Bike Shoes Recommendation

foolio_mugoolio

Hello,

I want to get some new shoes that will allow me to: 

1) ride sockless

2) get in and out of them quickly/easily while leaving them connected to my pedals

Of course, this is in addition to being comfortable and reasonable cost.  What are some good options?  My current shoes are pretty basic cycling shoes w/ 3 straps and no liner that do not meet the first two criteria above in the least.

Thanks in advance.

Woody Freese

Shoes are generally particular to your foot... High or low arch? Wide or narrow toe box? Heel type? Type of pedals? Which direction do you want the strap to go? (I have yet to understand why manufacturers position a strap facing towards the crankarms... every rotation of the crankarm, I found the strap to be rubbiing against the crank - very anoying and needed to be adjusted often.)

I think most would agree - you have have 5 people wearing a size 46 and you will likely get 5 different recommendations. Like many things in the tri world - hold a product up for discussion > you will find some that swear by it... others will swear at it! Go to your Local Bike Shop(s) and try as many different models as you can. There are items you can do via mail order - I am not sure cycling shoes are one of them. I like Pearl Izumi shoes - have also owned Shimano, Nike, Specialized, Carnac and Sidi - among others. Each had a different fit/feel and there were pros & cons to each. Was kicking around the idea of Bont shoes more recently - Loved them as Speedskating boots, but reviews have been sketchy - for $300, they should be flawless.

Clear as mud?

foolio_mugoolio

Yeah, Clear as mud. I guess I'll stop into sports basement and see what they have in stock over there. Maybe try some on.... So you mentioned pedals... So it does matter what pedals i have? I use Look Keo.

wareagledusty

@Enrique,

I think Woody hit the nail on the head. It is a pretty personal choice. I was searching for tri bike shoes last year and found this article, while a bit dated, offered some really good information. FWIW, I tried Louis Garneau, Pearl Izumi, Sidi, and one other and settled on the Pearl Izumi's. As for pedals you will have plenty to choose from. if you happen to have large feet (I do so I speak from experience) then you might eventually want to look at shimano pedals. They are wider across the bottom of the foot and I found they helped a bit with power transfer.

http://www.bikesportmichigan.com/features/shoes.shtml

Woody Freese

If you are using Look pedals, there should be minimal differences. Pedals, like Speedplay, have an additional cleat adapter/platform so their cleats are compatible with a 3-hole sole (Look and Shimano cleats are a 3-hole pattern. If you use a pedal that requires an additional adapter/platform, albeit small, it can have an impact on fit.

foolio_mugoolio

I've never even considered if my pedals are the best for my size 11 foot!

Woody Freese

Again - personal preference... I owned Shimano and Look for several years. When Speedpaly came out, I was working p/t in a LBS - the rep came in and gave me a set to demo, in an effort to get our shop to carry 'em (I was the only triathlete among our 15 staff members). The first couple of rides, I hated - HATED them! Felt like I was on ice skates for the first time. 5-6 rides later, I fell in love with 'em and switched over for good. As an FYI, I have an 11.5 shoe - and what works well for you vs. me vs.Dusty may be 3 very different systems.

wareagledusty

You're probably okay, I wear a size 14/15 shoe (depending on manufacturer) and rode look Keo unil this spring when needed to replace them and switched to shimano. FWIW, I wear a 48 in pearl Izumi. They are snug but like Tom's article states you dont want much play.

wareagledusty

X2 on woody's thoughts. It really comes down to what you like and what fits. If I can ever justify the cash my next ones will be the thermo molded kind. I think shimano and specialized offer them.

Joe Matchette

Posted By Dusty Holcomb on 19 Jun 2012 08:31 PM

X2 on woody's thoughts. It really comes down to what you like and what fits. If I can ever justify the cash my next ones will be the thermo molded kind. I think shimano and specialized offer them.

