jurjan

Hey people,
I've got a strange (perhaps) question.

Normally when going on a holiday we use our shimano's for walking as well.

however, this year we're not going to bike on our big holiday (BOOOOH, HISSS) and I wanted to take my old light trekking shoes.
However, they disintegrated (quite literally) when trying them on to get accustomed to them again.

Now, I need some light A/B style trekking shoes this year, and they need to be sturdy and waterproofish.
My Shimano's are fine, but have two main problems for this years holiday:
The cleat sticks out quite a bit, especially if I'm ONLY using them for walking.
They LEAK, because there are quite a few hole in the soles to let the screws for the cleats through.

Since normally we'd be going on bicycle holidays I'd rather not buy a pair of trekking shoes just for this one holiday (I don't like spending money on just stuff that'll be lying around for years not being used) I'd rather have a pair of shoes that are good hiking shoes but can take (semi-)recessed cleats as well.
And be waterproof on the underside as well (that means NO screws all the way through).

Does anyone have any idea if they shoes exist and if the DO exist if they are any good?

Thanks!

Juha

The SPD type cleat is somewhat recessed as you say, but nevertheless I would not want to do any kind of hiking with them. Waterproofness aside, just the metal plate makes them uncomfortable on hard surface terrain. Also, a good cycling shoe has a very rigid and stiff sole, which is something a good hiking shoe will NOT have. I would use different shoes.

--J

jurjan

Juha,
I would prefer it if it were possible to use spd cleats when cycling and to just not attach them for this holiday.
Not just because (as you rightly say) walking with the cleats is not really comfy / secure for longer periods of time and or scrambling over rocks.
Plus they tend to scratch floors if not careful, since we'd be doing hostels etc. this year I would not be comfortable walking around indoors.

Really, what I'm looking for is the opposite of the normal mountainbike spd shoes (like those I have now),
instead of bike shoes that are usable off bike I'm looking for trekkingshoes that are usable with spd cleats (if that makes ANY sense at all).

thanks for your reaction.

Rowan

Oddly, I have found just about all my MTB cycling shoes about the most comfortable I have ever had -- even with the metal insert. They cover Shimano, Specialized and Diadora varieties.

One suggestion I have is to remove the cleats by unscrewing them and fill the slots and holes with silicon sealer, the same as you would around baths or windows.

I know that the problem you then would have is the depression left in the shoes. You would have to experiment to see if this is an impediment to hiking over the sort of ground you anticipate.

You may be lucky and find your local bike shop has the rubber inserts that often are screwed to the sole of the shoes when they are new. I've removed countless ones of them from new shoes before fitting cleats. Again, there might be issues, depending on the amount of wear your shoes have sustained -- the insert might protrude below the surrounding moulding.

I would suggest strongly that you trial the shoes on wet rocks. All the shoes I have had tended to be somewhat more slippery on wet rock compared with standard hiking boots or shoes.

If the metal insert worries you -- and it shouldn't -- you might slip an expired credit card in its place. The card is stiff enough to "fill" the depression, and is normally an option I use if the shoes produce Morton's neuroma or hotfoot, and are the ideal size.

jurjan

Rowan,
Yeah, I find my shimano's to be very comfy, even when scrambling around on rocks a bit.

mmmhhh, just filling the holes would probably work, then, when we're back, I'd just clean the holes out and screw the cleats back in...

thanks for the idea!

staehpj1

A piece of duct tape (or maybe something thinner like packing tape) under the insole solves this nicely.

jurjan

Staephj1,
Yeah, that's what I hoped too, but I tried that during our last holiday in Ireland (plenty of opportunity to test waterproofness), and it didn't work for more than a few hours.
I think that movement of the foot, combined with a always somewhat damp from sweat environment isn't the best for adhesion of tape.

But perhaps a combined attack plan of filling the holes AND using tape will give good results.

It looks as if there are no off the shelve shoes like the ones I'm looking for.
I think it's DIY time!

Thanks people!

staehpj1

I've had good luck with it, but it probably depends on the surface on the inside of the shoe, the quality of the tape, ambient conditions and so on.

Worst case maybe the filler with silicone sealer under it? The silicone could be dug out later. Just a thought not sure how well it would work...

truman

https://www.cyclelicio.us/2009/09/kee...dio-pedal.html

Rowan

I somehow thought the OP was looking for advice on how to adapt his current cycling shoes without having to purchase another pair for this once-only trekking/hiking type trip.

njkayaker

Seems less than optimal to me (trying to be nice).

I'm not sure what kind of "trekking" you are talking about but some people do hike the Appalachian Trail in running shoes.

It isn't clear that you'd necessarily have to spend a lot of money (maybe, only, $50-100) and you could use the shoes at home for some purpose. I suspect that anything that you'd want to use for cycling would not be very "heavy duty" trekking shoes.

staehpj1

I reread your original post and realize that maybe I misread it the first time. It sounds like for this trip you won't be riding. I am willing to put up with bike shoes for hikes on a bike tour, but if not biking I'd take either a light hiker or more likely a trail runner. Surely you can get lots of use out of a pair of trail running shoes after this trip and nice trail running shoes can be had for under $100. Unless your budget is really tight a pair of trail runners should not strain it much and I can't imagine not getting lots of use out of such a versatile pair of footwear.

Actually, for me, my regular road running shoes would be fine for all but the very most technical trails. I do like my trail runners better though.

Rowan

The OP is in the Netherlands, so prices and applications might be somewhat different over there. I'd also suggest that Europeans tend to be a bit more circumspect than Americans about spending money on items they won't otherwise need after a single use.

staehpj1

Yes, true. Still I can't imagine a pair of trail running shoes not seeing use after a single trip. I am probably biased about that because I trail run and when the shoes get retired from running I wear them for just about everything else except cycling.

njkayaker

It would seem unlikely that he doesn't already own something that would work. We have no idea what he means by "trekking".

positron

why not use pedals that can take "normal shoes" rather than buying cycling specific kit, and thus having to use SPD shoes as hiking shoes?

I would rather have hiking shoes on a platform pedal with power grips, than be stuck walking around in cycling shoes....

njkayaker

It appears that the cycling and trekking uses don't overlap. He's doing a "one off" trekking trip and wants to use cycling shoes (because he has a general use for those).

It would seem that shoes appropriate for "heavy duty" trekking would make horrible cycling shoes (too heavy and too restrictive for ankle movement) and he probably has non-cycling shoes that would work OK for basic trekking.

Sixty Fiver

Like so many things, shoe choice is going to be a very personal one and what works for me won't work for you.

Have been moving to using clipless more and more here because of health issues and have been rotating a pair of Adidas mtb shoes and a more commuter and street friendly LG shoe... I also have road shoes but these are no good for anything but riding when you know you aren't getting off the bike.

The mtb shoes are harder than the commuter shoes and feel much like my road shoes when it comes to power transfer and are fairly comfortable shoes on the ground (will tour with these) while the LG shoes are a little softer and a great walking shoe as well as a decent riding shoe so they see more day to day use.

The things that make a shoe good on a bike are what make them bad on the ground and there will be some compromise to be made.

My old Diadoras are great cycling shoes but with very little recess for the cleat are poor walking shoes.

And they all leak unless you do a little work on them.

staehpj1

Hopefully he will chime in about what exactly trekking means to him. I took it to just mean hiking, but could be way off base with that assumption.

Wikipedia says the following:
"Trekking means a journey to be undertaken on foot in areas where means of transport(vehicle) is generally not available. Trekking always refers to walking on trails; it does not entail cross-country scrambling. Trekking is not mountaineering but just days of walking."

Sounds like running shoes would be fine for that.