biking or running shoes for biking

"Roger Cortesi" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:2004050916301316807%rcortesi@mitedu...

Quoted message said:

Well, I'm still fairly new this tri thing, and I'm
wondering what the list's opinion is on cycling shoes.

I just switched my peddels back to some stock ones to
allow me to where my running shoes.

I figured this makes sence for sprint distance triathlons,
and obviously you gain less, the longer the triathlon.

roger

I really, REALLY don't think so. But if you don't believe
me, maybe you should try to ride as fast as you can for a
set 12 mile course in your running shoes and then _on
another day_ try it with your cycling shoes and pedals. Then
see how long it really takes you, with a bit of practice, to
put on and take off your cycling shoes. If you get cycling
shoes with just one or two (heck, even 3) velcro straps, it
shouldn't take long at all, maybe 20 seconds and it will
make you ride a lot faster. Trust me.

I was actually wondering the same thing myself. What about
wearing running shoes but having the straps on the pedals?
Is there any difference between that and cycling shoes?

On 5/10/04 9:06 PM, in article [email hidden], "Nicole"

Quoted message said:

I was actually wondering the same thing myself. What about
wearing running shoes but having the straps on the pedals?
Is there any difference between that and cycling shoes?

Wearing running shoes on regular pedals or wearing running
shoes with straps on your pedals are perfectly fine
strategies if you are just getting started and want to try
the sport before dropping a bunch of money on cycling shoes.
Don¹t let the gang here convince you you have to drop $150
on shoes before your first (or second or third) event.

OTOH, once you're hooked and dying to go absolutely as fast
as you can, there is little dispute that cycling shoes
clipped solidly to your pedals will make you faster - plenty
faster to make up the 20 seconds it takes to slip on a shoe
with velcro laces.

Your mileage may vary, but not many people's does.

John

"Nicole" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I was actually wondering the same thing myself. What about
wearing running shoes but having the straps on the pedals?
Is there any difference between that and cycling shoes?

The difference is huge. Racing aside cycling shoes will
allow you to go farther, faster, in more comfort. If you
never go more than 12mph - or have no desire to bike more
than 18 miles then maybe toeclips are the way to go.

But if you cycle more than 22 miles per ride and ride
16mph and faster, get cycling shoes - especially if you
bike on hills.

Your running shoes just aren't stiff enough - it's easy to
see - just watch your foot as you stomp on a hill. The shoe
will totally deform and your heal will end up lower than
your toes. This is all wasted energy.

You don't need to plop down a boat load of doe - you can get
shoes from Performance and Nashbar for less than $50. Low
end Pedals will cost you in the $30 range.

-CF

"Nicole" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I was actually wondering the same thing myself. What about
wearing running shoes but having the straps on the pedals?
Is there any difference between that and cycling shoes?

The difference is huge. Racing aside cycling shoes will
allow you to go farther, faster, in more comfort. If you
never go more than 12mph - or have no desire to bike more
than 18 miles then maybe toeclips are the way to go.

But if you cycle more than 22 miles per ride and ride
16mph and faster, get cycling shoes - especially if you
bike on hills.

Your running shoes just aren't stiff enough - it's easy to
see - just watch your foot as you stomp on a hill. The shoe
will totally deform and your heal will end up lower than
your toes. This is all wasted energy.

You don't need to plop down a boat load of doe - you can get
shoes from Performance and Nashbar for less than $50. Low
end Pedals will cost you in the $30 range.

-CF

"ChronoFish" <[email hidden]> wrote in news:SNvoc.22907$%o1.4715
@lakeread03:

Quoted message said:

You don't need to plop down a boat load of doe

But you can get more doe on the boat than bucks because the
antlers take up so much room!

I'm just getting into this tri stuff as well. I recently
sold my old 1985 Specialized Allez to a bike collector for
$600 and bought a used Trek Hilo 2000 with full Ultegra for
$600 altho it didn't have any pedals.

I had put my Suntour Superbe Pro pedals on the bike
initially and I thought the Hilo was SUCH a superior bike to
the Allez, I'm glad I made the switch.

