Bike Forums - Quick fix for slippery road shoes

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CRAP! I really wish I read this post before purchasing new road cleats for my new road bike that I haven't even gotten yet. I think I may try a rubber compound and level out the bottom surface. I'm most worried about the cleats metal making too much contact w/ ground and causing bad times.

Quote:

Originally Posted by vitualis (Post 6582076)

As per others have already mentioned, if you are going to use SPDs, why use a road shoe? It makes much more sense to get a mountain bike shoe with a stiff sole. The method you have described here would be somewhat more difficult to pull off with road cleats.

The main reasons I did this were:
1.) I already had road shoes that fit and were comfortable so I didn't want to buy new shoes
2.) I started with SPDs on road shoes only because I used to ride MTBs, but planned to switch later on to something like Looks, Shimano Road, Speedplays, or BeBops (which I chose and love so far).

I assumed others may have encountered similar issues with their slick soles so I thought I'd post my DIY solution. If the DIY job doesn't work out, I'll try something else..... but at this point it doesn't make sense vs. simply covering the slick portion on my otherwise good shoes. I recently switched the SPDs out for the BeBops and did not experience any issues. I simply trimmed a little rubber off to allow for the larger cleats, but the overall effect is the same - where there's no cleat, there's rubber... and where's there's rubber, there's no slippage.

Quote:

Originally Posted by vitualis (Post 6582076)

Also, I see you have the A520 pedals on your bike. I used those for a while, but IMHO, they offer no real advantage over standard dual-sided SPD pedals. For the purposes of commuting where you need to clip and unclip often, it is much more practical to go with a mountain bike shoe + M520.

I agree 100%, the benefits of the added platform on the A520 are overrated when you have a sufficiently stiff sole. I would much rather have dual-sided pedals for riding in NYC (hence choosing the Bebops). The A520s should be appearing on eBay shortly.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tumbler (Post 6476122)

Hi everyone,
I've ready several posts from riders who (like me) are frustrated with the slippery soles on their road shoes. Riding in Manhattan, I deal with a lot of stopping and starting at red lights, double parked cars and just about every other road hazard you can imagine. Rather than buy a pair of mountain bike shoes, I decided to first try fixing the primary downside of my road shoes - the slick bottoms.

I walked around Home Depot for about 15 minutes looking for some sort of rubber that could easily be cut and molded to the bottom of my shoes. I decided to go with a standard bath mat, applied with a good strong adhesive. The project cost about $8 and so far I'm very happy with it. I'm able to clip in and out with no trouble whatsoever and the soles have much more grip for times when I need to pedal before flipping the pedal and clipping in.

Wanted to share this incase anyone else was contemplating a similar fix. Would also love to hear if anyone has done something similar and how everything worked out. I'll try to post again in a few days once I've ridden a bit more in them.

http://lh6.google.com/joshkinnebrew/...jpg?imgmax=512

I'll bet if you put the suction cup side down, you could climb walls like a fly!

Rather than coming up with the bath mat getto mod, you should have just bought these shimano touring shoes with the walk around rubber bottom. The SH-RT51.

http://trekbikestore.com/images/libr...1sole_08_f.jpg

http://trekbikestore.com/images/libr..._rt51_08_m.jpg

You're now in the Fred club.

Again.... the point here was that $5 and 30 minutes could reasonably solve my dilemna and eliminate the need for new shoes.

I like my shoes and would rather throw $100 towards something else (for the bike of course)! It's almost like someone posting how they touched up a paint scratch and people are commenting "Why didn't you just buy a new frame?"

Quote:

Originally Posted by tumbler (Post 6603533)

Seems like a good idea to me especially if you don't want to go out and spend more money on another pair of shoes, and some may think you're a "Fred" but you're not the one giving money away on every condition specific item that comes along.
;)

Good job OP, from a fellow frugal biker

Quote:

Originally Posted by tumbler (Post 6476672)

My primary problem was slipping while on the pedal, usually when I'm starting from a red light with cabs and buses honking behind me. I don't always have time to flip the pedal over and clip in before having to get across an intersection. The rubber on the bottom allows me to start pedaling with my right leg clipped in and keep my left leg safely planted on the pedal until I'm moving and can find the clip.

Uh, Shimano makes SPD pedals with clips on both sides. Get those. (I use those with MTN-ish shoes on my road bike. I can walk fine, and I can get clipped in on the first stroke.)

Here are the shoes:
http://www.pearlizumi.com/phpThumb.p...c=&w=400&h=400

Here are the pedals (PD-M520):

http://www.mtbr.com/channels/mtbrevi...uct_362876.jpg

Works for me (tm). :)