fourteenhams

So I've been commuting on my road bike for a few years now, and I recently switched to fixed. Part of the reason I switched was I wanted to wear regular shoes (not clipless). Now I find my good sneakers don't fit in the toe clips very well and my Chucks flex too much (lost power), and hurt my feet if I spend more that an hour or so on the bike. Should I change shoes, pedals or both? I'm using MKS track pedals.

jpdesjar

i would say change up your shoes, i bought some onitsuka tigers and the soles are hard enough to transfer power well and my feet don't hurt eithe and they are slender...i am riding some mks sylvan lites right now, i also wear some softer soled puma sneakers and they work alright for short rides and practicing tricks and such...

bape

i'd say get some mks gr-9's platform pedals.great for sneaker riding.

surfimp

I have some cheeseball Wellgo pedals and wear slip on Vans, and have no worries/complaints at all. Maybe you need to HTFU?

I tease! I tease!

Steve

ctfinnigan

I wear Vans Authentics and have no complaints. I've also seen a lot of Tigers and Sauconys on fixed riders.

ZiP0082

i rock adidas rod lavers, and they've held up very well so far with clips & straps on normal road pedals.

iansmash

I bike in Nike Air Max 180's and I feel like the soles are just strong enough to have good power transfer w/o being clunky. I think alot of running shoes will have the right dimensions and still have a decent sole too.

dobber

I like the new MKS Grip King



If your riding that kind of distance on your bike, track pedals aren't the best option. You need more platform, something like the aforementioned Gr-9

Robotronik

I like the Onitsuka's but after about 6 months or so of regular use they start to stretch and the soles become more flexible.

Van's slip-ons are my regular riding shoes but I also have a pair of Adidas Superstar IIs that are much better for long riding but are harder to get in and out of the straps.

Aeroplane

I don't understand this... why couldn't you wear regular shoes on your road bike? I'm much more willing to ride a coasting bike without clipless pedals than my fixed gear.

RichPugh

I've found riding in metal toeclips on MKS sylvan pedals causes my 2nd toe (1st from the big toe) to get sore when lifting on the toeclip to slow down/skip/skid unless I wear a leather toecap shoe like my gusseted halfcabs. Any suede, canvas or cloth toecap shoe hurts me.

I ride in these:

fourteenhams

Thanks for the info guys. I bought some of the MKS GR-9s. Only 30 bucks from Harris. I might get some of those Onitsukas too those things look awsome.

Wearing regular shoes was just one of the many reasons I switched to fixed. Some others include; better in wet wether; simpler mechanics; don't want to leave my road bike unattend for potentialy long periods of time.

hxzero

Why not singlespeed? Anyway, I wear stan smiths and chuck taylors when riding (i use gr-9s and ALE toe clips/straps) and they're great because of the rubber cap or shell toe.

fetch

GR-9 and you will be happy


i love my tigers, depending on which style you get they very in thickness at the sole. even though i preferred mexico and ultimate81 styles.

JoeEasy

samba!

Lager93

slip-on vans are great for clips.

jpdesjar

+10
love my tigers too, ultimates

jimisnowhere

I got skate shoes and cut out the huge puffy tongue. They work well.

ADSR

With the caveat that I'm a complete noob, my slipon vans let my feet move around a little too much for comfort. My old school vans are great because I can tighten them down more and then tuck the laces in. I also remember reading somewhere that indoor soccer shoes work well.

xiamsammyx

no one has mentioned, make sure you get clips that are the right size for your feet, i rode in mediums to try to eliminated to overlap and that lasted all of about 2 days cuz it killed my feet.

stevo

.....still dont get it......

in any case, I do almost all my riding in chucks. very comfortable on platorm/bmx pedals for all-day rides. give 'em a try. (and you're not losting power; you just think you are).

jpdesjar

what are the other reasons for switching to fixed?
i agree it is nice to wear regular shoes to ride...i like wearing my slip ons without socks when practicing tricks, i seem to have more control over the pedal

Yoshi

Another reason he switched to fix was so that he could use a brooks saddle.

Pennywize

vans authentics

stevo

ahhhhhhh, now i get it.

I'm dying to rock some road drops w/hoods, but dont want to go back to a multispeed bike.