I am told by more experienced cyclers that clipless is THE ONLY way to go. Sounds OK to me. Problem is I cannot find (so far) any shoes wide enough. My standard non-cycle shoe is a New Balance 8 or 8.5 EEEE. Any suggestions, or I am I the only wide-foot who wants to bike tour?

Carnac makes wide cycling shoes but I don't know if they come THAT wide.

Experienced cyclists tell me the same, so when getting my bike ready for spring I mounted clipless pedals, or hybrids so to speak. Today I bought the shoes and I’ve just come back from the test ride. What a feeling!

The shoes I bought were also ”hybrids” (I guess all these things have names that I don’t know), so you can walk around in them – perfect for the tour.

And now to my point: These shoes are quite wide, or look like that at least. I’ll publish a photo for you as soon as I’ve developed the film. Sweet Cannondales.

You guys are obviously talking to the wrong "experienced cyclists".
Clipless pedal systems are pretty much essential for competition, and for fast sport touring, but for other kinds of riding, they are optional.
The alternative is toe clips and straps, which I and many experienced riders still use. Stiff soled hiking/trail shoes are quite efficient enough for leisurely riding, even over long distance. They are better for walking in, and winter versions are easier to come by.

The advantages of clipless are higher efficiency.The dissadvantages are:
Road versions cannot be used for walking, so you need to carry walking shoes.
MTB versions have a hole in the midsole where the maximum stress is concentrated. Split and cracked soles are not unusual in heaviliy used shoes.
In cold weather the metal plate inside the shoe conducts heat away from your feet.
It is hard to waterproof the slots in the midsole.
The metal cleat can be slippery on trecherous surfaces such as seaweed covered rocks by the coast.

The failure mode of worn MTB cleats is fail-to-release.
If you are on a long tour and your cleats fail to release, you will be stuck on the bike till the end of the tour

Clipless systems also cost a lot more.

Dont feel compelled to use clipless, but if you want to thats fine.
If you use toe clips, use a good pedal , such as MKS. Chose a clip the right side (s/m/l), chose a shoe with a clean profile so it wont catch (avoid unnecessary moulding), and dont cinch the straps tight. Most of the criticisms of toe clips come from their mis-use.

I wasn’t fair to the cyclists I talked to. They told me that after I had told them about my upcoming tour! Otherwise neither I nor they think that clipless is a must.

I’ve biked 2 days with clipless now and it certainly is a different feeling. I think I like it, I even dreamed about it tonight.

Why is it called clipless? There is a clip, isn’t there? In contrast to normal, plane pedals. :confused:

They are called clipless, compared to toe clips.
Of course clipless systems are a huge improvement over a plain pedal, but so are toe clips.

Going from toe-clips to a clipless system there is an improvment in efficiency, but it is not such a huge leap as from plain pedals to toe-clips.

plain ----------------------------------->toe-clips------->clipless

I love step-in pedals (everyone else calls them clipless).

I use Shimano's double-sided MTB pedals (M535) with touring style shoes where the cleats are mounted into a recess. They are easy to walk in. I also find them VERY helpful for climbing long hills and mountain passes.

I have gotten so accustomed to step-in pedals that I can no longer ride with toe-straps. When I try to use straps, I keep pulling my feet out as the pedal rounds the bottom of the stoke. Very annoying for me, very entertaining for anyone riding with me :=)

you might get along with out them but I have to agree with Bob the touring shoes have the clips recessed and they resemble hiking shoes or boots you can ride and walk and hike in them they offer the support you need to keep your feet happy.

several companys make a good touring shoe Ive used both cannondale and schamino with recessed clips I carry a pair of sandles to ware off the bike but these touring shoes can do duble duty as everything on a tour must be able to serve more than one function


shoes and bikes and touring gear is a personel choice decide what is right for you how long the tour is makes a differance. going for a week or two or going 3-6 months are all together different.
catfish

And here’s the picture of my new shoes. You can walk in the quite alright, but they are harder and warmer than normal walking shoes, so I will have to take something lighter with me on the tour as well. Anyway, these are perfect when stepping off the bike often and not wanting to change shoes.

nice shoes! I had a similair pair last tour but they were hi tops. I got used to them and was able to walk and hike just fine I carried a pair of sandles along light weight alternate foot gear have a great tour
catfish

I just bought a pair of Cannondales almost exactly like those to go with Shimano PD-M424 pedals. The problem I have now is when I bought my bike I didn't get the manual for the pedals. Does anybody know where I can get one. I checked Shimano's site and have called my LBS but haven't found one yet.

