What’s the dealio on shoes. Thinking about dipping my toes back into SPD land, on my commuter first and (possibly) on my MTB later. Two-bolt only need apply. No triforce clacky duck-footed road shoes.
Searches on here suggest Giro Privateer are a solid choice. So will probably go try some on. My feet are on the wider side, so want to try on in-person. Sydney stockists?
What about the other Giro two bolt models. Republic? Tech lace?
I’ve been wearing the Giro Rumble VR for a couple years. Lace-up, comfy, look almost like normal shoes. I have ultrawide hobbit feet and they fit great.
Added bonus: Anaconda stocks them at a reasonable price.
although i actually own giros (roadie tho), Shimano just make the best shoes bang for buck wise imo. Haven’t had a pair of two bolt for some time but they have always been great.
i got some of these off a mate for $20 [wrong size] - comfy to ride/walk in & recommended, cold rips stright thru them though, great for hitting a jumps park -bit soft for xc racing
some hot girl flies past you on your commute -you have to stand & stamp the pedals to catch up to her, without puffing too badfly you can’t get a word out
some tossa on a $10K build snubs his nose at your recycled single speed, you burn him off to teach him money isn’t everything & you shouldn’t just be a dick
I’m using northwaves. They are readily available on line but I don’t know how the width compares. I toolk the risk ordering on line and the sizing seems consistent with other shoes and decent walkability and good stiffness for a fast commute.
Sweet. Heaps of suggestions. Googling now. But I expect I’ll be a bit limited on selection when I check out actual bike stores in Sydney.
Looks wise I do like the clean styling on those Shimano urban and xc5 ones. The heel pad and colours of the rumble always put me off trying them on. But might give them a go.
I have to say I found all of Shimano’s models confusing, so for my first commuting pair I just bought the cheapest Shimano model on Wiggle for about $50 and they worked fine for about 5 years for commuting. Downsides were flexy, velcro only straps, and a fabric face material that absorbed any water that got near them.
I replaced them about 2 years ago with Giro Privateers and they’re great value for the $140 or whatever I paid for them, given I wear them for at last an hour every day. They solved all the downsides of the cheap Shimanos just mentioned - good stiffness, good durability, good lugs for pushing a loaded bike on steep loose ground, and the face fabric is fairly good at shedding water.
The higher end Shimanos would also have these features no doubt.
Northwave do run a wider fit, from what I’ve tried on.
I have a set of Nike and a set of Shimano SPD shoes. Despite the ‘walkable’ claims, unless it’s totally flat (e.g. tile or trowel concrete), the cleats will ALWAYS hit the ground, even on a brushed concrete surface like a footpath. Can get annoying and stops me wearing them to the shops if I’m just going for a quick grocery run or something.