Q: Advice on roadie shoes please

[enduro2]

I have an aero bike on the way and need some helo choosing some road shoes.

Tonight I bought a set of these:

Shimano Ultegra 6800 SPD-SL Pedals

Can anyone provide and advise on shoes or what I should be looking for?

I'm it Perth WA and do about 70km over thre days right now but hope to raise that in the short term..

[mmel]

Make sure they fit or are slightly bigger, in my experience these shoes DO NOT STRETCH!

Depends what your goals are but unless you are racing with support I would always consider MTB-style or shoes you can walk on over ballerina glass slippers.

[stoogey]

you'll need some shoes with 3 bolt holes in a triangle shape for the SPD-SL pedals you bought,

the 2 bolt hole pattern ones are for SPD pedals (mountain bike)

have fun learning to clip in and walk :p

[jules21]

try them on and make sure they fit nicely. the higher-end shoes tend to have features like stiffer soles, but you don't need to spend $100s.

[enduro2]

I currently have flat soled Lake mtb shoes that are quite flexible and ok for walking. They have just the two screws.

I clip in and walk fine with those but clearly road shoes are stiffer and apparently have prouder cleats and little heel.

[g-boaf]

Road shoes generally have stiffer soles, mine are carbon. You can put covers over the cleats:

http://www.koolkovers.us/products.html

I use those. The shoes I use have little pads on the back of the soles that you can replace, those make walking a bit easier, but going down stairs is pretty dodgy. Edit: Hmm, Shimano does those covers too: http://www.this link is broken.au/shimano-spd-sl ... at-covers/

As for cleats, I'm using the Shimano blue cleats.

[hamishm]

Flexible soles leads to sore arches on long rides. You want as stiff as you can afford.

I've never bothered with shoe covers for SPD-SL cleats. You can walk in them fine without covers.

[Derny Driver]

Errr, you buy the shoes for how they fit and perform when riding, not for walking.

[g-boaf]

Flexible soles leads to sore arches on long rides. You want as stiff as you can afford.

I've never bothered with shoe covers for SPD-SL cleats. You can walk in them fine without covers.

You can, but it tends to mess up the cleats if you do it too often. Otherwise, love the S-Works shoes I have, they are great. Don't have to walk in them too much, unless of course the elevators break down, which seems to be more and more now. Thank heavens I'm on a lower floor and don't have too many flights of stairs to use.

[Duck!]

I've never bothered with shoe covers for SPD-SL cleats. You can walk in them fine without covers.

The coloured bits are designed to be walked on - you don't start wearing out the critical engagement bits of the cleats until after the coloured pads are worn off.

[AUbicycles]

In Summary - the answer to the question is that the Shimano SPD-SL pedal / cleat system is a 3-bolt and will be compatible with almost all road shoes.

Try on different shoes at bike shops to find one in your price range which fits - comfort is crucial. The price differences between different models for one brand of shoe are often reflected in the material for sole of the shoe (Nylon - Nylon Composite - Carbon) fastening systems, material for the upper and design.

On bicycles.net.au I have a few cycle shoe reviews which generally try and cover the important factors, so are a good reference to know what is important for you and what to look out for.

Christopher

[owly]

Ensure the front area of the shoe you're trying on is not too narrow for your foot width.

Don't let someone sell you shoes you're not quite sure of.

You may also want to go down the road of purchasing/swapping out the insole, for one which fits your foot/arch best. Getting that right helps a lot with ride comfort also.

If you have a narrow-width foot, or a wide/flat foot shape, I could suggest some stores in Perth which carry brands suitable.

[enduro2]

Just to complete the thread:

I ended up purchasing Shimano RP5 shoes (link below) which I am very happy with. The fit is excellent the sole well stiff enough for my ride and I couldn't fault them after a few weeks riding up to 50km on warm 25C mornings.

