Grant Fondo
Guru
- Location
- Cheshire
Bottom line is you have to try them on. Buying off t'internet will always be a gamble. Save a few quid at your peril!
Are cycling shoes necessary , if so why ?
- Thread starter woodbutcher
- Start date
-
- Tags
- shoes
Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
JtB
Prepare a way for the Lord
- Location
- North Hampshire
Cycling shoes were part and parcel of the mid life crisis that got me into cycling in the first place and now that I’ve got through my crisis the cycling shoes have become habit.
Tom B
Guru
- Location
- Lancashire
Some of most painful, if not spectacular injuries I've received on a bike are related to slipping off pedals. (OK on the singularly most painful incident the pedal came off the spindle and stabbed my calf - that would have happened irrespective of shoes)
I go for spds with soles you can walk in.
I go for spds with soles you can walk in.
Brandane
Legendary Member
- Location
- Costa Clyde
I am a MTB SPD wearer, even on a road bike. I only use them because on longer rides they prevent me from getting pain in the achilles tendon. They don't make me any faster, and offer no better grip on the pedal than my old flats with pegs did.
The downside of SPD's is that if you are coming off, then there is nothing you're going to be able to do to stick a leg out to regain balance or to try and break the fall. You're going to injure your hip when you crash at any speed while clipped in. Just ask my mate who came off on Easter Monday and spent a week in hospital, and now has plates and screws holding his left hip together. He'll be lucky to ride a bike again at the age of 57, and certainly won't be the competitive, fast rider he previously was.
My personal advice on SPD's is, if you can use flats without suffering problems, stick with them. Unless you have aspirations to be a pro..
The downside of SPD's is that if you are coming off, then there is nothing you're going to be able to do to stick a leg out to regain balance or to try and break the fall. You're going to injure your hip when you crash at any speed while clipped in. Just ask my mate who came off on Easter Monday and spent a week in hospital, and now has plates and screws holding his left hip together. He'll be lucky to ride a bike again at the age of 57, and certainly won't be the competitive, fast rider he previously was.
My personal advice on SPD's is, if you can use flats without suffering problems, stick with them. Unless you have aspirations to be a pro..
jay clock
Massive member
- Location
- Hampshire UK
It's all about stiffness and not slipping at the moment of maximum thrust.. Or was that another topic?
SkipdiverJohn
Deplorable Brexiteer
- Location
- London
How can flats prevent foot movement? You are completely free to position any part of your foot on the pedal in any way you choose! I regularly make small adjustments to my foot position, by doing so during pauses in pedalling such as when slowing down or approaching a turn. I wear stout footwear for cycling and get zero discomfort from the pedals, even the old-school rat-trap ones with serrated edges..
It's also very rare for my feet to come off the pedals in an unplanned manner. For a start, I don't have any desire to try to achieve 100 rpm+ cadence where keeping your feet in place might start to become a problem, I don't pedal standing unless it's unavoidable, and I certainly won't do this if either my feet are slippery or the surface I'm riding on is wet or slippery with mud.
You could go all retro, who remembers fitting these or similar. I can't remember the adjustable ones, you had to precise on the positioning before nailing.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/302871689163
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/302871689163
Last edited:
I've always found my feet unclipped when I've gone down or been brought down. In fact, the last time I was brought down in a small group I had my hand stood on by another group member who had also come unclipped as they went down. It seems to happen without consciously thinking about it.
Yes I have found this too, I have never come off and found my feet still attached to the pedals, but I don't set mine super tight, I can imagine if you like a really tight setting things might be different.
I like Skol
A Minging Manc...
- Location
- Sunny Ashton-under-Lyne
^^^^THIS.
Always find my foot out of the pedal when needed without even having to think about it. Some people, especially when mountain biking, will unclip a foot in advance of a perceived tricky corner but I can't think of anything more likely to make you lose control. IMO a tricky or bumpy corner is just when you need a positive, reliable connection with your bike more than ever so why would you compromise this by removing one of the major benefits of clipless pedals at the critical moment?
D
Deleted member 1258
Guest
I don't remember the nail on ones, several mates of mine do, but I remember the later ones that screwed on, I did a lot of miles on those.
- Location
- Somewhere wet & hilly in NW England.
Even more of a certainty with SPD's if you use SH56 multi-release cleats as opposed to the more restrictive SH51's that seem to be the default option supplied by dealers.
NorthernDave
Never used Über Member
- Location
- The real Northern Powerhouse
Can I be the first to admit that I have fallen off as a result of being unable to unclip in time?
Even with yellow cleats and the tension dialled right down.
Still, it was at low speed and only about half a dozen people saw, so I'll file that as a lesson learned...
Even with yellow cleats and the tension dialled right down.
Still, it was at low speed and only about half a dozen people saw, so I'll file that as a lesson learned...
