Colorado Kid

A co-worker was trying to convince me today, that a dress shoe was as stiff as a touring shoe. I think he was telling to fool me. It can't be right. Can any clear up this mess?

alias5000

SPD-compatible, lotus-effect dress shoes would be sweet.

zacster

I just carry a pair of very light dress shoes with me when I ride with my Keo cleats, and that is rare. I usually ride with running shoes and just wear them through the day.

BobbyG

Traditional dress shoes might have soles as stiff as touring shoes, but you wouldn't want to tour in them. These days many dress shoes have much softer soles for comfort and quiet.

I have a thirty-year old old pair of Salvatore Ferragamos you could still hammer a nail with, if that's something you'd want to do.

Jim from Boston

Quote:

Originally Posted by Colorado Kid

A co-worker was trying to convince me today, that a dress shoe was as stiff as a touring shoe. I think he was telling to fool me. It can't be right. Can any clear up this mess?

Quote:

Originally Posted by alias5000

SPD-compatible, lotus-effect dress shoes would be sweet.

I’ve never considered wearing a dress shoe to commute, especially since I have clipless pedals. I wouldn’t even carry them as baggage since I have limited carrying capacity, especially on my carbon fiber commuter. Besides, I just wear sneakers at work.

In any case I would worry about scuffing them to ride in them, for example if using toe clips. I did post about good shoes once though, on the Touring Forum.

caloso

PaulRivers

If you wanted a semi-professional shoe that's also designed for riding the bike, Five Ten makes one called the "District Flats":
https://www.adidasoutdoor.com/FT86.html

On just the topic of shoe stiffness, I think any shoes with a relatively stiff sole are all going to be about the same. Studies showed that riding clipless vs flats makes either no difference in speed or the a most miniscule one. I doubt shoe sole stiffness really effects speed.

fietsbob

Traditional Bike Racing shoes until the Clipless pedal scheme, started using synthetics,
were leather soles, and you rode them a while to get Marks on the sole from the pedal

before nailing the cleat on..

but they often put a strip of steel in them for stiffness..

Not a blanket true statement , does the Dress Shoe in Question have a steel shank?

If not, there are a lot of insoles with a stiff arch support in them, to make any shoe into a cycling shoe to commute in.

ask the guy to take his shoes off and insect them for that steel shank..

you find a steel shank in boots to support using a Shovel.



..

noglider 

It makes a huge difference for me, because without cycling shoes, I can't pedal with full force. It causes me pain. The cycling shoe eliminates the pain. My cycling shoes are as stiff as wooden clogs. I also find them comfortable to walk in, oddly enough.

I keep dress shoes at the office to change into.

PaulRivers

Ah, you know, it's an online forum here with a lot of different people and a lot of different experiences.

For me it waa exactly the opposite - feet always hurt from stiff shoes and biking. Tried different shoes, road shoes vs mountain, different insoles, 2 different bike fittings, different bikes...

Was pedalling around trying to not put to much weight on my foot to avoid pressure and discomfort.

Switched to flat shoes - first chrome shoes, then five tens, that fixed it. Biking becane a lot more enjoyable and I no longer did a weird pedalling motion trying to avoid putting pressure on my foot.

Interesting that you had the exact opposite experience.


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noglider 

PaulRivers, yup, different bodies. I injured my feet permanently by riding and walking wrong all my life. Now I have bunions. The stiff soles allow me to apply full pressure without pain, which is why shoes actually make me faster. Strange but true.

brandonbrzozo

I would be willing to bet that your coworker rides his bike using toe straps and/or quite possibly rides a single speed fixed gear bike which in my experience require some extra hardy pedal straps. I i find personally that dress shoes do in fact have very stiff soles and are often made of leather which will last a very longtime. Obviously the shoes will scuff up something fierce but an old pair that you don't care about anymore work great. I ride with power grip straps like the police use and i find that dress shoes are great because they are flat on the bottom and smooth on top this means the shoe slides into the straps and doesn't hang up on either the pedal grips or the bottom of the straps. Also having a pointy toe helps grab the strap in a hurry at red lights and other stops. Obviously this sort of thing is not a very popular style choice and a little off the beaten path but you shouldn't let that fool you dress shoes are great in the right applications. Also being a fixed gear rider dress shoe kinda come with the fixie culture. Watch a few of Terry Barensten's YouTube channel and you will see the trend. These riders may not be very good at following the rules but they sure know how to break them.

brandonbrzozo

p.s. a side note obviously clipless pedals are the most efficient cycling shoes and although the advantages are minuscule they are still rather noticeable. But i do find that straps and dress shoes are damn close. And the fact that leather forms to your foot means much better comfort lets face it cycling cleats are not always the most comfortable shoes to wear on or off the bike. Maybe the manufactures can take heed and learn from this making dress shoe shape shoes that are as light as high end carbon clipless cleats. Obviously there are some cycling shoes out there like this and I have also heard many people wear running shoes and free running parkour style shoes specifically pumas.