Thanks,
pf

Go to https://www.shimano-europe.com. All the documentation is available there as .pdf files, including that for your pedals.

RichC

Rich,

Thanks for the info. I found exactly what I was looking for and some I wasn't looking for. I looked all over the us site and couldn't find anything. Thanks again.

pf

Thanks to all for your posts. Not sure yet which shoe I will get, but very likely a sneaker style a la Cannondale picture.

I will be ordering my Trek 520 next week, and it comes with Shimano M515 clipless pedals. Anyone have any touring experience with this model? Any recommendations? I do not anticipate using this bike on a casual basis, thats what my beater is for.

I just read my previous post and realize it is misleading. I am asking about the M515 pedal and its suitability for touring.

Sammer,

I have used Shimano's M535 pedals for all kinds of cycling including touring and they have served me well. The only thing I don't like about SPD pedals is they attact grime.

I just ordered a set of eggbeater pedals from Crank Bros. Will post a review here as soon as I get them.

Swekarl,
Have you had any problems using the spd with the Cannondale shoes. I bought a pair like yours and can't lock in the back of the cleat. I have Shimano PD-424 pedals that have a rosin rim around them and prevents the shoe from coming all the way down. Anyone got an idea how to fix this? Thanks...
pf

Have returned with new Trek520 in tow. Also bought what appear to be the same Cannondales that GAbiker and Swekarl have. Man they are great.

GA I have not had any trouble clipping in with them. (Did have a little trouble clipping out, but that is another story). Maybe mine is not exactly the same shoe? I am using the PD-M424 pedals with the rosin cages. I chose them for their dual use and the extra support from the full cage platform.

Sorry for the late reply, but no, I haven’t had any troubles at all with my combination of Cannondale shoes and Shimano PD-M324 pedals. Very easy to lock and unlock. What is a rosin rim anyway?

I have one comment though, and that is that the Cannondale shoes are not that suitable for walking, which is understandable.

BTW, do you know the difference between my PD-M324 and your PD-M424? I guess the higher digit is the better.

No I don't know the difference between yours and mine, but I do know my shoes won't work with my pedals. I bought a pair of Diadora touring shoes and they work fine. I resin outside of the pedals hit on my sole so I couldn't lock the shoe in without grinding part of the sole of the shoe down.

I bought a pair of 515 pedals that I am going to put on my mountain bike and I am pretty sure I can use the shoes for it. If not I am not sure what I will do with them.

Thanks for the reply.

It is me again. There is a big difference with your pedal and mine. One of them being yours are all metal and you clip sits up a little higher. Also yours are one sided where mine are double sided. My shoes would work fine in those.

thanks...

GAbiker
You got me wonderin, so I took another look. My shoes are Cannondale MC900/ebo, pedals are Shimano PD-M424, double sided with rosin cages. Mine work together just fine as best as I can tell. Are you not able to clip in at all?

I will have to take a look at your shoes but on mine the rubber cleats on the bottom of the shoe catch the resin cages so i can't clip in at all. I have a specialized sirrus that the pedals come on and the folks at specialized say it is common to trim them down. I really didn't want to do that do I bought the Diadora's.

Like I said earlier, I bought a set of 515's that should work fine with the cannondale's.

hey Swekarl
Thanks for your advice on the Cannondales back when I first started this thread. Did my first long ride on them today (80km) and they were really good. ALso this is my first time using clipless and I like it a lot. Less overall pressure on the feet, and it seemed like my pedal effort was much less, even in the headwind I had on my outbound leg. Amazing.

Hey Gabiker, I got the same bike you got today!!! Well almost the same...I got the 2001 base version (Deore components) while you got the Comp ($50 more than the base version with Deore LX components). I'm thinking about shoes too....I looked at the pedal and it's the PD-M424 too. Does the shoes make a big difference?

How much are shoes in general? I want something's that's comfy. How much were those Cannondales?

BTW, I got mine for $450 and could of had the comp for $500, but they only had MEDUIUM and the LBS said that SMALL fitted me better. Also, did you get the manual with the bike? I was way too excited and forgot to ask for one. I just want to compare the 2001 models. Do you know what the measurements are for the bike? I thought they come with different sizes (ie. 50, 52, 54, or 18, 19, 20, etc.)

Maybe if the comp is worth the extra $50, I'll exchange mine for a MEDIUM comp.

I can't find the specs anywhere online.....if you have the specs handy (and a scanner) would you please do me a big favor? Could you scan the specs and post them. Thx.