Feet, Shoes, and Pedals - Contact Point #3

• Posted on 4 May 2022
• By KW
• 2

We realized recently that we had talked about your connection to the saddle and keeping your hands comfortable, but there is still one more point of contact with the bike: your feet.  (An argument can be made that that would be two more points of contact, but I digress.)  Your shoes, pedals, and feet work together to keep you moving, and it's best if that is done with the most comfort and efficiency possible.

What kind of pedals should you use?  How about shoes? 

Well, what kind of riding do you do?  Are you a dedicated roadie who spends hours in the saddle without dismounting?  You should for sure check out some cleated shoes and clipless pedals*.  Are you a mountain biker who likes to jump off the bike to avoid obstacles, crashes, or other hazards?  Perhaps flat pedals would be best for you.  Let's have a look at some options and talk about which is best for what, you know? 

(*"Clipless" pedals refers back to the old school days, when "toe clips" were attached to pedals and riders strapped right in to them.  Now there are cleated shoes, similar to ski boot bindings, and we use them to - wait for it - clip in to the pedals.  So we clip into clipless pedals and..  never mind.  It just ends up making your eyes water, really.  But when we refer to "clipless" pedals, we mean the modern style that use cleats to interface with the pedals to lock you in position.)

Let's take a step back (ohh, shoe pun? hmmm...) and start with the shoes.  Obviously any shoe that you can wear for walking or running will work for riding, but there are also riding-specific shoes.  These shoes are designed with a stiffer sole to increase pedaling efficiency.  When you pedal with your running shoes, for instance, they flex, because that is what they're designed to do.  It's better for your running posture.  Well, flex isn't that efficient for pedalling, so cycling shoes are designed with very stiff soles that don't flex, or at least not much.  

There are several different shoe options, as you might expect.  You can choose to run a flat-soled shoe like the Crank Brothers Stamp Lace, designed for trail riding.  These shoes have a nice grippy sole that matches well with the Crank Brothers Stamp 1 and 2 pedals.  The idea here is that your shoes will grip the pedals very well but still allow you a quick exit off the bike in an emergency.  In general these shoes are much stiffer than a regular athletic/running shoe, but not as stiff as a road or other clip-in style.  Most people will find that the Stamp Lace is pretty comfortable to wear for regular daily activities, while a stiffer sole certainly would not be.

If you are looking for a more secure attachment to your bike, check out our road and MTB shoes from Scott.  These come in either 2- or 3-bolt cleat styles, depending on your needs.  The 3-bolt, or Delta, cleat is designed specifically for a road shoe application.  These cleats were originally designed by LOOK in 1984, and Bernard Hinault used them in the Tour de France in his victorious ride in 1985.  They are not easy to walk in, but of course it's possible to do so.  The cleat is entirely on the outside of the sole of the shoe.

The 2-bolt cleat system, on the other hand, is designed to fit within a cutout inside of the sole.  In 1990 the MTB world, led by Shimano, wanted something that is a little more user-friendly, but also was able to handle the rigors of off-road riding: small rocks, dirt, etc. that can easily gum up the works on a delta cleat needed to be dealt with. And thus was born Shimano Pedaling Dynamics, or SPD.  These pedals were designed with the goal of nothing sticking to them except the rider's shoe.  Other pedal selections using SPD include the Exustar, the Shimano M-324 (which is a 2-sided pedal - one side with a cleat, and one with a flat for any shoe), the Shimano M-520, XTR, and several other models.  A similar idea is the Egg Beater from Crank Brothers. A minimalist approach to the MTB pedal, it is used by many riders.

The added bonus of "clipping in" is the ability to use a pulling up motion with one leg while your other one pushes the pedals down, giving you a full circle of power.  You'll love that on the hill climbs!  At some point in the circle when you are riding with flat pedals, only one leg is doing any work.  Now you'll strenthen those hamstrings to match those quads!

"Is it OK to ride my road bike with MTB pedals (or vice versa)?"  Of course!  You can ride your bike with whatever feels best to you.  It can be very convenient to have one pair of shoes that works with both road and MTB riding.  Then your feet know exactly what is going on at all times.  There are even road pedals that are designed to work with the SPD cleats (Shimano couldn't very well invent SPD and not use it for half of its customer base, right?).  But you can use virtually any pedal/shoe combination on any bike.  Remember, the most important thing is that you're riding.

Questions?  We'd love to answer them!  Everyone is the shop has vast experience with clips, cleats, flats, and shoes.  Stop in or give us a call.