Shanks for shoes?

In message <[email hidden]>, Simon Brooke
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

I asked my soutar the other day whether he could make me a pair of shoes with SPD cleats. He said
if I could source the shanks, he could make the shoes.

Does anyone know where to get shanks for cycling shoes? I want to end up with shoes which are
comfortable to walk in as well as to cycle in, so I don't want teh most rigid possible.

Other than taking apart an old pair of shoes? - Possibly not such a silly idea?

Hmm.... the only company in the UK that still makes cycling shoes that I know of is Reynolds. They
don't make SPD shoes, just your traditional black leather cycling shoes, but maybe you could source
a shank from them and cut a suitable hole in it for the cleat 'retaining plate'

ISTR the original company stopped trading or some such and was bought up by someone else or
something. I couldn't Google any details, but from an ad in a recent CTC rag:

Only contact details is an address:

5 Selbourne Avenue Bletchley Milton Keynes MK3 5BX
--
Chris French, Leeds

Simon Brooke said:

I asked my soutar the other day whether he could make me a pair of shoes with SPD cleats. He said
if I could source the shanks, he could make the shoes.

As far as I can see my Specialized shoes have two bits: a short floating plate which has the
screw-holes for the cleats, and (presumably, although I haven't ripped them apart to check) a
longer shaped plate which extends from the front of the ball of the foot back up under the arch
almost to the heel.

Does anyone know where to get shanks for cycling shoes? I want to end up with shoes which are
comfortable to walk in as well as to cycle in, so I don't want teh most rigid possible.

The floating plate thing with holes in it is often supplied with SPD type pedals. I may even have
some in my bits box.

Without having any knowledge of how shoes are constructed, surely the second, longer shaped plate,
is just a stiff mid sole and not a special feature of cycling shoes, as other footwear types also
use a stiff construction. Can your souter source that bit elsewhere?

Tim
--
In space no one can eat ice cream

In message <[email hidden]>, Simon Brooke
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

Tim Hall said:

Simon Brooke said:

I asked my soutar the other day whether he could make me a pair of shoes with SPD cleats. He
said if I could source the shanks, he could make the shoes.

Does anyone know where to get shanks for cycling shoes? I want to end up with shoes which are
comfortable to walk in as well as to cycle in, so I don't want teh most rigid possible.

Without having any knowledge of how shoes are constructed, surely the second, longer shaped
plate, is just a stiff mid sole and not a special feature of cycling shoes, as other footwear
types also use a stiff construction. Can your souter source that bit elsewhere?

Stilletto heels and cycle shoes, only, apparently; and (a) he doesn't make stillettos and (b) the
cycle shoe ones apparently are special.

Most likely - the solid shank in my Shimano shoes (a fairly recreational shoe, not a racing type
etc.) seems to cover most of the front foot area with a fairly wide bit extending up under the
middle of the foot towards the heel.

Other shoes, such as walking boots etc. do have steel shanks, but not covering so much of the foot.
--
Chris French, Leeds

Tim Hall said:

Simon Brooke said:

I asked my soutar the other day whether he could make me a pair of shoes with SPD cleats. He said
if I could source the shanks, he could make the shoes.

As far as I can see my Specialized shoes have two bits: a short floating plate which has the
screw-holes for the cleats, and (presumably, although I haven't ripped them apart to check) a
longer shaped plate which extends from the front of the ball of the foot back up under the arch
almost to the heel.

Does anyone know where to get shanks for cycling shoes? I want to end up with shoes which are
comfortable to walk in as well as to cycle in, so I don't want teh most rigid possible.

The floating plate thing with holes in it is often supplied with SPD type pedals. I may even have
some in my bits box.

Without having any knowledge of how shoes are constructed, surely the second, longer shaped plate,
is just a stiff mid sole and not a special feature of cycling shoes, as other footwear types also
use a stiff construction. Can your souter source that bit elsewhere?

Stilletto heels and cycle shoes, only, apparently; and (a) he doesn't make stillettos and (b) the
cycle shoe ones apparently are special.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) jasmine.org.uk~simonOpen ↗

Age equals angst multiplied by the speed of fright squared.
;; the Worlock