Advice on riding shoes

[marcs350z]

I recently picked up a specialized road bike for fitness/social/occasional commute and the kid at the LBS recommended I go for MTB shoes instead of full stuff road riding shoes with petruding cleats.

I am looking at something like this because its within what I want to spend, it's a wide fit, and it's just a simple color, http://www.wiggle.co.uk/shimano-m087-sp ... -wide-fit/

Would this be sufficient? I would obviously need new pedals and assume also cleats. Any recommendations? It gets a bit confusing at this point because there are various diff styles and I'm not sure what would be compatible with the shoes I am looking at.

[rifraf]

No advice or opinion on type or style of shoe as I believe its just a matter of personal preference.
I will however say I was recommended Northwave as a brand catering to wide fitting feet.
I have a high arch and am wide at the front of my feet and usually struggle to find comfortable footwear of any type.
I bought some Northwave Drifter shoes which look to me like smart sneakers and have been so happy with the fit I've just bought my second pair.
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/northwave/shoes/
The ones you linked look smart and I cant think of a single reason not to give them a whirl.
I use a wide platform XT (MTB) trail pedal which came recommended by the same person who advised me on the shoes and I find them very comfy too
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/shimano-xt-pd-m ... rm-pedals/
There is another version I'd like to try next time which are the same but on one side there is no clip in so you can wear any shoes/footwear.
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/shimano-pd-t780 ... ng-pedals/
Good luck with the decision making

[Howzat]

I recently picked up a specialized road bike for fitness/social/occasional commute and the kid at the LBS recommended I go for MTB shoes instead of full stuff road riding shoes with petruding cleats.

That's good advice. You can get pedals that have the cleat clip one side and a flat surface the other, for riding in ordinary shoes when the need arises. You'll want to buy at least your first set of shoes from your LBS to get the sizing right.

[Venus62]

I went the same way with my new road bike with no regrets. I like the ability to walk in my cycling shoes, plus I can use them in spin classes at the gym.

I went with these dual platform pedals to keep my options open http://www.wiggle.co.uk/shimano-a530-sp ... ng-pedals/ but can't imagine going cleatless now.

[Philipthelam]

I recently picked up a specialized road bike for fitness/social/occasional commute and the kid at the LBS recommended I go for MTB shoes instead of full stuff road riding shoes with petruding cleats.

That's good advice. You can get pedals that have the cleat clip one side and a flat surface the other, for riding in ordinary shoes when the need arises. You'll want to buy at least your first set of shoes from your LBS to get the sizing right.

I'd also recommend you buy the shoe from an LBS to make sure you have the right size

[am50em]

Another NorthWave fan for large and wide feet.
Northwave Celsius GTX Boots 2012 - SIze 48
Northwave Mission All Terrain MTB Shoes 2012 Size 48
Both bought online based on reviews and size guide which was pretty accurate.
Could probably get Size 47 in the Mission All Terrain but the GTX boots size 48 is perfect.
I have replaced the inner with a Superfeet Orange insole in the Mission.

[marcs350z]

The cleat/flat pedals do look handy, but I am just not sure if I would use the flat side if I am riding. The Shimano XT-PD-Mxxx looks good, would I need the wider platform if riding mainly paved trails and roads? Or could I just go with the M780 http://www.wiggle.co.uk/shimano-xt-pd-m ... ce-pedals/ Any pro's or cons for either?

Good to know you went down a similar path Venus62 with no regrets. I think you just helped me confirm what I was thinking above.

I'll check out the NorthWave shoes.

The problem with LBS are they don't stock many shoes, but I'll give a couple a call in my area on Monday to see what the have. I don't think I have ever seen NorthWave shoes in any LBS though, I've seen some Shimano shoes but a very small range.

[am50em]

I use the following on my commuter http://www.wiggle.co.uk/shimano-m324-combination-pedals/.
On sale hmmm maybe I should get another pair
They were my first clipless pedals and I find it is handy sometimes in traffic to use the flat side at low speed and congested areas.

[Venus62]

I use the following on my commuter http://www.wiggle.co.uk/shimano-m324-combination-pedals/.
On sale hmmm maybe I should get another pair
They were my first clipless pedals and I find it is handy sometimes in traffic to use the flat side at low speed and congested areas.

I use those on my hybrid as they are a more solid pedal, but I put the ones I mentioned earlier on my road bike as they are a lighter pedal. But similar concept.

[antipodean]

If you are buying the shoes you linked to (which will be excellent) dont bother with the dual sided pedals.
Buy a set of these.
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/shimano-pd-m520-pedals/

[sb944]

Really excited you got the Specialized bike, looking forward to hearing lots of great progress on that monster.

I bought Pearl Izumi X Road, now $33 (plus shipping) in limited sizes from where I got it:
http://www.jensonusa.com/Pearl-Izumi-X-Road-Shoes
SPD pedals, you can walk in them after cycling, I would commute in them, then use them for work, nobody ever asked why I was wearing cycling shoes at work.

However, I would recommend two things. Firstly, buy a cheap shoe in the brand that you can move forward with and trust the sizing of. I'd recommend the 3 S's, Shimano, Specialized, Sidi, however, with wide feet, make sure you only choose the wide option of Shimano or Sidi, not sure what to do with Specialized, if they aren't wide enough not an option. I've heard Northwave are decently wide too, so the previous suggestion about Northwave might also be good. The main thing about this is to get sized up locally in some cheap shoes. $65 online might be $95 in a LBS in Aus, and you get to try them on, but that might be $200 online vs $300 when you go to upgrade in a year or so time, and you'll know and love the sizing of your previous cheap shoes, so you can spend the money online with more confidence later. Use bikeexchange again for the local bargain, or google a shoe you have your eye on, and try the shoes on. When you find the right size, sit in them for 15 minutes in store. They should feel tight around the heel every time you try to lift it, but not tight on the toes, or around your wide feet. Up and down is the main issue here. The main point here is comfort is king when it comes to riding a bike, and you need to start locally, find a comfortable brand sizing, then you can buy more expensive shoes online in that brand later if you need to.

Second part is road vs MTB cleats. I recently switched from cheap SPD (MTB) to expensive SPD-SL (road), so can say the difference between clip in and clip out is next to nothing, and cheap vs expensive shoes is fairly subtle performance wise, mainly about comfort from what I can tell. I would recommend road shoes, as they are made for what you are doing. This changes if you intend to walk a lot in them, but if your main intention is to ride, I don't see why you'd need MTB shoes. I started with SPD, but then had to change my pedals, cleats and brand to upgrade properly, so I firstly felt like I needed to do the upgrade to get closer to my end goal, and then needed to change a lot of gear too.

If you choose road, you can get the sweet spot of pedals right now, the Shimano 105, $45 from Wiggle. From what I've read, you won't get much more out of more expesive pedals, so could aim to keep these even after a shoe upgrade later on. They can be adjusted to be tight or loose, meaning you can get used to clipping in while really loose, making it much better for the beginner and tighten it later once you get comfortable. The pedals also come with the standard SPD-SL cleats (as would SPD cleats with SPD pedals), so once you buy a cheap pair of shoes and 105 pedals, you are set to go. Perhaps order a pedal wrench while you are at it on wiggle, it might come in handy later as well as the initial change over.

Good luck.