Touring Pedals and Shoes

[John Peel]

So, I've been riding a road bike for a few years now and using SPDs. I now also have a touring bike, but still planning on using my road bike too. The touring bike did not come with SPD pedals but I plan on using them on this bike too. When riding this bike I have found that when not on the roads I have to keep taking my feet off the Pedals so SPDs would be no good in this instance. Another thing I would like to do when using SPD shoes is walking in them so the cleats will have to be in a recess within the sole.

So, the pedals I am thinking of using is Shimano M324 Pedals which are classed as touring pedals. These have one side as SPD and the other side as flat. Has anyone used these kinds of pedals?

The problem I am having is finding the right shoes. The SPD shoes I use on my road bike would do everything as needed except the soles of these shoes have no grip for gripping the flat side of the pedals and even though they can be walked in, the soles are a bit stiff.

I am trying to find shoes that are similar to my road shoes above but that have a grippy sole that is not too stiff (not Quamms as they are too expensive). So far I have only found 2:

Shimano MT3s but apparently these have no grip
O'Neal MTB Flow, these have the grip but looking at the photos they don't look as they have the cleats recessed so walking in them would be difficult.

Has anyone experienced any of the shoes above?
Has anyone got any other shoe suggestions?

I have been using flats with no spikes on my tour, and couldn't imagine using anything else.

I like being able to wear anything on my feet, or even nothing at all. Gellies, barefoot, anything.

If I were to be doing mostly off-road, I would choose something with a little more grip, but because I mostly road, trails and tracks, there is no point in using anything else.

I often set up camp and then just take off on my bike to the shops, beach or whatever, and being able to just slip on my flip flops or gellies is ideal. And it's about being comfortable too.

 

[andrew_s]

I use SPD sandals, and Flat/SPD pedals.

The sandals are actually these (Nashbar Ragster), which used to be available in the UK as the Exustar SS501, until they got superseded by the SS502.
The pedals are the PD-T780 (now replaced by the PD-T8000), which were the XT version of the 324.

I've never had any problem clipping in - it's about 75% first crank revolution*, even on steep hills, and a bit of a shuffle the rest of the time.
* first revolution means pedal starts at the bottom, with my foot on the ground, and I'm clipped in by the time it gets back to the bottom.

For touring, the advantage is that no socks are required, or any second (evening) shoes, which saves a fair bit of luggage space.
There's also nothing much to get wet if it's rainy - the sandals themselves are dry in about an hour's riding, and skin is very quick.

As far as temperature is concerned, I've found that the gap between sandals being put away for the winter and the winter boots coming out is quite small - only about 5° or so, so I've never wanted any extra on tour, though I'll take a pair of woolen socks and goretex oversocks before May or after September, just in case.
You do have to remember to put suntan juice on your feet