Walking in them is actually a bit easier that in my Lake SPD fited MTB shoes which is contrary to what some might believe. You wouldn't want to walk home in them, but walking isn't difficult. I've worn high heels before (for fancy dress) and that was bloody hard.

http://www.shimano-lifestylegear.com/gl ... /index.php

[Jawa]

MY advice (though limited) to anyone buying new cycling shoes, buy quality and not cheap out from the beginning. Made this rookie error myself with some POS plastic sole garbage ... 6 months later with a velcro strap that didn't stick and a chewed up heal I had to bite the bullet and get something more appropriate

[Tim]

^^Good advise above but, I've been wearing a pair of plastic soled Shimano, 3 velcro strap shoes for well over 5 years with no problems whatsoever.
I've just 'updated' to $65.00 Shimano RO78, plastic sole, synthetic upper, 3 strap shoes, very similar to the old ones and expect them to last as well.
The soles on both shoes barely flex, admittedly not as stiff as carbon soles, but who cares about a couple of Watts power loss, not me.
They fit firmly, are comfortable and I hope to match the earlier shoe's mileage of 10-12,000km's per year.

[MattyK]

Has anyone actually (scientifically) demonstrated whether shoe stiffness makes any difference to performance?

[Tim]

Has anyone actually (scientifically) demonstrated whether shoe stiffness makes any difference to performance?

Certainly doesn't make any difference to my performance.
I'd be slower in flashy shoes, admiring my own feet with each rotation.
I'd probably ride into a tree.

[hamishm]

Has anyone actually (scientifically) demonstrated whether shoe stiffness makes any difference to performance?

Dunno about performance, but flexy shoes make my arches ache on a long ride.

Logically, any energy you put into flexing the soles is energy that isn't going in to the pedals.

[MattyK]

I understand the physics of energy loss through hysteresis.
I just don't see how that applies when the pedal spindle is (more or less) under the ball of your foot, and your foot is hinged at the ankle. Maybe I'm simplifying the model of a foot to a two-point contact (ball and heel) and if you ride with a mid-foot cleat then you'd be bending the sole of the shoe around those two contact points, with some losses occurring through flex.

The only scientific study google found quickly for me was about how stiffer shoes increase the contact pressure under your foot, with potential negative consequences if you have foot problems...

As far as I can tell, as long as the "patch" of sole that roughly corresponds to the area of the ball of your foot is stiff/supportive, then you shouldn't need any support at the heel at all, because you're not going to bend that part of the shoe anyway. (I'm ignoring pulling up/back through the shoe that a stiff heel cup might help with when sprinting/climbing

I dunno, maybe I'm wrong, and the pros can push down hard with their toes, causing bending through the length of the sole? If the hard data existed, I'm sure the shoe manufacturers would be telling us how many watts their shoes saved... But they don't. Suspicious.

I just suspect it is one of these perception myths that is going to be busted soon, like how higher tyre pressure or super stiff frames make you faster...

Not that perception and "feel" is a bad thing, cycling should be about the enjoyment, and comfort should be a pretty high priority for everyone.

[hamishm]

Interesting comments MattyK. I agree that it seems if you have the pedal directly under the balls of your toes then you wouldn't be bending the rest of the shoe anyway (although you would still be compressing a soft sole). I can only tell you my experience was sore arches.

Not that perception and "feel" is a bad thing, cycling should be about the enjoyment, and comfort should be a pretty high priority for everyone.

Are you arguing that stiff or less stiff soles are more comfortable?

[MattyK]

I'm not arguing either way; I don't have enough experience there to tell. A well shaped (for the individual) very stiff sole might be very comfortable. But a badly shaped stiff sole might be torture. And the converse.

[Jawa]

^^Good advise above but, I've been wearing a pair of plastic soled Shimano, 3 velcro strap shoes for well over 5 years with no problems whatsoever.
I've just 'updated' to $65.00 Shimano RO78, plastic sole, synthetic upper, 3 strap shoes, very similar to the old ones and expect them to last as well.
The soles on both shoes barely flex, admittedly not as stiff as carbon soles, but who cares about a couple of Watts power loss, not me.
They fit firmly, are comfortable and I hope to match the earlier shoe's mileage of 10-12,000km's per year.

Interesting .. to be specific mine were a pair of Shimano R065's. Maybe I had a dud pair, the heal part though was more self imposed.

With regards to the plastic vs carbon sole debate, wattage wise I think its one of those marginal gain sort of things. Though carbon does have dampening properties which does benefit