Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > General Cycling Discussion
Reload this Page >

What Shoes do you Use for Cycling?

Notices
General Cycling Discussion Have a cycling related question or comment that doesn't fit in one of the other specialty forums? Drop on in and post in here! When possible, please select the forum above that most fits your post!

What Shoes do you Use for Cycling?

Old 08-30-21, 07:08 PM
  #26  
wolfchild
Banned
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Mississauga/Toronto, Ontario canada
Posts: 8,721

Bikes: I have 3 singlespeed/fixed gear bikes

Mentioned: 30 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4227 Post(s)
Liked 2,488 Times in 1,286 Posts
Originally Posted by Airfehr
Have you ever slipped on the pedal then caught the loop of the lace on the pedal?
That has never happened to me yet...Feet slipping off the pedals means poor bike handling skills and lack of coordination.
wolfchild is offline  
Old 08-30-21, 09:31 PM
  #27  
frogman
Senior Member
 
frogman's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Napa Valley, CA
Posts: 908

Bikes: Wife says I have too many :-)

Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 327 Post(s)
Liked 250 Times in 158 Posts
Originally Posted by Koyote
Cowboy boots.

Yes, cowboy boots with stirrups
frogman is offline  
Old 08-31-21, 02:30 AM
  #28  
martianone
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Northern VT
Posts: 2,200

Bikes: recumbent & upright

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 73 Post(s)
Liked 40 Times in 31 Posts
Originally Posted by freeranger
I ride flat pedals with pins (oft called BMX pedals). Trail running shoes work for me. They have a sole which works well with the pins. Should mention that I wear insoles for arch support in all of my shoes, so they might add a little stiffness also.
Agree.
also try Chrome Krusk shoes. Had a couple pair of these, until I wore them out.
they were great - perhaps a little warm on very hot days,
i have large feet, sadly they stopped making my size.
martianone is offline  
Old 08-31-21, 03:31 AM
  #29  
Badger6
Obsessed with Eddington
 
Badger6's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Brussels (BE) 🇧🇪
Posts: 1,330

Bikes: '16 Spesh Diverge, '14 Spesh Fatboy, '18 Spesh Epic, '18 Spesh SL6, '21 Spesh SL7, '21 Spesh Diverge...and maybe n+1?

Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 532 Post(s)
Liked 621 Times in 368 Posts
Originally Posted by Moisture
Particularly those of you who don't clip in. Do you just wear running shoes or whatever you have available?
C'mon man. Have you considered shoes designed for cycling? They are out there, and they work.
Badger6 is offline  
Likes For Badger6:
Old 08-31-21, 03:32 AM
  #30  
Badger6
Obsessed with Eddington
 
Badger6's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Brussels (BE) 🇧🇪
Posts: 1,330

Bikes: '16 Spesh Diverge, '14 Spesh Fatboy, '18 Spesh Epic, '18 Spesh SL6, '21 Spesh SL7, '21 Spesh Diverge...and maybe n+1?

Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 532 Post(s)
Liked 621 Times in 368 Posts
Originally Posted by wolfchild
There is a reason why they still manufacture platform pedals, and it's because some people prefer them...Platform pedals don't require cleated shoes.
Nope. But, they damn sure work better with a shoe designed for cycling than for whatever random shoe one may have laying about.
Badger6 is offline  
Likes For Badger6:
Old 08-31-21, 03:57 AM
  #31  
Branko D
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2018
Posts: 786
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 338 Post(s)
Liked 408 Times in 252 Posts
For road bike, road clipless with Lake CX301s, in their wide fit they are ridiculously lightweight, comfortable and breathable.

On touring / commuting and gravel bike, used to ride flats with cheap Decathlon skate shoes and got on well with them, comfortable, grippy, fairly thin sole which makes it the best cycling non-cycling shoe. Then I switched to MTB flat pedal shoes - Specialized Skitch to be precise - and that is a significant improvement in feel.

If you really like flat pedals, and offroad or for commuting or so I really do, get a good pedal with some sort of pins and flat pedal bike shoes. It's totally worth it.

