S-Express
Guest
I didn't say they were worse?
Going Clipless
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I didn't say they were worse?
Ashness
Guest
if they arent worse why did you say they fit the bill if you prioritise walking over cycling
Spiderweb
Not So Special One
I think S-express simply means MTB shoes are easier to walk in as they have recessed cleats in the soles.
If I know I am going to be doing a bit of walking (my daily commute) then I will use my bike with SPD pedals and MTB shoes simply because they do better fit the bill/situation.
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S-Express
Guest
Because they do.
Apollonius
Guru
Having just fitted MTB type cleats (the metal ones) to the shoes a friend who is comparatively new to cycling bought, I would say shop with care. OK, she bought "Muddyfox" from Sports Direct, which is understandable if you are new to it and don't know what will suit you, but I hope they fall apart soon, and that seems likely. Why? because they are dangerously flimsy, in my view.
I will tell you the whole story, as I probably must in order to justify a possibly alarmist view. The person concerned - I will call her Jane - is in her fifties and sporty and competitive. She put on a bit of weight and decided to take up road biking to get fit and get out. She bought a Boardman from Halfords, which seems to be excellent value for the money, and decent quality, and started riding to work. Being competitive (with herself anyway) she got on Strava to map her progress.
I rode with her a couple of times and she saw me clipped in and wanted to go faster. She also discovered that riding in soft-soled trainers wasn't ideal.
I advised her not to rush anything and that I would set her up with a cleated bike to try when she was ready, but she turned up at my house with a pair of "road shoes" as above and asked me which pedals and cleats she should buy to get going. She had already tried the shoes on flats and found that didn't work.
"It all depends on what holes they have," said I. They will take both two and three- hole cleats.
My feeling was, being non-recessed, she would be better off on SPD -SL type, as more stable to stand on, but having tried mine, she found them hard to release, and many people think the Mountain Bike type are easier, so I fitted some multi-way release cleats to her shoes. This was not a good experience. The mountings are very flimsy and the plates just wander around the sandwich between the sole and the liner. The plates are poorly threaded, and I firmly believe that cleats should be tight tight tight.
She is a powerful rider - a strong woman who has played hockey in the past and still plays cricket. I can see these shoes disintegrating and trapping her on the bike all too soon. I took her round the local streets stopping exaggeratedly at every junction over and over again until she was confident, and she went off happy. I do not want to tell her she has bought suspect shoes, but I really hope they fail soon in a non-threatening way. And fail they will.
Any advice anyone?
I will tell you the whole story, as I probably must in order to justify a possibly alarmist view. The person concerned - I will call her Jane - is in her fifties and sporty and competitive. She put on a bit of weight and decided to take up road biking to get fit and get out. She bought a Boardman from Halfords, which seems to be excellent value for the money, and decent quality, and started riding to work. Being competitive (with herself anyway) she got on Strava to map her progress.
I rode with her a couple of times and she saw me clipped in and wanted to go faster. She also discovered that riding in soft-soled trainers wasn't ideal.
I advised her not to rush anything and that I would set her up with a cleated bike to try when she was ready, but she turned up at my house with a pair of "road shoes" as above and asked me which pedals and cleats she should buy to get going. She had already tried the shoes on flats and found that didn't work.
"It all depends on what holes they have," said I. They will take both two and three- hole cleats.
My feeling was, being non-recessed, she would be better off on SPD -SL type, as more stable to stand on, but having tried mine, she found them hard to release, and many people think the Mountain Bike type are easier, so I fitted some multi-way release cleats to her shoes. This was not a good experience. The mountings are very flimsy and the plates just wander around the sandwich between the sole and the liner. The plates are poorly threaded, and I firmly believe that cleats should be tight tight tight.
She is a powerful rider - a strong woman who has played hockey in the past and still plays cricket. I can see these shoes disintegrating and trapping her on the bike all too soon. I took her round the local streets stopping exaggeratedly at every junction over and over again until she was confident, and she went off happy. I do not want to tell her she has bought suspect shoes, but I really hope they fail soon in a non-threatening way. And fail they will.
Any advice anyone?
S-Express
Guest
Leave her to it. Learning through experience is usually quite effective.
Spiderweb
Not So Special One
The same happened with a friend of mine who bought some Muddy Fox shoes 'buy cheap, buy twice' which he did and now has a decent pair.
With regards to cleats, you should never use a combination of SPD cleats and flat road soles even if they have the optional fitting points. Metal SPD cleats should always be recessed imo as they are so dangerous to walk in (cafe stops etc.) especially in the wet!
They will also damage flooring at home, laminates, solid wood or tiles.
Apollonius
Guru
I agree, but if people want the combination of easy-to-use multi release SPD metal and stiff-soled road shoes then that is what they are going to get. Mrs A does this and is yet to slip or fall, and the cleats are less damaging than stiletto heels. Personally, I would want to use SLs for road use on road shoes, but for people with smaller feet they can be a wrench to release. You can see this combination as the best of both worlds, or the worst.
Mrs A puts her shoes on in the garden, having navigated her way there in Crocs. We have no precious floors and I am unable to influence Mrs A anyway!
Richard A Thackeray
Legendary Member
The other, significant, advantage to (MTB) SPDs not mentioned is....
If they're on a commuter/work bike, being double-sided there's no fumbling about flipping the pedal over, after stopping at traffic-lights/zebra-crossings, STOP-lines, etc....
If they're on a commuter/work bike, being double-sided there's no fumbling about flipping the pedal over, after stopping at traffic-lights/zebra-crossings, STOP-lines, etc....
Apollonius
Guru
Not all metal- cleat SPD type pedals are double-sided. And SLs are weighted or balanced so that they hang "right side up" anyway..
guitarpete247
Just about surviving
With MTB shoes and SPD cleats (being metal) they can be a bit skiddy on some hard floor. I know they are recessed but there is a little protruding from my shoes. Stiff soles are also not the best for walking any distance eg. shopping in town.
adscrim
Veteran
She/You could add these to the shoes
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/wellgo-cl98r-shimano-road-spd-cleats/rp-prod110512
Apollonius
Guru
This business of walking in shoes with protuding metal cleats is not an issue for neither Mrs A nor Jane. They do not get on a bike to walk about. Neither do I. We are leisure cyclists, not shoppers.
