Looking at buying clipless shoes

dtgadgetgirl said:

My local bike shop has a pair of Carnac Quartz clipless shoes. They are retail for $250 but he has a pair in my size on sale for $70.

I am new to cycling. Are these good shoes? It seems that almost any shoe is $70.

Will I regret this purchase?

Very nice shoes! But only if they fit perfectly.

DiabloScott said:

Very nice shoes! But only if they fit perfectly.

How do I tell if they fit perfectly?

dtgadgetgirl said:

How do I tell if they fit perfectly?

I found that out after buying a pair of shimanos and using them on moderate ride. I was in pain unless I loosened the velcro straps a little. It appeared I needed a wide version of the same size. I called the shop, they said, "well if you have used them outside we cannot take them back". So, if you can try them out for a while, may be on a trainer at the shop.

You can't have the straps that tight. It will always hurt if they are tight.

Also getting an insole for the shoe will help. I found that all cycling shoes need insoles that are better then their stock ones.

Try this company:

www.yoursole.com

dtgadgetgirl said:

My local bike shop has a pair of Carnac Quartz clipless shoes. They are retail for $250 but he has a pair in my size on sale for $70.

I am new to cycling. Are these good shoes? It seems that almost any shoe is $70.

Will I regret this purchase?

Not to dissuade you:

[center]roadbikereview.comPRD 130386 2512crx.aspxOpen ↗[/center]

The MAIN thing I take away from the reviews is that the shoe is heavy ... heavier than one would apparently expect for a ROAD ... probably the equivalent weight of a mountain bike shoe (which has added weight due to the "walking" tread ... something else you may want to place into consideration -- how much walking you may-or-may-not be doing with your bike ... while wearing the shoes.).

[left]Regardless, the most important thing is probably the fit ... [/left]

[left]It is easier to snug up a slightly loose fitting shoe than it is to loosen up a slightly snug fitting shoe.[/left]

alfeng said:

Not to dissuade you:

[center]roadbikereview.comPRD 130386 2512crx.aspxOpen ↗[/center]

The MAIN thing I take away from the reviews is that the shoe is heavy ... heavier than one would apparently expect for a ROAD ... probably the equivalent weight of a mountain bike shoe (which has added weight due to the "walking" tread ... something else you may want to place into consideration -- how much walking you may-or-may-not be doing with your bike ... while wearing the shoes.).

[left]Regardless, the most important thing is probably the fit ... [/left]

[left]It is easier to snug up a slightly loose fitting shoe than it is to loosen up a slightly snug fitting shoe.[/left]

WOW! Thank you soooo much for those reviews.

So what shoe is good for a road shoe?

Jeff D. said:

You can't have the straps that tight. It will always hurt if they are tight.

Also getting an insole for the shoe will help. I found that all cycling shoes need insoles that are better then their stock ones.

Try this company:

www.yoursole.com

I had an insole. I was not overtightening it, I had to get the W version. I blame myself as much as the salesperson at the shop for letting me walk off with the wrong size shoes.

dtgadgetgirl said:

How do I tell if they fit perfectly?

I tried on shoes immediately after a 38 mile ride. That way, I figured my feet would tell me how well the shoe fit. I found that every model of shoe fit differently. Only two of the dozen or so that I tried on did not bother my feet in some way. I bought one of those, and have had absolutely no regrets.

dtgadgetgirl said:

My local bike shop has a pair of Carnac Quartz clipless shoes. They are retail for $250 but he has a pair in my size on sale for $70.

I am new to cycling. Are these good shoes? It seems that almost any shoe is $70.

Will I regret this purchase?

Speedplay have a deal that's running at the moment that includes the Vittoria MSG shoes and that Zero CrMo pedals for $270.
Shoes are pretty comfortable and the price is right. I've just spent a small fortune on bike parts recently so these will do until I buy some Sidi's.

Cheers

Geoff

dtgadgetgirl said:

So what shoe is good for a road shoe?

MY road shoes happen to be Shimano (43.5) ... they fit me perfectly, but they are OLD and well broken in ... I mention THAT because I have since decided that 44 is more comfortable because they are a little looser and let me slide my feet fore-and-aft a bit (obviously, the straps have to be adjusted just "loose" enough to allow this) if/when I want to.

I tried (as in, "owned"😉 OTHER brands of shoes, but the Shimano not only fit (me) the best, they seem to be available in a wider price range ...

RickF's tip is a great tip ...

