Null66

My feet must swell a lot!

Sometimes I have to let out tension on the dial thingy during rides, or even while riding...

Pain was excruciating before I figured that out.

VCSL2015

Were you on the hunt for just bigger shoes?

Leebo

I use just flat pedals and shoes for my commuting. Also in the winter off road. You could go with flat pedals with steel pins and some kind of stiff shoe, not running shoes. Try some lightweight, low hiking boots. Some like skate type shoes, 661, Chrome and Vans come to mind.

VCSL2015

What I dont get is the womens cycling shoes have plastic spikes like on the sole, and the mens are flat. Also why are there mens and womens shoes. Is it purely fashion? https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_no...=cycling+shoes

PatrickR400

You are mixing mountain bike (threads) and racing (flat) shoes. The man/woman shows is partly fashion but also sizing related.

I personally like mountain bike shoes because you can walk in them once you dismount.

Blue Church2

Yeah there are a few types of shoes.
The one with spikes are the mountain bike shoes, and if you look at the sole, there's a cutout where you put the cleat on so you can freely walk.
The one with the flat sole is a road bike shoe. They are flat on the bottom but have an extremely stiff sole. IF you get these, buy road cleats.
Aero shoes are the third, but not really much different than a road bike shoe. They are meant for aerodynamics to conserve watts and reduce mass.

I would recommend buying a stiff soled shoe, and clipless pedals with a wide platform so that way you aren't applying all your weight into the same small location. I would also recommend going to your lbs to have them put the pedals, cleats, and adjust them to ensure they are in the best possible riding position for you.

esther-L

There are 2 different bolt patterns for biking shoes with cleats.
Mountain bike shoes all have the pre-created holes for the 2-bolt pattern (SPD and a few other cleat types).

Road bike shoes (there is no tread to help you walk) may have only 3-bolt pattern, or both 2-bolt and 3-bolt.

There is a difference in men's and women's cycling shoes - width. I have narrow female feet and I have to wear very thick hiking socks to wear men's shoes.

I prefer mountain bike shoes, because the tread makes it easier to walk. Those toe spikes are removable. If you ride singletrack or cyclocross you might want to install the toe spikes. I don't ride those, so I have never installed toe spikes. If the cycling shoes that I bought have toe spikes, they were in the box - I have never bought shoes where they were pre-installed.

I use clipless pedals on road bikes, and I have flat pedals with power grips on my hybrid (commuter bike). I wear athletic shoes on the hybrid, but I have firm insoles inside the shoes. It makes commuting simpler if I don't have to keep shoes at work.

VCSL2015

Hi esther, where did you buy these firm insoles?
are you saying that the womens shoes are wider? or the mens shoes are wide?

dagray

There are commuting shoes and shoes that look just like tennis shoes that use the two hole system if you want to go clipless.

Null66

Nope, just have to not snug them down like that.

dr_lha

There are also 4-bolt shoes for Speedplay cleats.

E.g.: https://www.amazon.com/Lake-CX331-Spe...peedplay+shoes