One of the things was that the Hilo didn't come with any
pedals, so I had to go and do research. I could have bought
a pair of road pedals with cages for next to nothing.

I still had my detto pietro cleats from 1985. Although from
what I remember is that my feet would get cold because i had
the cages cinched so tight so I could be more efficient in
my pedaling.

I opted to go clipless...for the first time EVER. I searched
high and low, and opted for the Speedplay pedals. The person
that I bought the bike from recommended them to me, he was
on x/2 pedals.

I researched clipless pedals, I guess you could buy clipless
pedals in the $40 for knockoff brands, all the way up to
ungodly amounts. I tend to buy not the cheapest but also not
the most expensive ...striving for value, function, etc.

I decided to go with the Speedplay Zero pedals, their
newest line and go for the stainless steel variety (and
just because I'm vain, I opted for the CSC Special Team
Edition pedals which were red which matched my tires) -
cost $185. I was just going to buy the x-series chro moly
pedals for $100, but from reviews that I read, the Zeros
were superior to the x-series - adjustable float and a
better cleat which doesn't get clogged up with dirt. I had
a Christmas present from my brother from Bikeworld - a
cateye computer which I hadn't used yet...Bikeworld was
kind enough to allow me to exchange the computer after over
5 months. The $60 off made the decision a bit easier for
me. Not sure if my wife would have allowed me to really
spend $185 on pedals for a $600 bike.

The next decision were which shoes to buy...i had heard from
a number of my friends that Sidi were the best shoes in
terms of comfort and performance. Again, cheap shoes - $40
or cheaper if bought used upwards of $300 or more. I
narrowed it down to the Sidi Genius 4 - $160 off of eBay or
the T-1 Triathlon shoes - $119. I opted for the "cheaper"
ones - which utilized 2 velcro straps for quick transitions.

The Sidi with the speedplay pedals were cited in a recent
review as a good combination if you're upgrading or buying
clipless for the first time. I had made the decision prior
to reading this article, but it sort of confirmed all of
my research.

bikesportmichigan.comspeed0.shtmlOpen ↗

The pedals just arrived today, although my cleats won't
arrive until next week.

From my old riding days with cages, they definitely improved
performance over no cages...and I heartell that clipless
make you that much more efficient in your pedaling. I would
recommend going and buying some used pedals and shoes if you
don't want to plunk down a bunch. But I figure for $280, it
was a good investment. My wife just shakes her head and
tells me I better put some miles on the bike and pedals. 🙂

I'll let you know how i like the pedal/shoe setup next week!

Roger Cortesi <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<2004050916301316807%rcortesi@mitedu>...

Quoted message said:

Well, I'm still fairly new this tri thing, and I'm
wondering what the list's opinion is on cycling shoes.

I just switched my peddels back to some stock ones to
allow me to where my running shoes.

I figured this makes sence for sprint distance triathlons,
and obviously you gain less, the longer the triathlon.

roger

In article <[email hidden]>,

(FFBSensei) said:

But I figure for $280, it was a good investment. My wife
just shakes her head and tells me I better put some miles
on the bike and pedals. 🙂

You know, the bike is one expensive toy that I've never
gotten [censored] from my wife about not using enough to justify
the expense!

(Although I didn't spend all *that* much on my bike,
probably about $1100 including areobars, Speedplay pedals,
shoes, bottle cages, different stem and seatpost, and a
professional fitting.)

--Harold Buck

"I used to rock and roll all night, and party every day. Th-
en it was every other day. . . ."
- Homer J. Simpson

Maybe someone should start a thread to answer the somewhat easier
question: biking or running shoes for running?

:-)

--Harold Buck

"I used to rock and roll all night, and party every day. Th-
en it was every other day. . . ."
- Homer J. Simpson

"Tom Henderson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"ChronoFish" <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:SNvoc.22907$%o1.4715 @lakeread03:

Quoted message said:

You don't need to plop down a boat load of doe

But you can get more doe on the boat than bucks because
the antlers take

up

Quoted message said:

so much room!

Oh deer - a bad joke - buck your ideas up :o)

Actually, my wife is pretty good about these sorts of
things. I don't drink alcohol, do drugs, or have any other
expensive habits other than buying expensive sports
equipment.