In a similar vein, one day I stopped into one of my LBSes to see about a pair of size 44 SIDI road shoes AFTER a non-riding day of this-and-that. Wow. I felt as though I could barely get them on ... so, as I now recall having read in the past, you want to buy your "regular" shoes in the afternoon and not in the morning.

Cycling shoes, in general, are often made with synthetic uppers which will not stretch to fit the way most leather athletic shoes will.

Look at the Shimano RA-80 ... AND/OR, more expensive pairs of Shimano shoes. If the RA-80 shoes fit, they will be a great value (about $100, retail ... end-of-the-season they should be about $70-or-less, too ... or, find a new pair on eBay for even less) -- the test riders at BICYCLING (for whatever that is worth) always seem to have generally high praise for the Shimano shoes they test -- comfort & relative sole stiffness (a good thing). Use the Shimano RA-80 as a starting point ... a benchmark against which you can judge other shoes & shoe brands (at least, for fit & shoe weight).

MOST people who wear SIDI "love" them -- very high quality & very expensive. I just didn't have time (or, in retrospect, the budget) to try a lot of different sizes of SIDI shoes that afternoon. Many women find that SIDI shoes fit them best because they make a narrower shoe ... SIDI has fewer shoe models than Shimano, but a fairly broad price range (retail starting at about $130US, I think, going up to over $400!).

Three straps are probably better than two; but, two are "okay."

BTW. Some people love those buckles on the third (upper) strap ... I guess I can see some advantage in some circumstances (one of my MTB shoes has the buckles), but I prefer velcro since I'm NOT cinching my shoes for sprinting and then loosening them for other times during the ride which I presume is their primary raison d'etre.

alfeng said:

Cycling shoes, in general, are often made with synthetic uppers which will not stretch to fit the way most leather athletic shoes will.

Yep

MOST people who wear SIDI "love" them -- very high quality & very expensive. I just didn't have time (or, in retrospect, the budget) to try a lot of different sizes of SIDI shoes that afternoon. Many women find that SIDI shoes fit them best because they make a narrower shoe ... SIDI has fewer shoe models than Shimano, but a fairly broad price range (retail starting at about $130US, I think, going up to over $400!).

I take a size 12EE and had a pair of SIDI's for 10 years. I'm still saving up for another pair though.

Three straps are probably better than two; but, two are "okay."

I'd take 3 any day.

BTW. Some people love those buckles on the third (upper) strap ... I guess I can see some advantage in some circumstances (one of my MTB shoes has the buckles), but I prefer velcro since I'm NOT cinching my shoes for sprinting and then loosening them for other times during the ride which I presume is their primary raison d'etre.

I prefer the buckles to straps but everyone has their own preferences.

Cheers

Geoff

geoffs said:

I prefer the buckles to straps but everyone has their own preferences.

Cheers

Geoff

Wow, everyone is so helpful here! I did try on the Shimano RA-80 yesterday at the LBS but with buying everything for biking now it is getting expensive so I'd like to find them on ebay but they do not have my size listed now.

I am actually going to go with the Shimano MA-80 so I can walk a little (in case I can't make it up a hill, or other reason I would have to walk).

What are your thoughts on that?

Thanks again for your expertise and friendliness.
Denise

[PHP] my bike is GINNO,made in china.I came from china.

dtgadgetgirl said:

I am actually going to go with the Shimano MA-80 so I can walk a little (in case I can't make it up a hill, or other reason I would have to walk).

What are your thoughts on that?

I'd still go with road shoes if you're looking at road cycling. Walking in them ought to be your last consideration. Should you ever need to walk in road shoes you can carry the cleat covers with you and that can get you far enough, but I am coming at the equation having ridden a LOOK pedal system for years now, finding those cleat covers adequate to any walking need I've had. Cant really say from experience for walking on a Shimano system.

dtgadgetgirl said:

Wow, everyone is so helpful here! I did try on the Shimano RA-80 yesterday at the LBS but with buying everything for biking now it is getting expensive so I'd like to find them on ebay but they do not have my size listed now.

I am actually going to go with the Shimano MA-80 so I can walk a little (in case I can't make it up a hill, or other reason I would have to walk).

What are your thoughts on that?

FWIW. I vote "yes" on the Shimano MA-80 (it is the MTB version of the RA-80, as you might suspect) -- being able to walk has real advantages over sliding-around with a road shoe OR worrying about possibly ruining a cleat.

