Leebo

I use flat pedals for commuting, touring, and winter mt biking. Make your own rules. As said, get something with a stiff sole, I like sandals or low waterproof hiking boots.

alan s 

Preferably something to hide those toes.

10 Wheels

I likes the RED

mstateglfr 

Ok, if vanity is what motivates you, instead of the Five Ten option just get any of the hundreds of MTB shoes from PearIzumi, Shimano, Giro, etc.
Just dont take the cleat cover off the bottom and its a shoe that will have a stiffer sole than a running shoe, a thinner heel than a running shoe, and will still make you look like a real live cyclist.

Pearl Izumi has a bunch of options. X-Alp Drift series is one of a few different series with multiple models. This is the XAlp Drift III.

https://www.amazon.com/Pearl-Izumi-R.../dp/B00FNG7608

BlarneyHammer

Trail runners, and add a stiff insole.

Keep the thin flexy insole the shoes came with. When you're done with the day's ride, swap. Feels like you put on a different pair of shoes, and gives part of your shoes a chance to air out.

shipwreck

I understand the desire for a shoe that is narrower with a thinner sole that is stiff enough. Cant help you there except to just echo the get a cycling shoe and dont put cleats on it advice you have already gotten.
What I dont get is the second sentence. What is bad about the roads that keeps you from using some sort of SPD?
[IMG]securedownload by maruishi, on Flickr[/IMG]

Spd pedals and shoes are pretty decent, and have taken people on some pretty hairy trips.

I am by no means a proponent of clipless pedals and mostly use flats with cheap sandals and socks, even in the winter. The "look", whatever that is, is less important than the result. Do some tours before you determine your fashionista touring quotient.

zze86

What if you want to do a bit of hiking as well or bushwacking a bit (like say trying to get a honeyhole fishing spot)? Do you just bring a pair of extra boots along or hike in with the bike shoes?

GamblerGORD53

I have worn Steel toe shoes for 8 years. Good on any ground, with a stiff sole. Really safe in crash situations also. My pedals have spikes, so slipping not possible either.

Squeezebox

I wouldn't run in cycling shoes. I wouldn't cycle in running shoes. Cycling shoes are designed the way they are for very specific reasons. They are simply the best shoe for cycling. MTB shoes are good enough for short walks. Just bring some slip on shoes for off the bicycle. Best of both worlds.

AdvXtrm

I prefer a good pair of close-toed sandals in anything but really cold and wet weather. When it is too cold and wet for them, I go for my waterproof boots. But as said before here, it's all a matter personal preference. You may need to experiment with some different options to come to your own conclusions about what works best for you.

Machka 

Rowan and I rode a century (100 miles) today. I forgot my Lake mtn bike cycling shoes (which I wear while riding my road bicycles) and had to wear runners.

There's a reason we cyclists wear cycling-specific shoes. My feet are killing me!!

staehpj1

I am a little curious why you say they wouldn't be suitable on bad roads. I always found spd pedals and shoes to be suitable for everything from smooth paved roads to very technical single track. I started using spd for racing and general recreational riding on the difficult single track of western Pennsylvania, western Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia as soon as they came out (1990?) and have never found conditions where they didn't work out okay. The rougher the conditions the more I appreciate being firmly clipped in.

On your original question, if I were to want to ride on non-clipless pedals I'd go with my trail runners. I don't consider them ideal on the bike, but they are okay as non-bike shoes go and great for off bike use, especially if you do a lot of side hikes. I will sometimes carry a second pair of shoes if a trip will involve a lot of longer side hikes in rocky terrain and those would be trail runners.

In all cases, whether bike shoes or trail runners, I prefer shoes with a lot of mesh. If there will be really cold conditions I might use shoe covers, but have never done so on tour even when there were some very cold nights and cool days. I typically only use shoe covers around home and then only in sub 20F weather. Since I moved to Tallahassee I'll probably not use them again.

Chuck Naill

There does seem to be a one size fits all or should fit all on this forum regarding apparel. What is best is subjective and it assumes everyone uses a bicycle for the same purposes. I remember someone starting an argument over their preference for bibs vs shorts. Good grief.

Personally I took off the SPD type and replaced with clips, the deeper ones made by MKS , which will accommodate any shoe from boot to running.

Also, I am nothing going to spend $80-100 on a pair of shoes that can only do on thing. I also thought the mountain bike shoes reminded me of my first running shoes 35 years ago that were heavy as lead.

azza_333

Rigid shoes on flat pedals HA HA HA, your feet already has a rigid structure, its called your bones. The reason people say get rigid soles is for Clipless pedals, where the contract point is tiny and all the pressure is concentrated on that point, with flat pedals the contact point is massive, so rigidity is not needed, think about it if you took out the studs from flat pedals you could ride bare foot. If you tried that with clipless it would be quite an unpleasant experience.

