[jspharmd]

I'm adding road riding(Felt F65) to my MTBing, I use clipless on MTB (Time ATAC carbons, Sidi Rampa 3).

What is a good first shoe/pedal combo? The number of pedals and shoes for road are much more extensive than for MTB. Paralysis of analysis!

I've read all about the different types of pedals and I know some shoes only fit with some pedals, so I will be careful not to combine non-compatible shoes/pedals.

Are the Answer XCRs a decent shoe (Nashbar Answer XCR + Crank Bros. Quattro SL $169)? I've heard the Look style pedals are the way to go, but I assume it is personal preference.

I would like to keep the combination of shoes/pedals below $200, $250 max.

Any and all opinions are welcome. THANKS

Maybe too much to address in one thread, but this is my dilemma.

 

[StormShadow]

Go here , pick the Sidi Genius 5 shoes and the Time RXE pedals, and you should be all set. Of course you could save money and go with the Sidi Zeta shoe and probably be just as happy.

 

[BILLREDD]

Did you get the road bike locally? Try the bike shop!

I've found the folks at my local place to be very helpful... However, they do get a good deal of my money!

Are you game to wearing your MTB shoes while on the road bike? Then why not the same thing you are used to for the MTB?
(I'm real interested in replies to this, as I may be making the opposite transition...adding MTB to my road biking)

Bill

 

[Jeff in Texas]

Did you get the road bike locally? Try the bike shop!

I've found the folks at my local place to be very helpful... However, they do get a good deal of my money!

Are you game to wearing your MTB shoes while on the road bike? Then why not the same thing you are used to for the MTB?
(I'm real interested in replies to this, as I may be making the opposite transition...adding MTB to my road biking)

Bill

I agree with Bill. I use MTB shoes for both. I have Crank Brothers Candy C's for the MTB and Quattro SL's for the RB. No need to worry about changing cleats, just jump on and go. The main reason I have done it this way is to save money. Once I become a somewhat proficient roadie, I will buy myself some roadie shoes though.

 

[BILLREDD]

Jeff:

I just checked out those Quattro SL's on the Crank Bros. website.
Cool stuff. So, even if I did have separate road/MTB shoes, they'd still be able to be worn on either bike.

Bill

 

[Jeff in Texas]

It works for me! Crank Bros. stated that you may have to shave off some of the tread on the MTB shoes, but I had no problems at all. YMMV. Everyone has their personal preferences, for me it just made sense to stick to the same type of pedal.

 

[jspharmd]

Did you get the road bike locally? Try the bike shop!

I've found the folks at my local place to be very helpful... However, they do get a good deal of my money!

Are you game to wearing your MTB shoes while on the road bike? Then why not the same thing you are used to for the MTB?
(I'm real interested in replies to this, as I may be making the opposite transition...adding MTB to my road biking)

Bill

The bike is on order from a LBS (didn't have my size in stock). I went to the LBS to ensure a good fit on my first bike. I like the people at several LBS, but I sometimes find the scope of information to narrower than when I post threads online (Sometimes limited to only the products they carry at that store, or with a strong preference only for products carried at that particular store).

The other problem is the cheap a$$ in me. As shown in the link provided by StormShadow, shopping online can provide significant savings over the LBS. So, I'm torn between supporting the little local shop and saving money (sometimes significant amounts). For example the Sidi Genius 5 on probikekit.com $158, at the LBS $230 minus the 10% discount $207. Still a difference of $49 and that's just for the shoes. I believe several of the pedals provide even more savings.

I am wearing MTB shoes. My original plan was to use my MTB shoes with a spare pair of MTB pedals. However, the guy who sold me the bike said I would eventually want to get some road shoes and pedals. I figured, if I'm going to get them later anyway, why not just order them now and not bother getting used to MTB pedals initially and then have to change to road stuff later.

