dimabear

i have spd's and sidi's -- mountain bike shoes. i feel like i do ok in them. my lbs said though, that i should really consider road shoes as my current shoes have a lot of flex.

anyone else here ride w/ mountain shoes? i was thinking of upgrading the wheels or shoes...

Sirrus Rider

I ride with Mountain shoes. I say if they are comfortable then stay with them.

Velo Dog

I've ridden probably 20,000 miles on my road bikes with mountain shoes. They fit, they work fine, and when I started riding road bikes I had three good pairs of mountain shoes in size 51 or 52, which are expensive and not easy to find. No reason to change that I can see.
FWIW, I also wear a mountain helmet (my commute is into the sun both ways; I love the visor) and mountain shorts, because very few people look good in Lycra.
Bonus: If I'm slower than people I meet on the road, they don't expect much because i look like a geek, and if I'm faster it demoralizes them because a geek rode away from them.

Aero Sapien

find a new lbs, they are just trying to make $ off of you. The flex doesn't really matter honestly unless you are a pro where it will matter. For everyone else, just ride what you have. You will buy new shoes eventually anyway; wait until you actually need to spend the money to pick up some road shoes rather than getting them because of a recommendation from people trying to sell you things

dimabear

great thanks for the replies. i will hold off on shoes until i need to replace my current ones.

guadzilla

Sorry, I disagree. I find it a lot more comfortable to do long rides on my road bike with light shoes and stiff soles, and I am about as far from a pro as it gets (basically, I am the equivalent of Contador on the other end of the scale).

rdl456

No difference, besides. you can walk better in mountain shoes.

Kneez

+1

deepakvrao

+1. Crappy shoes make my toes numb after 80km or so.

Having said that, I am happier with 'good' MTB shoes and pedals on my road bike than 'good' road shoes and pedals.

Dheorl

Seeing as often the mtb shoes seem to effectively be the road shoes with some grips slapped on and different cleat holes I'm not sure why the shop says road shoes will be stiffer.

guadzilla

Depends what sort of MTB shoes you look at - presumably, you are talking about Sidi MTBs and such, right? While there are a few competition-oriented shoes that are similar to what you describe, the majority of MTB shoes I have seen typically tend to very different - the soles are a lot more flexible to allow for walking, the uppers are different (more along the lines of regular sports shoes) and depending on what the purpose is, some have selective protection built in as well.

dcvelo

Which Sidi MTB shoes are you talking about? I have a pair of Dominators I use on my cross bike and they're pretty stiff.

That said, I prefer road pedals to MTB pedals for road cycling...more to do with the cleat than the shoes.

kleinboogie

Not worth the change unless you want optimum performance. If anything they'll make you stronger. I wouldn't sweat it.

Nachoman

I've ridden cheap road shoes and expensive road shoes. I've ridden cheap mountain bike shoes and expensive mountain bike shoes. In my opinion the issue of cheap versus high quality is much more important than road versus mountain.

mzeffex 

I hate when people bring up the point that you should get/stick with mountain shoes because you can walk in them. They're biking shoes.. not walking shoes. You can walk with road shoes to get a cup of coffee, not that hard. If you plan to ride to.. whatever.. the zoo.. and then walk around for 4 hours.. you really shouldn't be using bike shoes at all.

10 Wheels

You can walk better in walking shoes.

BarracksSi

That's what I was thinking. I've got two different pairs of Sidis, one road style and the other MTB style, and it's really hard to tell the difference in terms of stiffness. They're both really different from my Specialized Taho MTB/casual shoes, though.

BarracksSi

I don't like to carry another pair of shoes, so I pick some bike shoes that are good for walking around for four hours (like at the zoo, around museums, at work, etc).

recon455

Can you put road cleats on them? A road pedal will have a wider platform which will keep your foot from rolling. Otherwise, mountain shoes are fine. When I was new to racing I was using mountain shoes and pedals.

roccobike

I rode with SPD MTB shoes for the first three seasons. I recently picked up some LAKE road shoes on sale and I have to admit, they feel better as the ride progresses. They are a pain to walk in compared to the MTB shoes, but IMHO, I now prefer the road shoes. That said, if it were a toss up between buying new shoes or upgrading my wheels, like you asked, I would opt for the wheels.

Banzai

As long as there's a stiff enough sole plate (not for "power transfer"...it's so you don't get hot spots) then just stick with the MTB shoes. My Diadora MTB shoes are the same as the road racing shoe...just different cleat-bolt pattern, and some rubber lugs for walking.

Sidi's Dominator is the same as their road shoe; just different cleat and some rubber lugs.

Eclectus

I have MTB and road shoes and pedals. They're good at different things. MTBs on the road are great for frequent stop-and-starts, and walking around. For the latter, not because they have flexible soles, but because the cleats are recessed. The weight penalty is a consideration. Not a deal-breaker, for me. But I'm a gray-hair. If you are young and racing, you might want to try Sidi Ergos mated to either Speedplay Zero tites or Look Keo carbones.

RT

This is the answer you seek.

Hot Potato

I am with Eclectus. Too many intersections, stops and starts for me to like road shoes. I went back to spd mountain shoes and cleats. I do use the pricey specialized uber-stiff mountain shoes, however, which stay comfortable over the long haul, and I can comfortably clomp around in them without slipping or wobbling. Just one more way that I deviate from the roadie crowd, I guess.

The hundreds of dollars spent on road shoes and pedals was not wasted. I am putting them on a bike I ride in rural farm land, where frequent stops and starts are not an issue.

guadzilla

Pointing out 2 extreme situations doesnt take away from the fact that for the vast majority of situations which fall between those 2 extremes, MTB shoes are indeed more convenient.

V.