Last edited by Branko D; 08-31-21 at 04:00 AM.
Branko D is offline  
Likes For Branko D:
Old 08-31-21, 05:37 AM
  #32  
Phil_gretz
Zip tie Karen
 
Phil_gretz's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Fair Oaks Ranch, TX
Posts: 7,004

Bikes: '13 Motobecane Fantom29 HT, '16 Motobecane Turino Pro Disc, '18 Velobuild VB-R-022, '21 Tsunami SNM-100

Mentioned: 26 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1465 Post(s)
Liked 1,542 Times in 806 Posts
Originally Posted by Moisture
Particularly those of you who don't clip in. Do you just wear running shoes or whatever you have available?
I ride clipped in almost exclusively. Exceptions are: beach cruisers during annual coastal vacations, where I ride in flip flops; or, on my touring bike after a day's ride when going into town to eat or run an errand, when I'll use sandals. That's it.

Would I play tennis without tennis specific shoes? How about bowling? Ballet? Play basketball in running shoes? Play soccer in sneakers? Hockey in figure skates? You get the picture...
Phil_gretz is offline  
Likes For Phil_gretz:
Old 08-31-21, 07:18 AM
  #33  
indyfabz
Senior Member
 
indyfabz's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 39,214
Mentioned: 211 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 18397 Post(s)
Liked 15,492 Times in 7,316 Posts
Ruby slippers, my pretty. Ruby slippers.
indyfabz is offline  
Likes For indyfabz:
Old 08-31-21, 09:05 AM
  #34  
livedarklions
Tragically Ignorant
 
livedarklions's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: New England
Posts: 15,613

Bikes: Serotta Atlanta; 1994 Specialized Allez Pro; Giant OCR A1; SOMA Double Cross Disc; 2022 Allez Elite mit der SRAM

Mentioned: 62 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 8186 Post(s)
Liked 9,095 Times in 5,053 Posts
Originally Posted by AdkMtnMonster
These threads are always great. I love all the references to riding with “running” shoes, “hiking” shoes, “skateboarding” shoes, “walking” shoes… Shoes made for everything except pedaling a bike. This thread is exactly like the “Which shorts?” threads, the “Which gloves?” threads and the “Which lube?” threads. The best part about them, and I mean the VERY BEST part, is that the most common responses are always the ones downplaying cycling-specific things. On a cycling forum. And that’s why we can’t have nice things.
I love it when people start lecturing other people about what they SHOULD like. Obviously, you know more about other people's feet than they do themselves.

Did it ever occur to you that people have foot sizing and/or other foot issues that make trying to find a suitable pair of "cycling" shoes a fool's errand? It's adorable that you think "you don't follow the marketing labels" is a valid point for criticism.
Just because my shoes aren't "made for" pedaling a bike doesn't mean they're not better for my feet in that function than shoes that are labeled for that purpose. Frankly, those shoes were not made for my feet, and that's all I care about.

BTW, the shoes I buy and wear comfortably for thousands of miles of riding are both more comfortable than the cycling shoes I've tried and at a small fraction of the price.

Flat-soled New Balances, tried a lot of other stuff, nothing else works anywhere near as well for me.
livedarklions is offline  
Old 08-31-21, 09:23 AM
  #35  
Airfehr
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2021
Posts: 122
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 43 Post(s)
Liked 108 Times in 48 Posts
Originally Posted by wolfchild
That has never happened to me yet...Feet slipping off the pedals means poor bike handling skills and lack of coordination.
You have never spun out on at steep sandy hill? I can get a spin or two and recover but never got more than three without coming off.
Airfehr is offline  
Old 08-31-21, 09:25 AM
  #36  
Rick
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 1,415
Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 612 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 387 Times in 270 Posts
I love it when people start lecturing other people about what they SHOULD like. Obviously, you know more about other people's feet than they do themselves.

Did it ever occur to you that people have foot sizing and/or other foot issues that make trying to find a suitable pair of "cycling" shoes a fool's errand? It's adorable that you think "you don't follow the marketing labels" is a valid point for criticism.
Just because my shoes aren't "made for" pedaling a bike doesn't mean they're not better for my feet in that function than shoes that are labeled for that purpose. Frankly, those shoes were not made for my feet, and that's all I care about.

BTW, the shoes I buy and wear comfortably for thousands of miles of riding are both more comfortable than the cycling shoes I've tried and at a small fraction of the price.

Flat-soled New Balances, tried a lot of other stuff, nothing else works anywhere near as well for me.
I have wide feet and the bicycle shoe manufactures don't find it profitable to accommodate my needs. I have bought supposedly wide shoes on more than one occasion. I like clipless pedals. I don't like foot pain. My New Balance 4e trail running shoes on foot forward pedals are comfortable on longer rides.
Rick is offline  
Likes For Rick:
Old 08-31-21, 09:28 AM
  #37  
shelbyfv
Expired Member
 
shelbyfv's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: TN
Posts: 11,505
Mentioned: 37 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3653 Post(s)
Liked 5,391 Times in 2,736 Posts
Of course there are folks with abnormalities that may require different shoes. Aside from that, cycling shoes work well for cycling. Cyclists who plan to ride significant distances owe it to themselves to give them a try. If they don't suit, move on. That said, it's less likely to matter if someone is puttering around on an e-scooter.
shelbyfv is online now  
Old 08-31-21, 09:58 AM
  #38  
rumrunn6
Senior Member
 
rumrunn6's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: 25 miles northwest of Boston
Posts: 29,546

Bikes: Bottecchia Sprint, GT Timberline 29r, Marin Muirwoods 29er, Trek FX Alpha 7.0

Mentioned: 112 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 5223 Post(s)
Liked 3,577 Times in 2,341 Posts
this time of year sandals
rumrunn6 is offline  
Old 08-31-21, 09:59 AM
  #39  
livedarklions
Tragically Ignorant
 
livedarklions's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: New England
Posts: 15,613

Bikes: Serotta Atlanta; 1994 Specialized Allez Pro; Giant OCR A1; SOMA Double Cross Disc; 2022 Allez Elite mit der SRAM

Mentioned: 62 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 8186 Post(s)
Liked 9,095 Times in 5,053 Posts
Originally Posted by shelbyfv
Of course there are folks with abnormalities that may require different shoes. Aside from that, cycling shoes work well for cycling. Cyclists who plan to ride significant distances owe it to themselves to give them a try. If they don't suit, move on. That said, it's less likely to matter if someone is puttering around on an e-scooter.

The bike shoes I've tried and seen (you can spot this without actually going through the pain of wearing them) all have toe boxes too small for me and make my feet feel like they're in a death camp. I don't think such sizing issues are unusual, and bike shoes, being a specialized form of footwear with a relatively small market, do not tend to carry as wide a range of sizes as other, more generalized types of footwear. Since I've ridden those significant distances consistently in other types of shoes without problems, I think I and others like me should weigh in on these conversations without getting the type of patronizing crap like assuming we're talking about puttering around on e scooter or being told we're why people can't have nice things.
livedarklions is offline  
Likes For livedarklions:
Old 08-31-21, 10:09 AM
  #40  
spelger
Senior Member
 
spelger's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: reno, nv
Posts: 2,298

Bikes: yes, i have one

Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1136 Post(s)
Liked 1,179 Times in 686 Posts
Originally Posted by GlennR
You might want a shoe with a very stiff sole... similar to cycling shoes.
cycling shoes for cycling? now that is a crazy idea.
spelger is offline  
Likes For spelger:
Old 08-31-21, 10:23 AM
  #41  
PeteHski
Senior Member
 
PeteHski's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2021
Posts: 8,376
Mentioned: 12 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4385 Post(s)
Liked 4,827 Times in 2,983 Posts
Originally Posted by livedarklions
I love it when people start lecturing other people about what they SHOULD like. Obviously, you know more about other people's feet than they do themselves.

Did it ever occur to you that people have foot sizing and/or other foot issues that make trying to find a suitable pair of "cycling" shoes a fool's errand? It's adorable that you think "you don't follow the marketing labels" is a valid point for criticism.
Just because my shoes aren't "made for" pedaling a bike doesn't mean they're not better for my feet in that function than shoes that are labeled for that purpose. Frankly, those shoes were not made for my feet, and that's all I care about.

BTW, the shoes I buy and wear comfortably for thousands of miles of riding are both more comfortable than the cycling shoes I've tried and at a small fraction of the price.

Flat-soled New Balances, tried a lot of other stuff, nothing else works anywhere near as well for me.
Just because you are an outlier, doesn't mean "cycling" shoes are not generally the best option for most people. It's not just marketing, they are actually designed for the specific purpose. Whether those be cleated road shoes (definitely not for everyone, especially casual riding) or flat freeride mtb shoes and everything in-between. Some generic flat-soled trainers are okay too on flat pedals, but shoes like Five Ten Freeriders, which are designed specifically for flat pedals, are just a bit better (for most people) and they can double up as street shoes anyway. Probably not that different from your New Balance flat shoes and no more expensive.
PeteHski is offline  
Likes For PeteHski:
Old 08-31-21, 10:37 AM
  #42  
indyfabz
Senior Member
 
indyfabz's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 39,214
Mentioned: 211 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 18397 Post(s)
Liked 15,492 Times in 7,316 Posts
Originally Posted by livedarklions
I love it when people start lecturing other people about what they SHOULD like. Obviously, you know more about other people's feet than they do themselves.

Did it ever occur to you that people have foot sizing and/or other foot issues that make trying to find a suitable pair of "cycling" shoes a fool's errand? It's adorable that you think "you don't follow the marketing labels" is a valid point for criticism.
Just because my shoes aren't "made for" pedaling a bike doesn't mean they're not better for my feet in that function than shoes that are labeled for that purpose. Frankly, those shoes were not made for my feet, and that's all I care about.

BTW, the shoes I buy and wear comfortably for thousands of miles of riding are both more comfortable than the cycling shoes I've tried and at a small fraction of the price.

Flat-soled New Balances, tried a lot of other stuff, nothing else works anywhere near as well for me.
I rode across the US with a small group. One member did it wearing sneakers. Some sort of Converse high tops, IIRC. He was a strong rider when he wasn’t drunk.
indyfabz is offline  
Likes For indyfabz:
Old 08-31-21, 10:56 AM
  #43  
ehcoplex 
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2021
Posts: 1,683

Bikes: '38 Schwinn New World, ’69 Peugeot PX-10, '72 Peugeot PX-10, ‘7? Valgan, '78 Raleigh Comp GS, ’79 Holdsworth Pro, ’80 Peugeot TH-8 tandem, '87 Trek 400T, ‘7? Raleigh Sports, ‘7? Raleigh Superbe, ‘6? Hercules

Mentioned: 16 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 760 Post(s)
Liked 1,562 Times in 756 Posts
Spenco make (or at least they used to...) some relatively stiff inserts you can put in any shoe/sneaker to stiffen things up. Before clip-less took over the world they were a good option for touring- put 'em in a hiking shoe/sneaker for riding, pull them out for walking around.
ehcoplex is offline  
Old 08-31-21, 11:15 AM
  #44  
livedarklions
Tragically Ignorant
 
livedarklions's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: New England
Posts: 15,613

Bikes: Serotta Atlanta; 1994 Specialized Allez Pro; Giant OCR A1; SOMA Double Cross Disc; 2022 Allez Elite mit der SRAM

Mentioned: 62 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 8186 Post(s)
Liked 9,095 Times in 5,053 Posts
Originally Posted by PeteHski
Just because you are an outlier, doesn't mean "cycling" shoes are not generally the best option for most people. It's not just marketing, they are actually designed for the specific purpose. Whether those be cleated road shoes (definitely not for everyone, especially casual riding) or flat freeride mtb shoes and everything in-between. Some generic flat-soled trainers are okay too on flat pedals, but shoes like Five Ten Freeriders, which are designed specifically for flat pedals, are just a bit better (for most people) and they can double up as street shoes anyway. Probably not that different from your New Balance flat shoes and no more expensive.
I have no idea what is the best option for most people and never implied that cycling shoes aren't a good or the best option for many, many or most people. Stop putting words in my mouth, you do this to me a lot.

Point is there's a lot of us "outliers" out there, and it is ridiculous to exclude us from the conversation of what we wear. Wide feet is not an unusual condition. Simple math will tell you why it's harder for us to get cycling shoes in our sizes than it is other more popular types of shoes. If you're already in a niche market (cycling) with your product, segmenting that market into sizes means very small demand for wide shoes of any given style, not enough to justify the costs of producing and carrying those."outlier" sizes. If I buy a type of shoe with a broader demand, there's much higher odds that the manufacturer will create a broader range of sizes.

I've bought one pair of Freeriders, it ended up giving me horribly sore feet and cost approximately twice to three times what I pay for my NBs.

My refence to marketing labels really was aimed more at labeling something a "walking shoe", a "running shoe" or whatever and assuming that meant they weren't good for other uses as well, including cycling. Most shoes have more than one function--would you tell someone they found a pair of Freeriders to be a good walking shoe they're wrong because it's a cycling shoe? If you took from my comments that I was saying cycling shoes aren't good for cycling (if they fit), then your reading comprehension might need a bit of dusting off.

Please reread the comment I was objecting to--I was not criticizing people for buying and using cycling shoes, I was reacting to a comment that certainly implied people who buy other shoes for cycling were somehow ignorant or otherwise deficient and "why we can't have nice things.".

Last edited by livedarklions; 08-31-21 at 11:54 AM.
livedarklions is offline  
Likes For livedarklions:
Old 08-31-21, 11:16 AM
  #45  
livedarklions
Tragically Ignorant
 
livedarklions's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: New England
Posts: 15,613

Bikes: Serotta Atlanta; 1994 Specialized Allez Pro; Giant OCR A1; SOMA Double Cross Disc; 2022 Allez Elite mit der SRAM

Mentioned: 62 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 8186 Post(s)
Liked 9,095 Times in 5,053 Posts
Originally Posted by indyfabz
I rode across the US with a small group. One member did it wearing sneakers. Some sort of Converse high tops, IIRC. He was a strong rider when he wasn’t drunk.

The high tops being a good place to store a nip, no doubt.
livedarklions is offline  
Old 08-31-21, 11:45 AM
  #46  
shelbyfv
Expired Member
 
shelbyfv's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: TN
Posts: 11,505
Mentioned: 37 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3653 Post(s)
Liked 5,391 Times in 2,736 Posts
Originally Posted by livedarklions
puttering around on e scooter
That was for OP. Yep, Moisty is now motorized!!
shelbyfv is online now  
Old 08-31-21, 12:01 PM
  #47  
AdkMtnMonster
Airplanes, bikes, beer.
 
Join Date: Jan 2020
Location: Off the front
Posts: 763

Bikes: Road bikes, mountain bikes, a cx bike, a gravel bike…

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 398 Post(s)
Liked 788 Times in 339 Posts
Yup

Last edited by AdkMtnMonster; 08-31-21 at 12:57 PM.
AdkMtnMonster is offline  
Old 08-31-21, 01:02 PM
  #48  
livedarklions
Tragically Ignorant
 
livedarklions's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: New England
Posts: 15,613

Bikes: Serotta Atlanta; 1994 Specialized Allez Pro; Giant OCR A1; SOMA Double Cross Disc; 2022 Allez Elite mit der SRAM

Mentioned: 62 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 8186 Post(s)
Liked 9,095 Times in 5,053 Posts
Originally Posted by shelbyfv
That was for OP. Yep, Moisty is now motorized!!
Fair enough.
I wouldn't know what it rides, I'm generally not a fan.
livedarklions is offline  
Old 08-31-21, 01:04 PM
  #49  
livedarklions
Tragically Ignorant
 
livedarklions's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: New England
Posts: 15,613

Bikes: Serotta Atlanta; 1994 Specialized Allez Pro; Giant OCR A1; SOMA Double Cross Disc; 2022 Allez Elite mit der SRAM

Mentioned: 62 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 8186 Post(s)
Liked 9,095 Times in 5,053 Posts
Originally Posted by AdkMtnMonster
Yup

I can play the "make nasty comment so you get in your in box then edit it" game too.

Last edited by livedarklions; 08-31-21 at 01:12 PM.
livedarklions is offline  
Old 08-31-21, 04:37 PM
  #50  
AdkMtnMonster
Airplanes, bikes, beer.
 
Join Date: Jan 2020
Location: Off the front
Posts: 763

Bikes: Road bikes, mountain bikes, a cx bike, a gravel bike…

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 398 Post(s)
Liked 788 Times in 339 Posts
Originally Posted by livedarklions
I can play the "make nasty comment so you get in your in box then edit it" game too.
Daddy’s busy, son.
AdkMtnMonster is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.