Walking shoes when touring
 

I've just switched to road shoes (from a pair of mountain bike shoes I was lent, which
served me for the year or so since I got my bike). I'm loving the new shoes (and the SpeedPlay X2s I use with them).I am thinking about a small two day trip later this year (maybe Vancouver Island, San Juan Islands or something like that). I have a simple question :-)What shoes do you guys take for "off bike" hours? Sure, I have the "coffee shop" covers for the Speedplays but if I am staying at a B&B or something I really don't fancy walking around in my road shoes in the evening :-)
A pair of sneakers seems to heavy to cart around. I've just looked into this pair of Trope Sandal. What ya think? Am I on the right track? Will I be disappointed? anyone have any other suggestions for a lightweight compromise?

it seems like a good pair of comfort shoes would be worth the weight. A good novel is also weight worth carrying.

Anyways, have you thought about crocs? I hear they have a good air flow, get your feet some fresh, open air, ya know? They seem pretty indestructible and come in a bunch of colors.

A lot of touring cyclists seem to favor MTB shoes with recessed cleats. I have a couple pairs that are fine for walking, and don't look too 'bikey' for evening use. Saves hauling along an extra pair of shoes, although I DO carry a pair of moccasins for evening use around camp.

Depends on where you are going, I have a comfortable pair of walking shoes,
for sightseeing in Major cities .
Paris, London , Prague, Munich etc.

New Balance offers a good fit for my feet . YFMV.

What about just carrying a pair of thong flip flops around? If they are just going to be used around a B&B/motel room, I do not see what they would hurt.

I often carry a pair of water shoes on tour. In warmer weather, if it starts raining, I'll replace my cycling shoes with the water shoes. Decide on a dip in a rocky stream, on go the water shoes. Also good for just general walking about. They are cheap, light, compressable, and dry quick. Crocs serve the same purposes.

Wife and I used shoes like these:
http://www.rei.com/product/803478

They're great for around camp, town, and hiking. Big advantage is that they're waterproof. Nice to have dry feet. We bought a couple of straps per pair and use them to crush the shoes down as small as possible, then put them on top in a pannier. We recommend them. No downside except weight and volume, but they were huge comfort creators for us.

We ride in Sidi Dominators and if you don't plan on walking much, just grocery shopping, laundry, etc., they're all you need.

We use touring shoes with toeclips. No cleats, no covers and no extra shoes needed.

Looks nice stuff for sure.

Options are
MTB shoes
Sandals
Crocs
Road running race shoes (much lighter than the usual training shoes)
Toe clips and trail shoes.

I used to carry extra trail shoes but now I use walkable running shoes with toe clips and take some sandals.

This has been a constant source of experimentation for me.

First, I ride in clipless mountain biking shoes with a recessed cleats that aren't bad for walking around.

I've taken only my mountain biking shoes on tour. While that was not a problem on a 10 day tour from SF to LA, I find it hard to walk more than a couple miles in them. After that and the ball of my foot (above the cleat) begins to hurt if I am walking on cement or rocks. Also, it means not wearing shoes in people's homes and I had to mail a pair of shoes to my destination.

I tried adding Teva sandals to my gear and liked wearing them around camp and host's homes, taking a shower and giving my feet air but found that they raised blisters after a couple of miles of hiking, as well. Also, Tevas weigh about as much as lightweight shoes.

One my last tour (32 days around New England), I carried some lightweight shoes and a pair of rubber thongs. The rubber thongs are very light and are great for around camp, showering, or walking around town, as long as the distances aren't too far. For actual hiking, I used the shoes, which are a bit bulky (I cram other things in then while they are packed), get carried in the bottom of one pannier, are not much heavier than the Tevas, and are very comfortable.

For me, another pound of weight is a fair trade-off for foot comfort on tour.

Here is a link to another discussion on this same topic at crazyguyonabike.com.

Ray

There was a recent thread here on this subject. My response in that thread: I got a pair of New Balance MT100 trail-running shoes. Very light, minimally structured so they pack pretty well, not garish colors, comfortable.

I use Shimano's MT31 mountain touring shoes; they're generally the only shoe I take with me. When I know I'm going to have to walk a lot, or when I'm going somewhere that I don't want to have to worry about scratching the floors (e.g. Hearst Castle), I remove the cleats from my shoes and store them in a Ziplock bag. It only takes a couple of minutes to remove or install the cleats. With the cleats removed, I've walked 3-4 miles on cement without any problem...

I also use regular shoes with toeclips. Except for having slightly large feet (size 13), if my shoes wear out on a long tour, I'll buy another pair.

If you look closely, you can see my wife's running shoes tucked under her rack pack, between the panniers. She has carried them that way for thousands of miles. Having fresh shoes at the end of the day is nice, and for hiking and walking it saves wear and tear on the feet and the more expensive bike shoes. They stay dry in a small sil-nylon stuff sack. My shoes are usually carried in my rackpack.
http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...PICT5336-3.jpg

Nice photo, beautiful rig! What's that rackpack?

Depending on the tour I might do different things.

Most of the time I am happy with my bike shoes (Sidi Giau) and a pair of Crocs.

If I wanted to go real light, I could get by with just the Sidis but it is nice to have the Crocs so I have not done this yet.

That said when we spent a week in Yosemite and did a lot of hikes that were longer than I typically do on tour, I did buy a pair of light trail runners.

Even though carrying extra shoes is a pain, I've found it to be worthwhile. I really like SPD shoes / pedals, but I LOVE switching shoes at the end of the day, for casual walking around or light hiking. For my last tour I used the North Face Hedgefrogs. They fit my feet better than similar offerings from Keen. They're also very light and waterproof. I did a good bit of hiking with them in Glacier N.P., and they were quite comfortable. I also put them on whenever I could tell I'd be biking in the rain.

I have used SPD type shoes for touring for the past 10+ years - my shoe of choice at present is the Northwave Mission - stiff enough to cycle in and walkable enough for a days touristing on foot - but I do carry a pair of light slip on water shoes for end of day around the campsite

You have to acclimitise to sandals slowly. You will get raw skin or blisters at first but after a week your feet harden up and you can hike in sandals all day.

They are really good around wet campsites. In cold, wet conditions you can wear Sealskin socks to keep your feet dry.

Some Teva models are quite heavy. I chose the minimalist Hurricane model. You can use the velcro straps to fix them to your pannier tops. Flip flops may be OK in easy conditions but Tevas are more versatile.

My last tour turned a bit cold and wet in the last week and my shoes never dried out. It is horrible riding with cold wet feet and after a time your feet really start to suffer. I can manage with one pair of shoes on a short tour but for extended riding , spare footwear is a real bonus.

Regular shoes, MKS Touring Pedals, Power Grips, and a pair of flip-flops

Thanks. The Rackpack is an Ortlieb (small).