ShelterIslJoe

The bike industry has seemingly gone nuts catering solely to the needs of triathletes and racers. Really, finding good comfortable shoes that are not $400-500 (cleats, shims, inserts, and orthotics extra) also with limited pedal compatability is a major task. Bet there are a lot more of us "informal individual and club riders." Yet the number of manufacturers designing cycling shoes for us is tiny. We may not be lusting after the latest innovations but we still have significant money to spend. Time to get smart

shelbyfv

YOU REALLY DON'T NEED TO SHOUT. PLEASE.

Iride01 

So start you up a business to make them. If it's a winning plan or even just a ho-hum design, you'll make good on your investment and can thumb your nose at us nay sayers.

dkatz1

I have orthopedic issues that make clipless not really possible. I wore toe clips for several years. Then i switche to straps, which I like a lot better than then toe clips. These were on rat trap pedals. Then I switched to a kind of strap that only worked with platform pedals....

indyfabz

No. My PI SPD shoes that I commute and tour with were around $100. Plenty of other decent shoes for way under $400-$500.

PaulRivers

In addition to clipless, would also point out if you want regular shoes with no clups nowadays you can go with five tensl mtn bike shoes and pedals with pins. It's what I use, your feet won't slip, and you also don't have change shoes before jumping on the bike or going inside to eat.

Just an fyi, clipless is fine to.

Broctoon

Have you actually looked at what’s available? Lots of designs for MTB, touring/commuting, and casual riding that are walkable, very easy to use, and cost about $100 for shoes, plus maybe $100 (sometimes less) for the pedals. Cleats are included. No shims or special insoles needed.

If you don’t want to go clipless, that’s fine. Different strokes, as they say. But you’re looking at the price and downsides of the most extreme, elite level equipment and suggesting that’s how all clipless pedals are. If they’re so expensive and impractical, why are millions of people using them, and how did they catch on decades ago, then continuously gain popularity?

GregU

I bought those adapters to do Eroica California. It was so painful using cleats and toe straps again, I just went with touring shoes with SPD cleats (Giro Republic), but rode them on flat pedals for Eroica and use the SPDs on my touring bike.

Maelochs

I use SPD off-raod and on my working/rain/touring bike. I can walk just fine in SPD-specific shoes, which cost more than Walmart sneakers but also work better for what I need, all around.

I did straps for years .... and flat pedals for longer (for urban commuting I want the option of dumping the bike immediately--too much can go wrong too quickly in a crazy city environment.)

I have maybe twice not been able to get a foot free from rat-traps/toestraps. It can happen. And I have a couple times not unclipped in time and fallen off using clipless .... but not in a Loooong time. Not too hard to master, and less likely to fail randomly than straps in my experience (the shoe can hang up in the straps in a rapid release, ... friction, catch a bit of tread on the sole or stitching on the side or whatever.)

Clipless is just better, IMO. And anyone paying $500 for shoes can pay $500 for shoes, and should stop whining. On almost no budget I can get into clipless shoes and pedals ... just shop around. Look for closeouts, buy off-brands.

As for hordes of old riders wanting whatever .... if there is a need, use that good old U.S.A. entrepreneurial spirit and start the business. get rich and come back here to laugh at us. I am cool with that.

big chainring 

​​​​​These were my choice of cleats back in the day. Molded to fit Campy NR pedals. Difficult to get into your clips, and forget about trying to get out. Combined with Binda Extra straps they were as solid a connection as you could get.

PFH

I tried the Yellow jersey blue cleats. They have several flaws, and I don't recommend them.

The surface that the bolt head sits on slanted and is not perpendicular to the bolt. In other words, the bolt head doesn't sit flat on the cleat, and it is stressed from one side, and this might lead to a fracture. Also I found that it was a problem keeping the bolt tight.

The slot was too narrow for my fairly standard size alloy MKS pedals. Spent some time with an exacto blade and small file to make a fit. Also, the front edges of the cleats needed trimming to fit inside the pedals.

There is not enough material behind the slot in the cleat. Depending on how much space you have between the tip of your shoe and the toe clip, it's possible to slide your foot in too far, bypassing the slot and getting the pedal cage stuck behind the entire cleat.

The cleats are very slippery on pavement. Dangerous even at a stop light when you just need to put your foot down.

The Exustar plastic cleats are much better. Half the price (SJSCycles). They have a square of somewhat rubbery material (yellow) behind the slot, which makes them less slippery on the ground. The slot is the right size. The bolts fit well. However, they are narrow. It is possible to twist your ankle when walking or putting your foot down at a stop. I tried gluing a pair of little rubber feet on the shoe on either side of the cleat for more stability, but these eventually fell off.

After riding toe clips and straps for several decades, I finally put on some Shimano 550 clipless pedals. Really like 'em. A little better power transfer. Easy to get in and out of (easier than toe clips). They come with cleats that very wide with rubber feet at the corners. Much more stable on the ground. Also, it's nice when walking the bike to not have toe clips scraping the floors or the ground, or getting caught on other bikes or the bike rack, etc.

shelbyfv

+1 Yep, pretty much what the entire cycling world has figured out over the past 20 years. Some cycling innovations actually are improvements, not just cynical schemes by marketeers to separate us from our $.