Cycling shoes

[PanzerCommander]

As there is a broad section of society on PH doing various types of cycling I thought I’d post my questions here about sorting some new pedals and shoes for cycling.

I have been using regular running trainers and some pedals with rather sharp grips since I got the bike two years ago. Now that any thoughts of going back to the gym long since gone (they had once I had been out on my first couple of decent road rides to be honest), the now five year old trainers are starting to get a bit worse for wear and the pedals are getting a bit stiff I thought it’s time to ditch them both and get some proper shoes.

From what I have read on various pages on the internet I am better off with MTB shoes and SPD’s as most of my riding is either for leisure or commuting, no competition or road racing etc. as they are better to walk in due to their recessed cleats, and a bit more hard wearing.

I’m not looking to spend a fortune but at the same time I don’t want to fall into the buy cheap buy twice trap.

As far as the pedals go I have been reading good things about the Shimano M520 Clipless SPDs, I assume these are as good value as they appear to be?

[ecsrobin]

I run shimano XT pedals on my CX bike and XT trail pedals on my Full sus. I'd highly recommend the trail pedals as you can ride with normal trainers or shoes when you're heading to the pub or shops. They also do a cheaper version that isn't XT.

[smifffymoto]

With MTB shoes you have all the advantages of road shoes but none of the disadvantages.

[JQ]

PanzerCommander said:

As far as the pedals go I have been reading good things about the Shimano M520 Clipless SPDs, I assume these are as good value as they appear to be?

They're perfect for your needs. Get them with the black plastic bit on so that one side can be used with trainers - the added advantage is that the weight of the plastic bit positions the pedal cleat side up making clipping in much easier when commuting.

With regard to shoes, I'd go into a shop and buy the most comfortable ones. I must have tried on 8 different pairs and only found one to be comfortable.

[Kell]

I use the M520s across several bikes (including my road bike) and they're hard to fault really.

Up to you on shoes, but it's tough to beat Shimano here too. Obviously, you can decide whether or not you want MTB shoes with deep grips or ones that are a little more like walking shoes.

For the type of riding you're doing, it would seem pointless getting road shoes.

I wear mine to commute in and I can also drive in them when I get to the home end of my journey.

Plenty to choose from:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/shimano/shoes-c...

Edited by Kell on Thursday 12th May 14:11

[daddy cool]

I have cheapo M520's on one MTB, and expensive XTR's on the other. Apart from the weight there is no real difference in operation. At ~£15 the M520's are hard to beat.

Aldi do trainer-style spd shoes in their regular cycling events for ~£20 (if you dont have massive feet). Mine have been relegated to muddy condition use, and i save my proper Shimano shoes for nice conditions.

So, ~£35 all-in to get set up as spd. Do it!


(I also have a road bike, and have the proper SPD-SL pedals and shoes for that. Would agree with the above that they are best if you dont have a lot of stop-start riding and dont have to walk more than a few paces)

[DamienCBR]

I use SPD's on all my bikes, road and mountain. In the first instance it was the sensible thing to do as i already had the shoes from my mountain bike and i was commuting on the road bike. These days i have good solid carbon soled shoes and use XT pedal on the road bikes, the commuter has 520's on.

[Fastpedeller]

The 520's are IMHO very good - and if weight bothers you, mine are less than the stated (That's unusual) at 373g the pair (calibrated scale with PO one). I bought some of the Aldi shoes, but sent them straight back (without using them) because the soles were very bendy - I've found the Lidl ones to be good.

[The Mad Monk]

I bought Shimano SPD MT42 mountain bike shoes. They do everything that a road shoe does, plus you can walk in them.

With Shimano SPD M324 double sided pedals, clipless one side, ordinary pedal the other, handy if you are popping down to the shops in ordinary shoes.

[scrwright]

Shimano m089's for me as they are a nice wide shoe for people with flipper feet, with a530 pedals

Edited by scrwright on Thursday 12th May 22:23

[anonymous-user]

Kell said:

I use the M520s across several bikes (including my road bike) and they're hard to fault really.

yep, got them on 5 of my bikes..CX , 2 roadies and 2MTB'S ...really cant go wrong.....

[HardtopManual]

I have M520s on my commute bike and they are great. The cheap price (when discounted) is just a bonus!

I do feel the benefit of a bigger platform when I jump onto my nicer bikes which use SPD-SLs... but then I also feel very clumsy when I have to get off and walk around.

As first clipless pedals, you can't beat 520s though.

[bakerstreet]

I have a pair of Shimano MO88 shoes combined with Shimano XT pedals on my Brompton and 520s on CX bike. Also had 520s on my road bike when I was commuting. When I stopped using a road bike for commuting, I put my road pedals back on.

Generally they have all been excellent. I don't think I will ever use a different pedal for commuting. I don't think I've ever serviced any of my SPD pedals and one set is 5 years old.

[loudlashadjuster]

I've ridden thousands of miles on MTB style SPDs with dual-side touring T780 pedals on my MTB and M520s on my road bike. With Shimano M088 shoes I never have to worry about even an extended walk or even changing to drive a car. I wouldn't dream of road cleats if I was doing anything more than hobbling into a coffee shop.

In fact the only reason I'm changing the pedals on my road bike to Look Keos is because a) I need* a pair of road shoes for a track session I have booked, and b) overshoes struggle with the chunky tread and recessed cleat on MTB shoes, meaning they keep getting worn through.

*It's what I'm telling my wife, all right?

[freakynessless]

MTB shoes is a great way of getting into clipless shoes and pedals. I did the same thing and after a year I "upgraded" to SPD-SL's and to be honest I found the experience of going to SPD-SL's very underwhelming, especially given that I spent £160 on new shoes and pedals.
For a great pair of cheap shoes try Wiggle's DHB M1.0 Not only are they a superb pair of shoes they are excellent value for money too. I seem to remember spending less than £30 on them and I cant fault them.

[PanzerCommander]

Thanks chaps, looks like it will be the M520 pedals. I will have a look around at the suggested footwear and see what is the best fit for me.