Which Shoes - Road Bike?

After a brief conversation with my Dad at Xmas about thinking of doing a triathlon this year and considering buying a road bike, he offered me his winter hack as he doesn't like it and always chooses one of his Orbea bikes instead.

It is a Giant something or other and I believe it has SPD pedals on it.

I have SPD shoes as I have SPD pedals on my hybrid, but from when I bought him shoes from his birthday they were different to mine SL's springs to mind.

So what recommendations do you cyclists have for cost-effective road shoes?

[fizzwheel]

Depends. Do you want to be able to walk in them when you are off the bike or are you happy to slip slide around if you have to walk a few steps ?

SPD's are perfectly fine for a road bike, many people frown upon them, but if you are happy using them and have them on your other bikes I dont see the problem with it

Sounds like your old man has this setup with Shimano SPD-SL pedals, personally I'd just swap the pedals on the bike he has offered you for a set of SPD's

If you are going "proper" road shoe then you want something with a 3 bolt cleat fixing on it and pedals to match.

Theres bucket loads of choice, but they are are basically the same.

I use "Look" pedals always haeve done, Shimano SPD-SL seem to be becoming popular and are quite well priced at the bottom end of the range to.

If you have ropey knees, then you might want to look at the "Time" range of pedals as the cleats offer more "float" which will allow your knee to articulate more and its less stressful on your knee joint. The other pedals have varying ranges of float to. But the Time's seem to offer more range / movement.

If you want cheap shoes, then look at the wiggle own brand range, like these

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/dh...oe/5360042950/

Probably as cheap as you're going to get TBH...

Fizz - thanks for the advice.

Those shoes look fine and to be honest I don't anticpate having to walk more than a few steps and the majority of those would be on carpet.

I am sure now that he has SPD SL's on his bikes as he uses the same cleats on all his shoes and bikes.

I might have a look in the sales see what comes up.

As for the bike are giants any good? Not too sure what model and it is his winter hack.

[fizzwheel]

Originally Posted by krhall

As for the bike are giants any good? Not too sure what model and it is his winter hack.

I think they are yes, OK its not swanky like his Orbea is. You might find it lacking component wise, i.e. wheels etc, but the frames are normally decent and make for a good starting off bike. The higher spec models are normally very good.

+1 for Fizzwheels comments on sdp vs look.

I have used look pedals in the past and although they are mega stable underfoot due to the amount of pedal/cleat contact, I found them a ball ache unless going out on the bike and not planning to stop.
Having to carry and fit cleat covers everytime you get off the bike can be a pain.

SPD for me everytime now.

If I'm planning to go out for a bimble with friends to the pub etc I can use my offroad shoes with a recessed sole and still be able to walk without looking like a penguin.

Bearings are super smooth and Ive had 1000's of miles out of mine with no problems.

I still have and still use some old DX SPD from 1993 still going strong on one of my hardtail mountain bikes.

When it comes to finding the right shoe though, sum up what you are going to use it for.

If it is purely for racing tri and will be left hanging on the bike all the time at changover stations, then get something with a quick entry and exit and with the stiffest sole possible for power transfer and less roll.

If its going to be used for messing about with mates and heading to the pub maybe look at the higher end offroad shoes.
They still have a stiff sole (mine are carbon kevlar) but have a little "give" where needed to be able to walk/run when off the bike.

Or the other option is get 2 pairs, one for racing and one for the pub.

If I do a tri I won't be massively worried about timings in terms of change over as I am a little fat bloke.

I am thinking that cycling to work is the only cycling I will get in although I might see what my old mans cycling club are like too, but certainly not for popping out with mates etc.

I have some nike SPD shoes with a recessed sole and they would pass of as a leisure shoe no probs.

One more question do you get in/out of the pedals the same as a standard SPD?

[fizzwheel]

Originally Posted by krhall

One more question do you get in/out of the pedals the same as a standard SPD?

Yep on the Looks & SPD SL its just the same, twist your foot to release the cleat.

You might find that the road pedals hold your foot in much tighter than the SPD's do though, so you might want to back the tension off a little until you get used to them. Otherwise you may find yoursefl having a clipless moment

I'm sure I may have a few more questions about cycling in the next few months - thanks.

One might be how do I fit it in with marathon training.

[maviczap]

+1 to what Fizz & Speedplay have said above.

Maybe if you've got SPd's already then stick to that pedal system, as having two different sorts is a pain, as it'll mean having two pairs of shoes with 2 different cleats. This will mean setting up your cleats twice and doubles the chance of getting it slightly wrong, which could cause you some discomfort or worse, knee or ligament strain.

I know because I use Look pedals on my road bike & SPD's on my Mountain bike. Unfortunately neither system is perfect for each type of cycling.

I've always used Look, mainly because of the float in the system, but also because I like the broad pedal area. The early road spds were like trying to engage on a chestnut and Shimano now make their high end road pedals in a similar pattern to Look, although with their own specific cleat. Obviously the Pro's didn't like the little SPD's.

But they'll be fine for your needs

[maviczap]

I'd also recommend going to a shop and trying some shoes on, as size wise cycling shoes are strangely fickle.

I've got Addidas ones at the mo and they're at least one size up on my normal size, Sidi's were 1.5 up on my normal sizing. Italian shoes tend to be on the really small size.

But I would recommend any of the dHB stuff from Wiggle, I've got 2 pairs of dHB shorts and they are really comfortable, so their shoes should be good too?