Shoes/Sneakers For Cycling

ChiroVette · Jun 29, 2021

Okay, I have been cycling my whole life, and have always used whatever regular sneakers I happen to wear every day for riding. But I have noticed that for longer rides, north of 40-50 miles, they start to get uncomfortable. They never really bother me too much, but I was thinking that I want to invest in a decent pair of dedicated shoes for riding. A few things I will answer to start:

-I am not interested in clipping in. So flat sneakers/shoes with no female clips would be good.
-I am somewhat flexible in price, but neither am I looking to break the bank. Obviously I don't expect to get a decent pair of shoes at like PayLess Prices lol. But I don't want to spend huge money.
-Comfort for long rides is literally my only concern. I care almost nothing for the aesthetics of the sneakers/shoes since they will be dedicated for cycling only.

Thoughts?

ogre · Jun 29, 2021

I would suggest reaching out to the MTB crowd, as it seems that about 50% of riders use platform pedals. Different goals, but I think you'd have the common goal of keeping the shoe on the pedal. I would also ask about comfort on long rides (talk time, not miles). But ultimately, I think a stiff sole is what you need to endure long rides, and it's hard to find that in a non-cycling specific shoe.

I know you said you're not interested in clipping in. Have you tried Shimano MTB pedals? You just step on either side of the pedal and you're in. Then you have loads of options for good shoes with plenty of support.

I consider shoes a critical piece of equipment, whether biking or in every day life. They're your contact point with our planet. I don't skimp when buying shoes (we're not talking dress shoes, I haven't bought a pair in over a decade)

tlg · Jun 29, 2021

MTB shoes. You can get them that look like sneakers. Use them without cleats on flat pedals.

You need the stiff sole of a cycling shoe. Regular sneakers will never be stiff enough

Opus51569 · Jun 29, 2021

Teva sandals in the summer are my go-to. I too use platform pedals on my road bikes. In the winter, I usually switch to a closed toe Sketchers shoe. But, I don’t generally ride in the extreme cold.

I know the conventional wisdom is that you need a hard sole, but I’ve done fine with regular sandal or tennis shoe.

Lombard · Jun 29, 2021

Opus51569 said:
Teva sandals in the summer are my go-to. I too use platform pedals on my road bikes. In the winter, I usually switch to a closed toe Sketchers shoe. But, I don’t generally ride in the extreme cold.

I know the conventional wisdom is that you need a hard sole, but I’ve done fine with regular sandal or tennis shoe.

I agree with two caveats.

First, Teva sandals are fine, but get the ones with the closed toe area in front as the open ones leave too much possibility of stubbing a toe.

Second, while I don't use clip ins for mountain biking and have never had soreness with regular sneakers, I have found that New Balance sneakers tend to hit the crank arms. This eventually causes the inside of the sole to come apart from the sneaker.

tlg · Jun 29, 2021

Opus51569 said:
Teva sandals in the summer are my go-to. I too use platform pedals on my road bikes. In the winter, I usually switch to a closed toe Sketchers shoe. But, I don’t generally ride in the extreme cold.

I know the conventional wisdom is that you need a hard sole, but I’ve done fine with regular sandal or tennis shoe.

You ride 50 miles in sandals?

PBL450 · Jun 29, 2021

I use 5-10s for my pinned flats on my mtb. They have a very hard sole, hard enough that they are awkward to walk in... 5-10s don’t come cheap but sales do come around here and there.

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ChiroVette · Jul 1, 2021

Okay thanks for the responses, everyone. It looks like the only recommendation for actual brand is Five Ten if I am reading this correct. Well, other than sandals, of course. lol

Anyway, I did a search on Amazon for five Ten bicycle shoes, and came up with a bunch, ranging from $79.99 to about $200.00. Is there a particular model within their line you guys would recommend? I also think I would prefer to actually buy in a shoe store to make sure they are properly sized. I have a wider foot, but tend to fit into a 10.5. I suppose I could order them online, either from Amazon or a cycling retailer like Planet Cyclery or Western Bike Works and hope they fit without trying them on.

pmf · Jul 1, 2021

ChiroVette said:
Okay thanks for the responses, everyone. It looks like the only recommendation for actual brand is Five Ten if I am reading this correct. Well, other than sandals, of course. lol

Anyway, I did a search on Amazon for five Ten bicycle shoes, and came up with a bunch, ranging from $79.99 to about $200.00. Is there a particular model within their line you guys would recommend? I also think I would prefer to actually buy in a shoe store to make sure they are properly sized. I have a wider foot, but tend to fit into a 10.5. I suppose I could order them online, either from Amazon or a cycling retailer like Planet Cyclery or Western Bike Works and hope they fit without trying them on.

Most bike shop don't carry more than one brand of shoes because its expensive to carry an inventory of items that don't sell quickly. My shop carried Specialized shoes since they are a Specialized dealer.