When I do the cost/benefit ratio thing, if I can get
significantly better quality plus or minus $200, I spend the
little extra. I won't go spending thousands of dollars
extra, but don't mind spending extra to buy just a little
bit better equipment than I might need.

I thought the advice given to the original poster was to go
buy clipless pedals since the transition time (even if 1-2
minutes max) was worth the added efficiency gained even in a
very short triathlon.

She is however putting her foot down on me buying a
wetsuit for $300. Since I have yet to climb into a pool to
start training, that seemed like a reasonable request. I'm
just starting my training for a short sprint tri, my goal
is to try and get in shape for an international distance
tri, but I doubt I could do that in 3-4 months...maybe,
but we'll see.

Any suggestions for a wetsuit?

Harold Buck <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<no_one_knows-
[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

In article
<[email hidden]>,

(FFBSensei) said:

But I figure for $280, it was a good investment. My
wife just shakes her head and tells me I better put
some miles on the bike and pedals. 🙂

You know, the bike is one expensive toy that I've never
gotten [censored] from my wife about not using enough to justify
the expense!

(Although I didn't spend all *that* much on my bike,
probably about $1100 including areobars, Speedplay pedals,
shoes, bottle cages, different stem and seatpost, and a
professional fitting.)

--Harold Buck

"I used to rock and roll all night, and party every day.
Then it was every other day. . . ."
- Homer J. Simpson

"Harold Buck" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Maybe someone should start a thread to answer the somewhat
easier question: biking or running shoes for running?

:-)

--Harold Buck

"I used to rock and roll all night, and party every day.
Then it was every other day. . . ."
- Homer J. Simpson

I jog through the transition area in my cleats. Does
that count?

How about this question: When you're 5 miles out and your
valve-stem breaks (unpatchable) and you don't have an
extra tube with you - do walk in your cleats or do you
walk barefoot?

-CF

"FFBSensei" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]... ...

Quoted message said:

She is however putting her foot down on me buying a
wetsuit for $300. Since I have yet to climb into a pool to
start training, that seemed like a reasonable request. I'm
just starting my training for a short sprint tri, my goal
is to try and get in shape for an international distance
tri, but I doubt I could do that in 3-4 months...maybe,
but we'll see.

Any suggestions for a wetsuit?

4 months training for an Olympic is do-able if can swim.
You don't have to be able to swim well - but you have to be
able to swim.

It's not likely that you will set a new course record, but
if you are mildly active, 4 months is enough time to get you
to "finish".

Wetsuit? Why do you need a wetsuit? If your sprint is in
the summer the water may be warm enough. For a sprint the
wetsuit becomes more of a hassle IMO - especially if
you're a newbie.

-CF

"ChronoFish" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<SNvoc.22907$%o1.4715@lakeread03>...

Quoted message said:

"Nicole" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:c7p8tn$58g$1@news-
int.gatech.edu...

Quoted message said:

I was actually wondering the same thing myself. What
about wearing running shoes but having the straps on the
pedals? Is there any difference between that and cycling
shoes?

The difference is huge. Racing aside cycling shoes will
allow you to go farther, faster, in more comfort. If you
never go more than 12mph - or have no desire to bike more
than 18 miles then maybe toeclips are the way to go.

But if you cycle more than 22 miles per ride and ride
16mph and faster, get cycling shoes - especially if you
bike on hills.

Your running shoes just aren't stiff enough - it's easy to
see - just watch your foot as you stomp on a hill. The
shoe will totally deform and your heal will end up lower
than your toes. This is all wasted energy.

You don't need to plop down a boat load of doe - you can
get shoes from Performance and Nashbar for less than $50.
Low end Pedals will cost you in the $30 range.

-CF

Obviously I agree that clipless pedals are going to perform
better than toeclips, however I don't think the difference
is as extreme as you are making out. I rode a bike with
toeclips for 3 or 4 years when my main sport was rowing - I
was using the bike for coaching, commuting and as a training
tool not for racing so they seemed more convenient. I used
to do some fairly big training rides with toeclips and never
had any problems - did 60+ mile rides at 20+mph (on my own,
not in a group) - not saying that is particularly fast, just
that you can do reasonably long, quick rides on toeclips.

