at least 6mo remkved from surgery and itll be another 6mo before you cpuld use something lkke toe clips?
I cant imagine what could be so severe when part of my bone was removed and a ligament was reattached and that was only 3months off the bike.

I use an arch support in my shoes ,and a wide platform pedal .. I wont say what you should do/.

I'd, also suggest getting a referral to a physical therapist working in sports medicine.

from your orthopedic specialist MD. Not an online bike forum.

Mstateglf I've heard breaks heal faster than tissue. The surgeon had to remove damaged bone, cartiledge and tighten ligaments. Maybe you heal quicker because you are some combo of [young, male, in better shape, have faster healing capabilities]. It was 3 1/2 months before I could drive and another month after that before I was off crutches. I'm continuing to do PT.

But my question was really what makes a good bike shoe with no immediate plan for toe clips? To my untutored eye they all look stiffer (better than my light hikers with arch supports) and expensive which discourages see if something feels good and try it.

A word of caution, after breaking my ankle and grade 2 tear in my ATFL and CFL, I went to regular shoes. I had serious problems with my foot slipping forward off the pedal and caught pedal to the Achilles a couple time. I switched back, and just was really careful with twisting to unclip. It took me nearly a year and a half before I could run again - probably closer to two years before I could actually run properly. Good luck OP.

Probably came off accusatory, didnt mean to. For sure- all heal differently and i was more just curious what went so wrong that would require so much healing time.

Stiffer sole and thinner sole(side to side) are what i consider to be the big differences as compared to running shoes.

Due to shoe size, i dont shop in bike stores as they wont have my size. Instead, i go to amazon, rei online, zappos, backcountry, and nashbar.
All have relatively easy return processes. Nashbar accepts returns of used products. Same with REI. Not saying you should abuse shoes then return, but its quite ok to try em on and try em out then return if they dont fit properly.

No walk in shoe shops to try on shoes?

Healing after ankle break/surgery is extremely variable. I had an ice skater coworker who took well over a year to heal, and I'm not sure it ever properly healed.

I'm not sure what you mean by 'foot support.' Most bike shoes are intentionally stiff in the sole, for better power transfer. This may or may not be a problem for you. I'd think the bigger problem is that with clip-in shoes, the action of clipping out abruptly may exacerbate your injury. And if you crash while clipped in, you could really twist your ankle.

I used to ride my commuter bikes with plastic toe clips, with the strap either missing, or very loose. That might keep you from slipping off the front of the pedal (as deapee mentioned), and give you a bit of stability, but also make it easy to get your foot away in the even you wipe out.

Also, I'm not sure gravel is the best surface. Are you a pretty good rider? I've only taken a hard spill a couple of times, and one of those time I really banged my ankle hard. My wife has weak ankles and is a very aggressive soccer player. She's had good luck with a lightly padded velcro ankle brace. Depending on my injury and the kind of stability you're looking for, that might be a consideration. Get a brace that feels good, then take it to the LBS and try on shoes to see which work with that. Or just wear comfortable sports shoes and use an open plastic toe clip as I mentioned above.

If you're just riding platform pedals with cleats get a running shoe with Vibram soles. Merrell makes some nice examples. Get bright colored shoes. Helps with increasing visibility.

I'd recommend a high topped mt. bike shoe like a Shimano SH-ME7 or something similar.

Bike shoes have stiffer soles where it matters, and even if just using on a platform pedal, they are better then running shoes or hiking boots.

The high side provided some foot support and if you get into longer distance you can move to SPD pedals and clipless cleats. The shoes will be ready to go

I'm very fond of lightweight hiking shoes for the bike. And a decent, spiked, platform pedal. Merrill and Keen are inexpensive and readily available.

I gave up on clip ins & toeclips years ago. (I know, I know. I'm losing all sorts of extra power. Blah blah blah). I've converted all my bikes to ordinary MKS Sylvan platform style pedals. Haven't had any foot or ankle problems since. But, it definitely helps to use an athletic shoe with a compatible tread pattern on the sole. Vibram soles are good. But, Reebok & Nike make great stuff too.

https://www.amazon.com/MKS-Sylvan-To...+sylvan+pedals