How to choose your cycling shoes

Clipless shoes or toe-clips

If you are going to be getting in and out of the saddle quite often or making frequent stops, then the common toe-clip may be all you need, combined with a comfortable cycling shoe that has some flex in it. So that applies to short distance leisure or family cycling and commuting, where you are going to be in traffic and where safety is an issue. Also with activities such as bmx and cycle speedway its necessary to be able to make a quick exit from the pedals.

(Remember that if you use a clipless system, you'll have to learn how to get in and out of the pedals quickly and that if you are in an accident you won't have time to get out).

Competitive cycling
On the other hand, with most types of competitive cycling, a clipless system is a great advantage to help performance. Your choice is basically between cycling shoes with recessed cleats and those with standard cleats that stick out from the bottom of the shoe.

Cycling shoes with recessed cleats are common for mountain biking as they allow for easy walking, whereas in road racing, time trials or triathlon a standard cleat is common as it allows for more rigid soles and better power transmission and spread across your foot.

When it comes to touring and longer rides, the choice is more about personal preference and practicality. Some people may like the performance and efficiency of a standard road shoe, taking some normal shoes with them for breaks, whereas others may be keener on the comfort and convenience of a single pair of cycling shoes with recessed cleats for all occasions.

Cycling shoe tread and strength

Tread is only really important for mountain bikers and the choice is really dependent on what sort of trail or terrain you are likely to be walking on. For extreme use you can get extra grippy cycling shoes, some with additional screw in studs, but for most uses there are plenty of good treaded shoes to choose from. Some are better at shedding mud from the cleat area and tread than others - its best to ask around or look at reviews to find this out.

As you might imagine, its quite possible for a mountain biker to have more than one pair of mtb shoes for different competitive events, to cope with varying conditions, especially for technical sections.

If you are in very rough country, you'll also need to consider how strong the cycling shoe is. For the worst rocky trails, you may well need some ankle protection or even toe protection if you are going to be climbing over rocks in a hurry.

Compatibility

You'll need to check whether the shoe you are going to use is compatible with your pedals, or rather whether you can get cleats that fit both. For recessed cleats the SPD fixing is common (originated by Shimano); but many shoes made by other manufacturers also use this fitment. Usually they will have SPD in their model name.

Choosing the right cycling shoe sole

For mountain biking the choice is quite tricky, as you need to take into account the rigidity of the sole, the grip, the comfort factor and the type of events you are doing. Inevitably your choice will be a compromise, mainly because most mtb events involve riding on a variety of terrain with different demands. You may well find it worthwhile doing a checklist of event demands against shoe characteristics and the effect they are likely to have, before making a decision.

For road biking the choice of cycling shoe is simpler and is mainly about how much discomfort you can tolerate without it affecting your performance. An ultra rigid carbon soled shoe is going to be very good for getting your effort efficiently into your pedals and it will be light as well, but that's not so good if your feet ache and hurt on a long ride because they can't move or flex in the shoe.

Time in the saddle is critical in this respect. If you are involved in short sprints or time trials, then you can probably put up with some discomfort in the interests of performance, whereas for endurance, long audax or all day road competition, a more forgiving shoe might be in order.

What about pedals ?

It used to be the case that shoes were chosen before pedals, but there is now a large selection of both available. Unless you are really keen to get a specific shoe, its probably worth checking what pedal is most suitable at the same time. There's a good summary on this Bike Pedal Guide website.

Its also worthwhile to talk to other cyclists about bike pedals and any problems they have had, as the different cleat systems allow variable degrees of movement for your shoe. Some cyclists like little movement and others like plenty of flexibility.