If you're doing 40-50 miles rides, you really ought to entertain the idea of pedals and cleats. Its infinitely better than platform pedals and tennis shoes. Why not get some Shimano platform pedals with a cleat on one side, and some mountain bike shoes? The MB shoes have a much stiffer sole than those five ten things. Doing this would give you the ability to try the cleat and pedal set up. Give it a few weeks. If you don't like it, take the cleats off the shoes and you still have a nice par of shoes and platform pedals. I have MB pedals on all my road bikes. The shoes have recessed cleats, making it easy to walk in them. There's a reason EVERYONE who rides bikes a lot uses pedals and cleats. You wear padded shorts, right? I like Shimano shoes -- the higher end ones come in wide sizing.

PBL450 · Jul 1, 2021

pmf said:
Most bike shop don't carry more than one brand of shoes because its expensive to carry an inventory of items that don't sell quickly. My shop carried Specialized shoes since they are a Specialized dealer.

If you're doing 40-50 miles rides, you really ought to entertain the idea of pedals and cleats. Its infinitely better than platform pedals and tennis shoes. Why not get some Shimano platform pedals with a cleat on one side, and some mountain bike shoes? The MB shoes have a much stiffer sole than those five ten things. Doing this would give you the ability to try the cleat and pedal set up. Give it a few weeks. If you don't like it, take the cleats off the shoes and you still have a nice par of shoes and platform pedals. I have MB pedals on all my road bikes. The shoes have recessed cleats, making it easy to walk in them. There's a reason EVERYONE who rides bikes a lot uses pedals and cleats. You wear padded shorts, right? I like Shimano shoes -- the higher end ones come in wide sizing.

Yeah, so we don’t get hit in the shins... That’s the only reason to change. A wide pinned flat will negate any stiffness advantage if that even matters.

OP, if you go the 5-10 route, try to buy in person, the fir. IME is a little funky. Also, IME they have held up so-so. Yes, they see some difficult action, but quality is iffy. That said, I like them and use them well into snow biking season because they outperform any other shoes/boots I’ve tried. I do get nailed in the shin once in a while... That hurts like hell! Haha

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ChiroVette · Jul 1, 2021

Okay, I am not familiar with a lot of the terms being said here. IME, for instance or "the fir". Also, are people suggesting cleats like the baseball players use? I don't want to clip in, as I said, but it sounds like you guys are talking about cleats that are somehow connected to bike pedals in some way? Sorry for the ignorance, but I have only ever heard the term cleats, as a kid, when people talked about baseball players using them. I don't even know what they look like, or how they connect to cycling. Also not sure what you mean when you talk about "wide pinned flat will negate any stiffness." lol I feel like you guys are talking in a language I don't speak.

PBL450 said:
Yeah, so we don’t get hit in the shins... That’s the only reason to change. A wide pinned flat will negate any stiffness advantage if that even matters.

OP, if you go the 5-10 route, try to buy in person, the fir. IME is a little funky. Also, IME they have held up so-so. Yes, they see some difficult action, but quality is iffy. That said, I like them and use them well into snow biking season because they outperform any other shoes/boots I’ve tried. I do get nailed in the shin once in a while... That hurts like hell! Haha

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Yeah, I will definitely want to find a dealer if I go with Five Ten sneakers, I will try to find a brick & mortar seller. I am sure Brooklyn will have some shoe/sneaker stores that sell them.

PBL450 · Jul 1, 2021

ChiroVette said:
Okay, I am not familiar with a lot of the terms being said here. IME, for instance or "the fir". Also, are people suggesting cleats like the baseball players use? I don't want to clip in, as I said, but it sounds like you guys are talking about cleats that are somehow connected to bike pedals in some way? Sorry for the ignorance, but I have only ever heard the term cleats, as a kid, when people talked about baseball players using them. I don't even know what they look like, or how they connect to cycling. Also not sure what you mean when you talk about "wide pinned flat will negate any stiffness." lol I feel like you guys are talking in a language I don't speak.

Yeah, I will definitely want to find a dealer if I go with Five Ten sneakers, I will try to find a brick & mortar seller. I am sure Brooklyn will have some shoe/sneaker stores that sell them.

Wide pedals (flats) that have small metal pins sticking up that hold your sneaker sole in place so you don’t slip off.

IME. In my experience.

Cleats are for clipping in which you don’t want to do.

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pmf · Jul 1, 2021

PBL450 said:
Wide pedals (flats) that have small metal pins sticking up that hold your sneaker sole in place so you don’t slip off.

IME. In my experience.

Cleats are for clipping in which you don’t want to do.

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There's two types of pedals -- road and mountain. Cleats are metal or plastic things that are screwed into the bottom of the shoe. The road version protrudes from the shoe and is a pain to walk around in. The mountain version is recessed into the show sole and is easier to walk in. This is the bottom of a Shimano mountain bike shoe. Note the brass cleat in the middle. See that is is recessed into the sole

This is the Time ATAC pedal. You step on either side of it, and click in. Now your foot is attached to the pedal until you twist your foot outward and it unclicks.

pmf · Jul 1, 2021

Time pedal -- note that its small and you need a pair of mountain bike shoes to use it

pmf · Jul 1, 2021

But you can buy a pedal that looks kind of like this that has a place to click the cleat into on one side (this pedal does not have one -- its my son's bike and he rides with tennis shoes on). Most pedals like this will come with a set of cleats. If you buy mountain bike shoes, you can ride this kind of pedal with or without cleats (google 'flat pedal with cleats'). Does that make any sense?