Dusty - I tried a pair of the Shimanos (essentially free from my LBS guy....long story....).  However, I have a wicked high arch and the heat molding didn't come anywhere near giving me the support I needed.  Oh, and I had to go to another store --- 2 hrs away in Atlanta -- and pay $100 just to get them molded.  Nice, huh?  So my free shoes ended up costing me a day, 4hrs of driving, gas money, and $100 fee.  TANSTAAFL.

Sorry I got on a tangent there.  Bottom line, I went back to my Pearl Izumis with a Specialized green footbed.



 

Woody Freese

Joe - You got me... TANSTAAFL??

wareagledusty

TANSTAAFL? I need to know this!

Joe Matchette

TANSTAAFL -- There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch.

[Thread Drift Alert] I first saw it reading Robert Heinlein's 'The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress.' For more on the subject, there is a decent enough article on it in wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TANSTAAFL [End Thread Drift]

John Withrow

I know bike/tri shoes are personal, but I LOVE my Specialized Trivent Experts. Nice room in the toe box but don't slide around on my feet at all. I never wear socks with them. I also have regular bike shoes, but in the winter, I still wear my Trivents instead with no socks and booties over them to keep warm. In races I keep them snapped onto my pedals and they are fairly easy to get into and out of while riding.

Marc Robards

+1 on Specialized Trivent Experts. The new S-Works Trivents look sweet but $400?!?

GMAN 19030

+2 on the Specialized Trivent Experts.

No f'n way I'm spending $400 on the S-Wroks Trivents.

Mark Roberts

I ride Specialized trivents as well. Currently looking for a new pair. If you get them though, avoid the model year that they left off the heel loop.

novaavant

The price is big problem with the S-works but I've looked at the road version of those shoes and that knob thingie for adjusting the shoes just doesn't work for me. I can imagine after a cold swim where you might not have total coordination in your hands that tightening that knob might be difficult. I will stick to the simple velcro closure.

foolio_mugoolio

Lots of Trivent love around here! I will keep an eye out for those.

harrast

I think this question is related to this shoe thread, so I'll ask it here, I'm currently riding on a pair of 5-6 year old Specialized Tri shoes (they say "Fact" in a couple of places and have a silver carbon sole, but I don't know the name of the shoe). They cost me about $160 way back when. They have served me well, but recently I have been noticing that when I put my foot in, there is a lot of pressure on the ball of my foot, and no support for the arch--and I've been having ball of foot problems lately. I would like to get a pair of Tri shoes (with straps that pull away from the bike so that the ends don't rub on the cranks) that are either custom molded to my foot or that have better foot support. I have a normal width foot (D width, I think) with a normal arch. Has anyone found a shoe with good arch support that is a decent value (that doesn't have straps that rub on the crank)?

delesh

@Steven - It may be hard to find tri specific shoes with straps that pull away from the bike as that would mean they would swing into the bike when open. If your shoes are pre-mounted on the bike for T1 or when sliding your feet out for T2 the straps might get caught in the chain when riding with your feet on top of the shoes. You may need to look for a cycling specific shoe.



Also, just thought I would mention that my Bont tri shoes have been great over the last 2 years. I love that I can put them in the oven and mold them specifically to my feet. I have eliminated all hotspots after doing this a couple times. They aren't regularly mentioned but are great shoes.

William Jenks

Sidi shoes are expensive, but by reputation, at least, last forever. I had an inexpensive pair of PIs that fit well and did the trick, but wore out in a couple of key ways in the course of a couple of years. I've now had a pair of Sidi (their less expensive Tri shoes) for a couple of years and they still look just broken in. I don't know anything about the S-works shoe, but how long it lasts does go into the equation about whether a shoe is worth "extra" money.

(Not highjacking the thread, but just an observation: I get a lot more life out of a pair of list-$175 Newton shoes than I got out of any other shoes...so the price per mile or per hour or whatever is the same or lower than whatever I was paying before....same idea!)