non-fixie 

I had my first clipless experience today. Last winter I bought a pair of NOS Podio shoes, complete with cleats and pedals for the proverbial song, but I hadn't dared to try them yet. This morning I felt lucky, so I put the pedals on my green Raleigh, the shoes on my feet, figured out how they worked, and off I went for a 20-mile ride in the autumn sunshine.

I must admit I like them. Getting in and out is a breeze, and they were quite comfortable from the very first moment. Actually, they are so nice, I am surprised that I don't see them more often. Are SPD's and LOOK's even better?

noglider 

In about 1987, a friend of mine told me he loved his Looks, so I tried them. I loved them, too. But they're very hard to walk on. I remember once we were on a dock by the side of Carnegie Lake in Princeton, NJ, and the dock was sloped towards the water. We felt like we were on Teflon-coated shoes, at great risk of falling in the lake.

SPD are very versatile. Many SPD shoes have recessed cleats. I can walk in them all day. Shimano seems to make some of the best shoes, so I recommend you try some of those.

A couple of my bikes have those versatile pedals which are "regular" on one side and SPD on the other. (I won't call them "platform" because that word used to mean something else.) So when I'm not wearing my SPD shoes, I can pedal with no foot retention, which is fine.

I don't know why, but Shimano came out with SPD-SL which, if I'm not mistaken, is like Look but incompatible. Some people prefer them. I suspect they're optimized for road racing.

I've been wearing SPD's for a few years. They (and Looks) are easier to get into and out of than toe clips, so I love them.

Sixty Fiver

Look pedals and cleats are awesome but don't go strolling in these or Shimano SL pedals as they are not designed for this... SPD pedals are more versatile for on and off the bike adventures as many spd compatible shoes recess the cleat.

CMAW 

What bike is that n-f? Posted by you it looks like a thing of the future.

non-fixie 

Thanks Tom. I can see the advantages of recessed cleats. I think I will buy a pair of those shoes, as some of the bikes I have bought over the years have come with SPD pedals, including the double-sided ones you mention. As for walking with these Podio's, it's not that bad:

https://prollyisnotprobably.com/2010/...kx-mondays-20/

non-fixie 

A thing of future passed (to quote the Moody Blues) more likely. It is actually a Raleigh Competition from 1984. Before repedalling it, it looked like this:

well biked

If you do try SPD's, and you're going to be putting them on a road bike, I recommend Shimano's RT-82 shoes. I think "RT" stands for road touring. These are smooth-soled shoes, with a nice ratchet fastening system, the sole is made of rubber (so it's not slick at all), and the cleat is recessed like on SPD mountain bike shoes. These shoes are my new favorites for folks riding road bikes with SPD's, for touring bikes, etc. I have some I use on my commuter and I often end up just wearing the shoes all day, they're very comfortable.

non-fixie 

Not with your Armani suit, I hope?

Edit: I have looked into cycling shoes that would look good when not cycling, and the best (or better: least ugly) I've seen so far are Shimano's MT21.

well biked

Nah, I work in a bike shop. I can wear my funny looking shoes and hardly anyone thinks I'm weird........but seriously, those RT-82's outsell anything else we have right now in the way of shoes. I really like them.

non-fixie 

I wish I could have recessed cleats on these ...

smontanaro 

Best investment I ever made in pedal technology was a set of cleat covers for my Looks.

scozim 

I've been riding clipless since the mid-90's when I bought a new road bike. At that time I loved the Sampson Stratics but the cleats were the most horrible thing about them - no chance in moving around with even a hint of coordination with those. But, the pedals were awesome.

I'm not using Look Delta or Delta compatible pedals on just about everything. Two bikes have the Performance Forte CR150 pedals which I like the best. I also have a set of the Forte Campus pedal which are the style noglider mentions - Shimano SPD on one side, platform on the other.

After riding the double sided Shimano SPD pedals on the mountain bikes I'm almost ready to put those on all the road bikes. There's just something so nice about not having to flip a pedal over to clip in or put the toe in the toe clip.

And, despite all the experience with clipless, I still periodically (every 3-4 yrs) have that screw up, try to unclip too late and go over sideways. Just ask Abarth.

noglider 

I've seen pictures on the web (so you know they're real) of expensive dress shoes -- for men and women -- with SPD cleats embedded in them.

I'm planning to go to my local shoe repair shop and see what's involved in taking putting SPD soles (from rotten old bike shoes) into shoes of my choice. It may be prohibitively expensive, but if anyone can do it, my local shoe repair shop can. They are very good at what they do and have been in business since about the 1940's.

due ruote 

Putting spd cleats on any leather soled dress shoe should be a fairly simple matter of removing the insole, drilling a couple holes, inserting t-nuts, and attaching the cleats. Embedding them in the sole so you can walk around will be much more difficult; I guess they'll need to build up the sole around the cleat, unless you're wearing platforms and they can rout out a recess.

JPZ66

+1 Though I still don't walk too much in them, the rubber covers make a big difference, and most importantly, they protect the cleat !

Joe

non-fixie 

I've thought about that too, even about trying it myself, but I also came to the same conclusion as due ruote:

It will not look very elegant, I'm afraid.

Chombi

Cleat covers also help keep you bike shoes mostly clean of road grit that can eventually grind off the finish on your pedal where the cleat contacts it.

Chombi

non-fixie 

One of the nice things about the Podio's is that you don't really walk on the cleats because of the way the sole is constructed:

due ruote 

I don't know about that. It depends on the shoes and the bike.

well biked

One of the coolest things I've seen in regard to SPD cleats/pedals is a picture I saw in a mountain bike magazine a few years ago. A pro racer had a cast on his lower leg and it also covered his foot. An SPD cleat was mounted on the bottom of the cast.

non-fixie 

I stand corrected. I'd probably be frowned upon, although I think I could get away with the shoes.