I just bought a pair of Transit Regster SPD sandals from Performance Bicycle. Theyŕe pretty comfortable as cycling sandals. For $36 it was money well spent.
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...08ecf684a6.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...0f189979bf.jpg

I was concerned about being able to clip out after knee surgery so I put flat/SPD pedals on a road bike. Turns out I could clip out just fine but the flats are perfect when riding with grandkids. You put your feet down a lot when riding with 5 year olds. Nice benefit to the flat side of the pedal.

Mike

Thank-you for putting this up, it perfectly shows the real reason for clipless pedals is misunderstood. Clipless pedals are not in reality a performance addition except for the top tenth of one-percent of riders who actually ride for money. For 99.9% of cyclists they are a crutch exactly like an E-bike, a device to help those who do not have the coordination or muscle memory or development, skill or practice to keep their feet on the pedals without a lot of help. These people could seriously hurt themselves riding flat pedals, so it is nice that they have this type of accessory to help them, just like E-bikes are there to help people without the fitness to go on long rides without the help of batteries and motors.

Clipless pedals (and other forms of foot retention) are a "crutch" for bike riders in the same sense that shoes are a crutch for walkers and runners (and bike riders). Walk or run or ride enough while barefoot, and you won't need shoes.

How do you come up with this stuff? This is pretty far out in left field, even for you.

Aften and Five Ten make nice shoes for flats. Even Vans still does, I think.
https://media.alltricks.com/large/5bed7fa1bfd9d.jpg
https://keyassets.timeincuk.net/insp...ck-630x354.jpg
http://ep1.pinkbike.org/p5pb12457856/p5pb12457856.jpg

This is the best way to know what you think and will tell you more than any advice given here.

I've only ridden 25000+km in the last 2.5 years, pretty much all of that clipped in. Tell me again how I know nothing about how to keep my feet on flat pedals. 🤦‍♂️

This is like asking the crazy guy on the corner how he comes up with his conspiracy theories, after he tells you aliens are invading the Earth disguised as avocados.

What?? You mean they aren't?

No, that would be stupid on their part -- they'd be thrown on toast and devoured by Millennials before they could establish an operating base.

...these sort of come and go in the mountain bike shoe marketing demographic. The last time I found some, I bought two pair, but it was only a few years ago. They do have a provision for attaching some sort of clipless cleat, but they also come with a little rubber plate you can use to cover the hole in the sole that leaves. So they look pretty much like a rubber soled running shoe upper, with a stiffer cycling last that it's built around.

If you go on Amazon, and search Men's Mountain Bike Shoe, it more or less shows what's currently available.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...449c4fde7e.jpg

Why? Simple economics -- the C&V segment is small, and it tends to not spend money on new products as freely as other segments.

I haven't read this whole thread, but of toe clips + straps, toe clips + straps + cleats, SDP, and pinned flats, I like the pinned flats the best. The pins provide a lot of retention without forcing my foot and legs into one position with or without a little variation.

The Five Tens are very good, up to a point, if you use them on the road. For me, it's 30 miles, after which point the soles just aren't stiff enough for me. YMMV.

For shoes that look good and work as well on flat pedals as carbon-soled wonders do on clipless, one could buy the shoes one wants and have a shoemaker attach, say, a Vibram sole to your shoes of choice. The pins will grab the Vibram, and the shoes might even be stiffer on pinned flats than on 'clipless' pedals. One can even DIY attach the soles of one's choice to the shoes.

...this is why all the call girl threads get started in General Cycling, and not in C+V.

So attitudes can change.

In probably 1994, at about the age of 15, I got my first pair of clipless pedals. I still remember them, Onza HO Ti. I got them with either paper route money or Burger King money. Either way, my parents weren't pleased.

What followed were decades of riding clipped in. MTB, Triathlon, Road Racing, Singlespeed messing around, and even a pedicab tricycle. If it pedalled, I damn well better be clipped to it.

Last year I bought a new mountain bike, a slack geometry long travel hardtail. Down-country, party hardtail, milf magnet. I don't care what you call it. It didn't seem right to ride it the way it was designed while clipped in so I bought some flat pedals for it and moved my whole family to the PNW, and left all my other shoes and pedals in storage in Colorado. After more than a year of giving the dirt more hell than I've given it since I was 18, I'm convinced. Off road on flats is the way to go. I've yet to even shred my legs, I think that's either a rumor or incompetence. I wouldn't switch back now.

I'm still clipped in on my gravel bike, trainer, and road bike. That's not going to change. The more uniform circles I can pedal decrease my fatigue and increase my ride satisfaction. They probably don't speed me up.

What kind of soles do those have?

Wow!

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...41f56a7793.jpg
Left to right:
'5' brand (Adidas) stealth clipless shoes (says so right on 'em!)
'Speed' brand Chinese road shoes from eBay
Matt Berger Ethnies skating shoes, for toe-clips w/o cleats (not particularly stiff-soled, though)

Pictures of the Lem’s Primal Zen I mentioned in this thread:


https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...ef8500f4a.jpeg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...8296ad1a9.jpeg

If you want shoes that are foot-shaped, rather than feet that are shoe-shaped, these may be of interest. They also come in suede, each in several colors or the Chillum would be similar style but with mostly canvas uppers.

Otto

The earlier suggestion that clipless pedals represent a "crutch," suitable only for saving inexpert riders from their own ineptitude, rang a faint bell. Finally I remembered. Excelsior!

"Bartali has his toes crossed; he's pulling UP on the pedals!!"

I totally understand his preference. It gives you the ability to rest/move the load around to different parts of your body without getting off the bike. I ride in SPD shoes and 2 sided pedals. One side is flat. As a fast twitcher, I need all the help I can get at fighting off the cramps on long rides. I can unclip a shoe/foot, flip to the flat side and move the foot around to give something some rest. In fact, once the ride gets in the 80 mile+ range, I might get off and walk up a hill that I have more than enough gearing to get up. The body will be saying, "If you try to ride up that hill, something is going to cramp so bad that you'll be finished for the day and have to make the call of shame." That's life.

I tried clipless years ago when a serious cyclist said they make him more efficient because he can pull up with the other foot at the same time he’s pushing down worn one foot.

I found that they DO make me more efficient not for that reason, but because it’s easier for the pulling back part of circular pedaling. On flats, one has to point the toes down and have very good traction on the pedal for this. I’d rather spend that energy toward circular pedaling.

I did fall once before I realized how much force is required to unclip. Very embarrassing and I’m glad it wasn’t in traffic.

Except for bike shares and cruisers, I really don't recall experience of riding flat pedals on a road ride. What exactly is it like or is it a lot more difficult though to spin 110 rpm on flats? I would think that the rpm speed, which inherently means less weight on the pedals (vs. 80-90 rpm e.g.) might be a more iffy proposition. But this is an unscientifically based theory.