What kind of shoes do you wear?
 

I need new riding shoes, not riding only but shoes I can use to ride to work, school, the store, etc. What type of shoes do u guys use for these type of activities. I do have Shimano SH-R087 that I use for riding only setting but like I said I want some sneakers or comfortable shoes that I wont mind ruining or mistreating.

I used to think you needed bicycle shoes and toe clips. I never used the so called clipless peadals. Now I just wear any shoe with platform pedals.

Grant Petersen on the Rivendell site, and in his book, Just Ride, exposes the shoes ruse as just another thing to buy so you look like a racer.

I ride in whatever I am wearing to wherever I am headed. Church...dress shoes, grocery store...sneakers, work boots, Crocs, or? Some of my bikes have plain platform pedals, some have half clips, some have full toe clips, a couple of Power Grips. I rode my expedition bike to the farm store the other day to pick up some special order parts for one of my tractors, wore a set of Wellies...it had been raining. :D

Aaron :)

You may laugh, but since I gave up cleats, straps, toe clips, dedicated cycling shoes, and two kinds of clipless pedals, I've gone to plastic, flip-over pedals (a good brand at that). For shoes I'm using beach/wading shoes, with stiff insoles and heel cups. They're snug, comfy, walkable, and lightweight. No purist BS here...

Yes, he says it. Doesn't make it true. :)

I have dual sided pedals (SPD on one side, platform on the other), so I can wear anything. I almost always clip in, so that means either my MTB shoes or Nashbar Ragster sandals.

Converse All Star Chucks in rainbow, flats with studs on every bike I own. Can hop on anything and ride within seconds. My feet used to get numb with clipless, not enough movement over the miles. My feet are happy now and I haven't ever lost my footing so for me, flats and rubber soled shoes work just fine.

I just use some well broken in Vans on platform pedals and have never had a problem with my feet slipping.

IMO, clips and straps and all of that stuff is a huge pain the you know what. Plus, I'm afraid that should I ever need to stop and put my foot out for balance quickly, or something like that, I won't be able to get my toes or shoes or feet out of whatever god forsaken contraption I've got them in.

Me, I just wear my Onitsuka Tigers (which I basically wear daily anyway) on a plain old flat pedals. Easy on. Easy off. Zero hassle. Comfy.

Birkenstocks , Why do you need to know this?:fred:

I wore Cons when I started riding in 1973. They sucked - the sole was way too flexible. Maybe that has changed since way back then.

Almost always wear Shimano mtn-style SPD shoes. Two of my bikes have pedals with plain cage/bmx platform/pinned on one side so I do have the sneakers options which I occasionally take advantage of.

I wear running shoes year round, any time, any where. Same when I ride.


http://thefrugalhamstercyclist.blogspot.com/
Twitter @jdfry3

Vans authentic are the sh** right now. I also heard Adidas Sambas are good for riding. The cadence x DVS shoes look cool too, but they might make walking around uncomfortable because they have a nylon shank in the sole for stiffness.

Pearl Izumi Bike and Run.
They wear like running shoes but have provisions for SPD cleats.

something like these:
http://www.performancebike.com/bikes...38_-1___000000

I used to do clipless exclusively.
But now I ride regular street shoes with MKS touring pedals. So much fun to jump on and off the bike and not feel wierd walking around in clipless shoes.
I don't think I will ever ride clipless again. I hope not.

I usually wear combat boots :lol:

Well some of what Grant says is true, but some isn't. It's just his philosophy but you don't have to buy into it unless you want to. Shoes can be a ruse to look like a racer especially the more expensive carbon fiber wonder shoes, but you can't walk in those shoes. So what Grant is saying is that it's nice to ride a bike somewhere, like to another town, and be able to walk around, and to that I agree. So I wear mountain bike shoes on my road bike and I like the Shimano Multi Use Touring Shoe, but I also have a set of cheaper Nashbar MTB shoes too that work great. I can use those in my clipless or clip pedals, but I also have a pair of road bike shoes dedicated to clip in style with the cleat on the bottom that slides onto the cage and the cage fits a slot built into the cleat so the foot can't slide off the pedal.

But a dedicated shoe allows you to use a pedal to either clip into or for toe straps, even though the two mtb shoes I have don't have the clip style cleats the lugs on the shoes prevent my foot from slipping off the pedals when I use the straps.

There's also a really nice dress shoe for clip style, simply remove the cleat and walk around, but they are expensive; see: http://www.dromarti.com/index.php?ma...e223417643d0aa They come in brown or black.

I run 50/50 pedals on most of the daily drivers... I wear often wear spd shoes (mtn and touring) as the neuropathy in my left leg can make keeping my foot in place a challenge and with my feet attached I am a more efficient cyclist and can generate near normal power levels.

For more aggressive riding it is clipless pedals all the way... I run Look pedals on my road bike.

So on this, Grant can suck it.

:)

On better days I often wear my Merrel barefoot shoes which work well with half step pedals and even work well with toe clips which are quite effective at preventing lateral movement... my Adidas Stan Smith tennis shoes are great for this and I have some excellent Uvex cycling shoes that are well designed for clips and straps.

Today we pootled around Portland and i rode the Raleigh 20 with my Merrels on MKS Stream pedals.

New balance 420. Very comfy.

For me, regular shoes with toestraps have been very comfortable. But I can't for the life of me find the right clip in setup. I've been through 4-5 shoes now, and as a last resort, ordered a pair of sandals. Went out for my first ride in those sandals today, and felt the same discomfort as I always get with clipless pedals. I don't get it...... My foot is in the exact same location going from toestraps to clipless pedals.

Grant Petersen on the Rivendell site, and in his book, Just Ride, exposes the shoes ruse as just another thing to buy so you look like a racer.

I certainly disagree. I have trouble keeping my heels down without the stiff soles of bike shoes. I use them even though I'm riding platform pedals. The only regular 'shoe' I've found I can wear without problem are my Birks. But I usually only wear them riding at the beach.

Walking shoes with 1/2 clips work pretty well for my riding.

Adidas Sambas, clogs

+1 Me too, the classic Vans, but I do use toe clips with them.

What about the ruse of spending $3000+ on a bike for plain normal riding that doesn't do it much better than any other bike so you can convince yourself you have good taste? Let people who spend thousands of dollars on a bike be vain and look like whatever they want to look like and buy whatever suits their tastes. If you're going to question if someone really needs to spend money on a con industry to go a little faster, you can ask if someone really needs to spend the same money to look dashingly good on boutique steel. At least wannabe racers get to think they look good, have good taste, and they go an extra mph faster.

You know guys the OP hasn't been back in a week? How important can the information be? :eek: Seems to me that most people that have given suggestions pretty much covered what he needs to know. Other than anything related to Grant Peterson which is like getting flying lessons from the Red Barron on how to fly a Stealth fighter. (I know that is sticking the stick in the pot but I have never made any bones on how I feel about his book.):D

But the short answer is if he wants a stiff sole for a lot of riding, without clips or clipless, then platforms and Skate Board shoes would work pretty well. But then if you only ride a block or two a day what does it matter? Flip flops would work on SS city bikes or beach cruisers. :rolleyes: