Cycling shoes for Mrs. Road Fan?
07-20-21, 01:37 PM
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Cycling shoes for Mrs. Road Fan?
She can ride 45 mile loops, loves her steel Terry with Campy Athena 3x11, just discovered that wide tires (559 x 38 Tserve's) help you glide serenely, and does not want her feet clipped to the pedals. She likes her MKS rattrap-style pedals with toeclips and straps, and always rides with the straps loose, but not too loose, her feet can always be instantly taken off the pedals when needed.
She needs some new shoes for cycling. Something like a MTB or touring oxford is not bad, but the soles need to be pretty stiff with a heel to help with walking.
Maybe some nice Ferragamos (lol)? What have women in the 50+ group found that works well for you?
She needs some new shoes for cycling. Something like a MTB or touring oxford is not bad, but the soles need to be pretty stiff with a heel to help with walking.
Maybe some nice Ferragamos (lol)? What have women in the 50+ group found that works well for you?
07-20-21, 02:29 PM
#2
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Though I haven't had many, the mountain bike or 2 hole SPD cycling shoes I have bought also come with a plate to screw in and protect the cleat mount if you desire not to use a cleat. So mountain bike shoes will probably have the stiffness desired for pedaling lots of miles.
Though some do seem too bulky in the toe to fit under a clip. But I don't know. Never used them.
Both were Peal Izumi, but it has been a while. I did try on some super comfortable SIDI mountain bike shoes they other day. Too bad they only had them in black. Don't know if they had that cover plate I'm talking about.
I don't have to disqualify myself from responding since I don't meet this requirement, do I?
Though some do seem too bulky in the toe to fit under a clip. But I don't know. Never used them.
Both were Peal Izumi, but it has been a while. I did try on some super comfortable SIDI mountain bike shoes they other day. Too bad they only had them in black. Don't know if they had that cover plate I'm talking about.
I don't have to disqualify myself from responding since I don't meet this requirement, do I?
What have women in the 50+ group found that works well for you?
Last edited by Iride01; 07-20-21 at 02:34 PM.
07-20-21, 08:16 PM
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I ride with toe clips, straps, and no cleats and my wife has ridden for years with MKS pedals, toe clips, straps, and no cleats. She doesn’t ride anywhere close to that mileage and has now gone to an MKS half cage.
Both my wife and I use Specialized touring shoes that are rigid, not road shoe stiff, with a smooth hard rubber sole.
They made a model for women called the Spiritua. You’ll most likely need to look on eBay since it is out of production.
The only possible downside are the Velcro straps and not laces. But it has never been an issue getting my shoe out of the pedal.
John
Both my wife and I use Specialized touring shoes that are rigid, not road shoe stiff, with a smooth hard rubber sole.
They made a model for women called the Spiritua. You’ll most likely need to look on eBay since it is out of production.
The only possible downside are the Velcro straps and not laces. But it has never been an issue getting my shoe out of the pedal.
John
07-20-21, 10:24 PM
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My wife rides with Sidi Dominators and SPD double-sided pedals, both on her single bike and on our tandem. She liked them fine from day 1. She started with flats but saw how nice my Sidis and SPDs were and wanted them. I expect Dominators would be fine with toe clips. The MTB cleated sole should grab well on rat-traps. Her longest ride as been 200+ miles on our tandem. I think our team age was 134. No foot or knee problems.
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07-21-21, 05:33 AM
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You could go down the flat pedals and FiveTen shoes route. That's what I eventually migrated to on my MTBs after many years with clipless shoes (SPD and CrankBros). The FiveTens grip the pedals so well it feels like riding clipped in and they are as comfortable to walk in as tennis shoes. There's a reason why these are now so popular in the MTB world.
https://www.adidas.co.uk/five_ten-sh...leadwords_temp
https://www.adidas.co.uk/five_ten-sh...leadwords_temp
07-21-21, 08:00 AM
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Talk her into trying clipless, use the pedals with the clipless part on only one side(set the tension to the minimum), put clips and straps on the other. Get her some MTB shoes. Go for a ride using both sides of the pedals. I'll be she will never go back to the clips and straps. This is what my wife did, she was afraid of not being able to unclip and get her foot down. She could never imagine riding with out clipless again.
If by some strange reason it doesn't work she can still use the shoes with her clips and straps.
Once you go clipless, you never go back.
If by some strange reason it doesn't work she can still use the shoes with her clips and straps.
Once you go clipless, you never go back.
07-21-21, 08:17 AM
#7
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[QUOTEOnce you go clipless, you never go back.[/QUOTE]
Not true. I rode clipless for 15 years. Now I am in my fifth season of riding flat pedals. Never did ride clipless on mountain bikes.Yes I did enjoy the performance of clipless. Things change.
Not true. I rode clipless for 15 years. Now I am in my fifth season of riding flat pedals. Never did ride clipless on mountain bikes.Yes I did enjoy the performance of clipless. Things change.
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07-21-21, 08:27 AM
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My wife rides with Sidi Dominators and SPD double-sided pedals, both on her single bike and on our tandem. She liked them fine from day 1. She started with flats but saw how nice my Sidis and SPDs were and wanted them. I expect Dominators would be fine with toe clips. The MTB cleated sole should grab well on rat-traps. Her longest ride as been 200+ miles on our tandem. I think our team age was 134. No foot or knee problems.
It sounds great, but we want a smooth sole bottom for easy foot extraction, despite the rat traps! Sorry for my mis-direction. But we’ll go check out Specialized and Sidi. We have pretty good Trek and Specialized shops - Sidi might be a search, at least here in little Ann Arbor.
07-21-21, 08:42 AM
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Talk her into trying clipless, use the pedals with the clipless part on only one side(set the tension to the minimum), put clips and straps on the other. Get her some MTB shoes. Go for a ride using both sides of the pedals. I'll be she will never go back to the clips and straps. This is what my wife did, she was afraid of not being able to unclip and get her foot down. She could never imagine riding with out clipless again.
If by some strange reason it doesn't work she can still use the shoes with her clips and straps.
Once you go clipless, you never go back.
If by some strange reason it doesn't work she can still use the shoes with her clips and straps.
Once you go clipless, you never go back.
There may be a clipless shoe which works well with a rat trap or single-sided touring/track pedals with toe clips and loose straps. That would be fine, but please don’t try to sell me on clipless pedals.
07-21-21, 09:19 AM
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I ride with toe clips and wear stiff-soled skateboard sneakers, adding arch-support insoles for extra firmness. Actually I wear all my shoes with arch supports these days.
I recently bought a folding bike and have not added toe clips to the folding platform pedals. It was a little scary at speed at first, but now I'm okay with it.
I recently bought a folding bike and have not added toe clips to the folding platform pedals. It was a little scary at speed at first, but now I'm okay with it.
07-21-21, 10:12 AM
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I ride with toe clips and wear stiff-soled skateboard sneakers, adding arch-support insoles for extra firmness. Actually I wear all my shoes with arch supports these days.
I recently bought a folding bike and have not added toe clips to the folding platform pedals. It was a little scary at speed at first, but now I'm okay with it.
I recently bought a folding bike and have not added toe clips to the folding platform pedals. It was a little scary at speed at first, but now I'm okay with it.
07-21-21, 06:39 PM
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I am a diehard toeclips and straps fan. I keep the straps just barely loose enough to enable me to yank my feet out. My favorite shoes right now are Giro Rumbles, although they work much better with longer toe clips, as on my mountain bike, the Peugeot, or the 1959 Capo. With the Bianchi's somewhat shorter aluminum Campy clips, I prefer Diadora shoes.
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07-22-21, 11:32 AM
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You could go down the flat pedals and FiveTen shoes route. That's what I eventually migrated to on my MTBs after many years with clipless shoes (SPD and CrankBros). The FiveTens grip the pedals so well it feels like riding clipped in and they are as comfortable to walk in as tennis shoes. There's a reason why these are now so popular in the MTB world.
https://www.adidas.co.uk/five_ten-sh...leadwords_temp
https://www.adidas.co.uk/five_ten-sh...leadwords_temp
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07-22-21, 06:11 PM
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The Adidas sites seem to think that product line is UK only, or at least not on the websites for USA. How did you buy them?
07-23-21, 06:39 PM
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What makes them stand out from normal tennis shoes is the stiffer bike soles and the amazing grip they have on flat pedals. Other brands have since copied them, but FiveTens are still the benchmark for flat pedal shoes. The Freerider line in particular is legendary.
07-24-21, 05:04 AM
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07-24-21, 06:32 AM
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Any experience with this one?
https://www.adidas.com/us/the-velosa...es/H04706.html
Actually the Velosamba looks pretty good, to me. It has a recess for a cleat, but that doesn't mean a cleat must be used. And they make the point that the sole has been stiffened compared to the regular Samba to facilitate longer sessions of pedaling. I'm pretty sure that sole will work well with a rattrap pedal. For us that means to allow an easy release from the pedal. Several comments here say that the Five Ten is good because it is hard to get your foot off of a rattrap pedal, with them. That's not good for us.
https://www.adidas.com/us/the-velosa...es/H04706.html
Actually the Velosamba looks pretty good, to me. It has a recess for a cleat, but that doesn't mean a cleat must be used. And they make the point that the sole has been stiffened compared to the regular Samba to facilitate longer sessions of pedaling. I'm pretty sure that sole will work well with a rattrap pedal. For us that means to allow an easy release from the pedal. Several comments here say that the Five Ten is good because it is hard to get your foot off of a rattrap pedal, with them. That's not good for us.
07-24-21, 08:56 AM
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That looks really good. I saw a pic of the sole and I think it will work well with MKS pedals, clips and straps.
I might look for a pair for my wife because they lace up.
John
I might look for a pair for my wife because they lace up.
John
07-24-21, 09:35 AM
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Any experience with this one?
https://www.adidas.com/us/the-velosa...es/H04706.html
Actually the Velosamba looks pretty good, to me. It has a recess for a cleat, but that doesn't mean a cleat must be used. And they make the point that the sole has been stiffened compared to the regular Samba to facilitate longer sessions of pedaling. I'm pretty sure that sole will work well with a rattrap pedal. For us that means to allow an easy release from the pedal. Several comments here say that the Five Ten is good because it is hard to get your foot off of a rattrap pedal, with them. That's not good for us.
https://www.adidas.com/us/the-velosa...es/H04706.html
Actually the Velosamba looks pretty good, to me. It has a recess for a cleat, but that doesn't mean a cleat must be used. And they make the point that the sole has been stiffened compared to the regular Samba to facilitate longer sessions of pedaling. I'm pretty sure that sole will work well with a rattrap pedal. For us that means to allow an easy release from the pedal. Several comments here say that the Five Ten is good because it is hard to get your foot off of a rattrap pedal, with them. That's not good for us.
07-24-21, 07:52 PM
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Talk her into trying clipless, use the pedals with the clipless part on only one side(set the tension to the minimum), put clips and straps on the other. Get her some MTB shoes. Go for a ride using both sides of the pedals. I'll be she will never go back to the clips and straps. This is what my wife did, she was afraid of not being able to unclip and get her foot down. She could never imagine riding with out clipless again.
If by some strange reason it doesn't work she can still use the shoes with her clips and straps.
Once you go clipless, you never go back.
If by some strange reason it doesn't work she can still use the shoes with her clips and straps.
Once you go clipless, you never go back.
I took the toe clips off of all of my regular bikes. But, I tried some Winwood Clips with the SPD pedals and SPD shoes. I must admit that while they worked, the shoes were far too bulky to use with that setup. So, the Winwood clips remain unused. I haven't tried the SPD shoes with outer toeclips, but would fear the would be bulky.
"Road" shoes may well work with toeclips, but would be problematic for walking. I used the old slotted cleats years ago and they were downright treacherous for walking (although they would have benefited from a stiletto heel as above).
07-25-21, 09:32 AM
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I can't speak for Leob1, but Mr and Mrs Road Fan do not ride with dragging toe clips.
07-25-21, 09:47 AM
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We have both become conditioned to a particlar foot position. For me it's with the ball of my big toe over the spindle, and with the pedals in pretty narrow-Q locations. We want toe clips because they help us put them in the right place.
I do not misunderstand the Five Ten pedals. Based on the Adidas descriptions and comments of BF ers and others, these are not what I want. Like clip on pedals, the FiveTens are another example of the state of the art in pedaling divergent from our proven cycling strategy.
07-25-21, 09:50 AM
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