Opus51569 · Jul 1, 2021

tlg said:
You ride 50 miles in sandals?

Sure. And so far I’ve never had any issues with foot or knee pain. Also no problems with feet slipping off the pedals. Though, I don’t generally ride in the rain.

pmf · Jul 1, 2021

I once met this guy out on the DC bike path who was finishing up a ride across the U.S. He was wearing a pair of Shimano cycling sandals with SPD pedals. The skin on the top his feet that you could see was tanned dark brown. I bet his feet had an interesting pattern on them when he took those shoes off.

No Time Toulouse · Jul 1, 2021

pmf said:
Time pedal -- note that its small and you need a pair of mountain bike shoes to use it

View attachment 479971

Also, keep in mind that 'clipless pedals' like these are also a theft-deterrent. Thieves might not want to ride off with pedals that they can't ride with only sneakers on..

xxl · Jul 1, 2021

ChiroVette said:
Okay, I am not familiar with a lot of the terms being said here. IME, for instance or "the fir". Also, are people suggesting cleats like the baseball players use? I don't want to clip in, as I said, but it sounds like you guys are talking about cleats that are somehow connected to bike pedals in some way? Sorry for the ignorance, but I have only ever heard the term cleats, as a kid, when people talked about baseball players using them. I don't even know what they look like, or how they connect to cycling. Also not sure what you mean when you talk about "wide pinned flat will negate any stiffness." lol I feel like you guys are talking in a language I don't speak.

Yeah, I will definitely want to find a dealer if I go with Five Ten sneakers, I will try to find a brick & mortar seller. I am sure Brooklyn will have some shoe/sneaker stores that sell them.

Chirovette, I've ridden both "clipless" (i.e., modern cleat/clip-in pedals, e.g., SPDs, Times, Looks, etc.) and the "flats" that are currently popular (these are the "pinned" ones that folks have mentioned here), and my take is this: If you're looking to do any real distances, say over 40 miles, you should learn clipless (and it's nothing that takes more than a minute or two for most folks to "learn"). Just about all of the major clipless systems these days are excellent,* so it really boils down to personal preference/availability.

Otherwise, since you have an aversion to being "clipped in," I'd check out "flats" (aka "stomp" pedals--I like Shimano XTs), which are just huge bike pedals with gripping pins on them, and which can be ridden comfortably with just about any street shoes you'd want. They're big with the city/commuter types around here for that reason. I usually use, um, walking shoes (hard-to-fit feet are my curse), and the larger surface area of the flats, plus the comfort of a foot-friendly shoe, make for a comfy, pain-free ride for me.

I have gone on longer rides with my flat pedal bike, but I vastly prefer my Sidis and clipless systems for longer rides; I go faster and farther with them.

*Of course, if one really wants to up their game, they insist on Pitbull Pedals, the Fastest Pedals on the Planet.

(^this is an inside joke at RBR, feel free to ignore it)

PBL450 · Jul 2, 2021

xxl said:
Chirovette, I've ridden both "clipless" (i.e., modern cleat/clip-in pedals, e.g., SPDs, Times, Looks, etc.) and the "flats" that are currently popular (these are the "pinned" ones that folks have mentioned here), and my take is this: If you're looking to do any real distances, say over 40 miles, you should learn clipless (and it's nothing that takes more than a minute or two for most folks to "learn"). Just about all of the major clipless systems these days are excellent,* so it really boils down to personal preference/availability.

Otherwise, since you have an aversion to being "clipped in," I'd check out "flats" (aka "stomp" pedals--I like Shimano XTs), which are just huge bike pedals with gripping pins on them, and which can be ridden comfortably with just about any street shoes you'd want. They're big with the city/commuter types around here for that reason. I usually use, um, walking shoes (hard-to-fit feet are my curse), and the larger surface area of the flats, plus the comfort of a foot-friendly shoe, make for a comfy, pain-free ride for me.

I have gone on longer rides with my flat pedal bike, but I vastly prefer my Sidis and clipless systems for longer rides; I go faster and farther with them.

*Of course, if one really wants to up their game, they insist on Pitbull Pedals, the Fastest Pedals on the Planet.

(^this is an inside joke at RBR, feel free to ignore it)

If you want to go fast, you need to go Pitbull!

I don’t clip in on my mtb because of some of my winter riding. I often miss being clipped in when I beach ride. The 5-10 soles are pretty flat, soft and smooth and interact perfectly with the pins. Other shoes will move a bit if they have deeper treads on the contact points.

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Shoes/Sneakers For Cycling

ChiroVette

ogre

tlg

Opus51569

Lombard

tlg

PBL450

ChiroVette

pmf

PBL450

ChiroVette

PBL450

pmf

pmf

pmf

Opus51569

pmf

No Time Toulouse

xxl

PBL450

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