Depending on which road shoes and pedals you currently use, you may need to buy new MTB shoes/pedals. I obviously don't know this from experience, but I've listened to a conversation between two people with experience in both road and MTB.

Is it true that one will want the stiffer sole and larger pedal, with greater surface are contact, provided by road shoes/pedals? Maybe the LBS guy was totally wrong about needing to switch eventually.

 

[jaseone]

It depends upon how much and what sort of riding you do on the road, if you ride a lot and for long distances then the stiffer soles and larger contact area will make a noticable difference.

However I must admit when I had Eggbeaters on my MTB (still do) and Quattro SL's on my road bike it was so damn convenient to have the one pair of shoes (Specialized Pro Carbon) with cleats compatible with both bikes. Note to the original poster I think even if you went with the Quattro SL's with the aim of keeping your MTB shoes then I think the cleats would most likely be different between your existing pedals and the Crank Bros universal cleat.

 

[jspharmd]

It depends upon how much and what sort of riding you do on the road, if you ride a lot and for long distances then the stiffer soles and larger contact area will make a noticable difference.

However I must admit when I had Eggbeaters on my MTB (still do) and Quattro SL's on my road bike it was so damn convenient to have the one pair of shoes (Specialized Pro Carbon) with cleats compatible with both bikes. Note to the original poster I think even if you went with the Quattro SL's with the aim of keeping your MTB shoes then I think the cleats would most likely be different between your existing pedals and the Crank Bros universal cleat.

I posted with a question about the Quattros more to ask whether the Answer XCR shoes were worth buying. I noticed that Answer doesn't have road shoes on their website anymore. Seeing this, I figured they were so cheap because they weren't making this shoe anymore. This raised concern about the quatlity of the shoes.

I currently have TIME ATAC carbon pedals for my MTB. I figured the cleats for these wouldn't be compatible with the Crank Bros Quattros.

Any thoughts on the Answer XCR shoes?

Although I will probably go with the combos on probikekit.com. That is if I decide to go straight to the road shoes/pedals.

 

[jaseone]

I've got no experience with the Answer XCR shoes so I can't really comment, they sound like they have all the right features but generally you get what you pay for...

I would go through probikekit.com personally and get the dedicated road shoes/pedals straight up, do you want to stick with Time pedals or are you open to others? For example it might be a good idea to go with a pedal like Speedplays that have double sided entry, I've never ridden Spedplays though and have recently made the switch to Look Keo's that I can now clip into just about every time without thinking, it is kind of like touch typing once you realise you are doing it then it all goes down the crapper.

 

[jspharmd]

I've got no experience with the Answer XCR shoes so I can't really comment, they sound like they have all the right features but generally you get what you pay for...

I would go through probikekit.com personally and get the dedicated road shoes/pedals straight up, do you want to stick with Time pedals or are you open to others? For example it might be a good idea to go with a pedal like Speedplays that have double sided entry, I've never ridden Spedplays though and have recently made the switch to Look Keo's that I can now clip into just about every time without thinking, it is kind of like touch typing once you realise you are doing it then it all goes down the crapper.

Based on what I've read I was thinking about going with the Look Keo Carbon Cromoly with the Sidi Zeta. I originally thought about the staying with Time because I really love their MTB pedals. I will probably always use Time MTB pedals. The reviews for the road pedals weren't very good and reviews for the Keos were much better.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[dom3333]

You can try Shimano Ultegra pedals and Sidi Zeta shoes, this is acomfortable and very good quality combo.

 

[StormShadow]

I rode for a long time in my mountain bike shoes. I had egg beaters on the mountain bike and a set of candys on the road bike. Like everyone pointed out, it was so nice to just put on my shoes and ride any of my bikes.

I just recently moved to road shoes and pedals. The combo of Sidi Zeta and Time RXE proves to be pretty good for me. The shoe is plenty stiff and I prefer the velcro straps to get a snug fit. The pedals provide a nice platform that doesn't cause hot spots.