Happy Feet

Well no, not really.

The bones of the foot do not create a rigid structure at all and most platform pedals only accommodate the ball of the foot at most. This allows for flexing of the instep/arch area when power is applied on the downstroke. With overuse it can lead to pain in that region or create an overlengthening or hypertensioning of the Achilles, which may result in tendon or calf muscle pain.

The big "if" is how far one rides and what shape the foot region is in. For moderate distances in reasonable shape, no overuse pain may be felt. Longer distances, more power applied, or poor conditioning may all factor into its appearance.

Personally I like a wide platform with a stiff leather walking shoe so I can just bring one pair of footwear because I'm into the UL thing pretty hardcore and no self respecting ultralighter brings two pairs of shoes

Really though, I find that to be a good compromise for biking/walking tours but also have spd's for more ride specific needs.

Squeezebox

I'll agree with happy feet. I've got a foot problem flat pedals cause me trouble that stiff cycling shoes do not.
As what happened to Machka. I forgot my cycling shoes once and rode in crocs. I took a couple of weeks for my legs to recover. Once I borrowed a friends cycling shoes, same size but different adjustment. Same results.
As far as "bad roads" the worse the road the more I need my feet to be secure to the pedals. IMHO cycling shoes prevent crashes not cause them.
For me cycling shoes are very much worth the tiny bit of trouble to change to walking shoes when needed. Generally I use crocs.
But some people do use other stuff and they are not dead yet.

Rowan

Honestly, you don't know what you are talking about.

The reason why cycling shoes are what they are is because of the very stiff backbone or soles they have. Yes, the "contact" point on clipless pedals might be small, but the hard area the shoe presents to the foot is far superior and much greater than that offered by a flat pedal to (a) a bare foot or (b) a soft-soles runner with no stiff spine. The shoe's sole itself presents as an entire platform for the foot.

Even if I was to runn flat pedals on my bikes, I would be choosing the stiffest soled hiking shoes I could find to ride on them. Even Blundstone type work boots weren't the best on flat pedals, as I found six years of commuting that way.

Shimano's sandals are probably a good demonstration of the differences. They are very stiff in the soles compared with ordinary, "generic" sandles that I have. I would choose the sandals over the generic ones for touring.

Obviously it is just me... but I also find stiff-soles MTB shoes to be among the most comfortable for walking in.

I do have combination pedals on my touring and Bike Friday bicycles, but the flats are used for very casual riding from campsite to dinner with flipflops or runners; they are not meant for loaded riding over any sort of distance.

Rowan

By the way, hotfoot is a result of the foot's inability to keep its shape. Morton's neuroma, or hot foot is the result of the metatarsal bones -- the small ones behind the toes -- collapsing on to themselves and pinching the nerves that run through them, resulting in numbness.

Metatarsal "buttons" on some insoles -- Specialized makes them -- can help relieve this in cycling shoes particularly by keeping the metatarsals spread.

Hot foot is not a cycling-specific issue, but does have a lot to do with design of the shoe. Women who wear high fashion don't admit this very often, but hot foot from wearing high heels can be a significant issue because the metatarsals are compressed so badly into poorly design footbeds.

AdvXtrm

I think that's exactly right from my experience as well. My problem is that while off the bike and walking, those stiff soles put way too much unnatural fore and aft shifting of the knee-joint.

shelbyfv

MTB shoes you can walk in, SPD pedals if you are actually riding the bike.

azza_333

I like to ride in Vibram FiveFingers, the soles are about as still as a wet noodle, I ride with dual sided pedals (one side flat, the other MTB SPD) and using those shoes I have ridden long distance many many times, 100km-320km in a day. I have tried stiff soled shoes, and they provide no benefit, your contact point for cycling is the ball of your foot, so the only stiffness you need is on the ball, and the flat pedal provides all the stiffness you need.

Machka 

You're probably too young to remember, but back in the day (1980s and earlier), platform pedals were smooth rubber things and we did ride barefoot.

But not long distances ... mostly just around the local neighbourhood or to the park ... because it was too uncomfortable to ride any further.

It is so much more comfortable to ride with a shoe designed for cycling.

johnu

I second that!

Squeezebox

cycling cleats don't have to be small, and create a "hot spot". I had that hot spot problem with a pr of road shoes, I bought better shoes and pedals with a larger cleat. Look style. But unfortunately we're pretty much stuck with SPDs for MTB shoes. I did see that speedplay makes a MTB pedal/cleat but it doesn't look any bigger than SPDs

rumrunn6

I think I need wider platform pedals. they're not as wide as my feet