I switched to clipless a few years ago when I quit rowing
and started getting more into cycling/triathlon. I do prefer
them and I am quicker now but suspect most of that is down
to spending more training time on a bike not the shoes. I
can see your point about the shoes deforming on the hills
when you are laying down a lot of force at quite low
cadence, but I don't think you would be wasting that much
energy on the flat if you are spinning along at 90+ rpm. If
you've got clipless pedals then the speed difference almost
certainly does more than compensate for the extra transition
time, but if you don't have them then you're not going to be
at a huge disadvantage and I would save your money until you
decide whether you like the sport.

"ChronoFish" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<SNvoc.22907$%o1.4715@lakeread03>...

Quoted message said:

"Nicole" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:c7p8tn$58g$1@news-
int.gatech.edu...

Quoted message said:

I was actually wondering the same thing myself. What
about wearing running shoes but having the straps on the
pedals? Is there any difference between that and cycling
shoes?

The difference is huge. Racing aside cycling shoes will
allow you to go farther, faster, in more comfort. If you
never go more than 12mph - or have no desire to bike more
than 18 miles then maybe toeclips are the way to go.

But if you cycle more than 22 miles per ride and ride
16mph and faster, get cycling shoes - especially if you
bike on hills.

Your running shoes just aren't stiff enough - it's easy to
see - just watch your foot as you stomp on a hill. The
shoe will totally deform and your heal will end up lower
than your toes. This is all wasted energy.

You don't need to plop down a boat load of doe - you can
get shoes from Performance and Nashbar for less than $50.
Low end Pedals will cost you in the $30 range.

-CF

Obviously I agree that clipless pedals are going to perform
better than toeclips, however I don't think the difference
is as extreme as you are making out. I rode a bike with
toeclips for 3 or 4 years when my main sport was rowing - I
was using the bike for coaching, commuting and as a training
tool not for racing so they seemed more convenient. I used
to do some fairly big training rides with toeclips and never
had any problems - did 60+ mile rides at 20+mph (on my own,
not in a group) - not saying that is particularly fast, just
that you can do reasonably long, quick rides on toeclips.

I switched to clipless a few years ago when I quit rowing
and started getting more into cycling/triathlon. I do prefer
them and I am quicker now but suspect most of that is down
to spending more training time on a bike not the shoes. I
can see your point about the shoes deforming on the hills
when you are laying down a lot of force at quite low
cadence, but I don't think you would be wasting that much
energy on the flat if you are spinning along at 90+ rpm. If
you've got clipless pedals then the speed difference almost
certainly does more than compensate for the extra transition
time, but if you don't have them then you're not going to be
at a huge disadvantage and I would save your money until you
decide whether you like the sport.

"rookie" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"ChronoFish" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<SNvoc.22907$%

...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

The difference is huge. Racing aside cycling shoes will
allow you to go farther, faster, in more comfort. If you
never go more than 12mph - or have

no

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

desire to bike more than 18 miles then maybe toeclips
are the way to go.

Quoted message said:

Obviously I agree that clipless pedals are going to
perform better than toeclips, however I don't think the
difference is as extreme as you are making out. I rode a
bike with toeclips for 3 or 4 years when

I suppose I should have been more precise with my words.
Obviosly cyclist have been going long and hard for years
before the introduction of clipless pedals.

Cycling shoes vs running shoes is really what I was after.
You can certainly crank down a pair of toe clips on a
cleated shoe and get very similar performance.

Quoted message said:

convenient. I used to do some fairly big training rides
with toeclips and never had any problems - did 60+ mile
rides at 20+mph (on my own, not in a group) - not saying
that is particularly fast, just that you can do reasonably
long, quick rides on toeclips.

Again the binding system is not nearly as important as the
shoe itself. I did Independence Pass in Colorado many
years ago (high school - about 15 years ago) with tennis
shoes. Sure I "did it" but it wasn't exactly pleasent on
the arches.

- CF