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Shoes, Shoes, Shoes - What Cycling Shoes Should I Buy?

While we’ve talked about Clipless Pedals before, we haven’t spent much time discussing the shoes that go along with them.

For this I’m going to break things down into three basic groups:

On Road:

Unless you are doing an Xterra race, or overshoot a turn, this is where most of your triathlon riding will be done. Road shoes have very stiff soles, with some of the nicer ones being made in part, or entirely of carbon fiber for weight and strength. The uppers of these shoes are generally well ventilated, and close with either a ratcheting system or Velcro.

While racing, you aren’t doing much hopping off the bike to admire the scenery, or take pictures, so having recessed cleats like those provided by off road or casual shoes is not needed. Although this does make walking awkward, and you sound much like a tap dancer when walking around.

Off Road:

These shoes will also be stiff, but not as much so as the road shoes. This will provide good power transfer, however, they also need to provide some flexibility for when you need to get off the bike and hoof it. Also unlike road shoes, these shoes provide recessed cleats that make getting around the trails that much easier.

The tops of these shoes are generally more substantial than their road counterparts, some including laces.

Casual Riding:

These are going to be the most comfortable of the lot, and will be more flexible than both the off road, and
on road equivalents. This is done because these shoes will be used for more walking than either of the other two, and will generally be used for long days of riding, or multi-day tours. The styles of these are as varied as the folks who use them, ranging from boot-like to sandals.

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