Did anyone see last year's (?) IronMan Triathlon and the guy who walked in his bare feet carrying his bike rather than "ruin" his road shoes ... he could probably have "skated" with his road shoes, but he would have destroyed the shoes in doing so ... BUT, he would have certainly finished well inside the allowable time window.

I guess I should have elaborated that I often wear one of those size 44 Shimano MTB shoes that I mentioned in tandem with Wellgo WAM-R2/R4 pedals when ROAD riding. The particular Wellgo pedal is a Shimano SPD-R look-alike, but it has cleats for both LOOK-mount & SPD-mount shoes + a lower Q-factor (Q-factor is not that big a deal, IMO, because you can usually adjust the cleat left-to-right a sufficient amount ... especially, LOOK cleats) ... before anyone asks, let me say the Wellgo R2 & R4 pedals are "okay"; BUT, I wouldn't necessarily recommend them OR try to dissuade anyone from buying them, either. I have BOTH traditional LOOK pedals & the Wellgo pedals ... a no-worrys metal cleat (the grocery store where we often rendezvous on one ride has a gravel & dirt parking lot) and being able to walk-around are big pluses.

FWIW2. The SPD-SL cleat (it has integrated walking "wings"😉 can be substituted for traditional LOOK cleats to facilitate walking. Both, the walking wings & cleat covers presume you are only walking around on a paved surface rather than a "soft" road shoulder or a gravel parking lot ... a potential problem with both cleat covers & walking wings is that (and, this is an unfortunately documented reality) it has encouraged some people to drive with their ROAD shoes on which has resulted in accidents ... one cyclist, while driving with ROAD shoes on instead of changing (as most riders who wear road shoes do), drove INTO another rider on his bike at an event which resulted in major (as in "critical condition"😉 hospitalization.

Odd. Its worth destroying a shoe/cleat in a road race of that calibur (Iron Man in this case). Maybe he thought he could simply go faster barefoot?

I've never had a problem walking in my road shoes in any environment: grocery/convenient store, all manner of asphalt, unpaved roads, gravel, outright dirt. Usually this is with the cleat covers on, and again, this is with a LOOK cleat system. My cleats last a really long time, but its true they hardly ever hit a surface longer than necessary for me to get the covers on them.

I suppose if you're going to spend an inordinate amount of time walking around with road shoes on, MTB shoes maybe are a better choice. Especially if the Shimano road cleat is less walking friendly on surfaces alternate to asphalt, and the Shimano cleat and pedal system is what you're going with.

And wow.. yeah, definitely dont drive in road shoes.

dtgadgetgirl said:

I am actually going to go with the Shimano MA-80 so I can walk a little (in case I can't make it up a hill, or other reason I would have to walk).

It all depends on how you plan to ride. Walking a bike up a hill is not a problem, even with road shoes; however, if you plan to walk a lot in sand, dirt, or mud, then the mountain bike pedals are better than road pedals.

I use SPD pedals on my hybrid and plan to use them on my road bike. I do not race, but I do event rides, where walking around and socializing every 10 to 20 miles is part of the fun. My group is split about 50/50 between Look and SPD pedals, although almost everyone other than me has a road bike. Those with SPD pedals walk around in their shoes. Many, but certainly not all, with Look pedals take their shoes off at the rest stops.

There is no difference in weight between Look and SPD pedals, although road shoes are lighter than mountain shoes. Unless you are racing, this small difference in shoe weight is not meaningful. The look cleat has a wider platform thant he SPD plate, but the sole of my shoe is rigid and distributes the weight evenly, regardlesss of the size of the cleat. I suppose there are a few individuals who could pull hard enough to rip out the two bolts on the SPD cleat. For these individuals, the third bolt on the Look cleat might be an advantage, but I have never seen anyone pull a cleat out of the shoe.

The bottom line is that for most people, there is no reason not to use mountain pedals on a road bike.

RickF said:

It all depends on how you plan to ride. Walking a bike up a hill is not a problem, even with road shoes ...

HMmmm. Well, I guess my impression is a little different ... and, I have to say that although I don't have a problem walking in my road shoes when I have LOOK cleats attached, I would much rather walk the same distance with MTB shoes ...

RickF said:

however, if you plan to walk a lot in sand, dirt, or mud, then the mountain bike pedals are better than road pedals ...

... The bottom line is that for most people, there is no reason not to use mountain pedals on a road bike.

Amen.

alfeng said:

I have to say that although I don't have a problem walking in my road shoes when I have LOOK cleats attached

I should actually say that I don't have a problem walking SHORT DISTANCES with my road shoes ...