Chuck taylors would be perfect except the soles arent stiff enough.
I tried Vans but they are a bit chunky to slide into clips and they are horrible to walk around in.
So…
I want shoes that are
A: Low profile for sliding into clips and straps
B: Nothing on the toes that’ll catch the straps when I’m trying to slide in.
C: Stiff soles (but no so stiff that they are uncomfy when walking
D: A casual sneaker style apperance.
E: LACES. I won’t wear slip ons.
F: Hopefully not to expensive. I survived the last 4 or 5 years by buying Chucks off eBay fo 30beans. Same with the Vans. Its going to be hard to convince myself to pay $100+ for shoes that cost $1.15 for a chinese girl to sew up but I doubt you can buy new shoes for less then that these days.
i dont have the answer.
one of the reasons why i started riding clipless. i couldnt find a shoe that was stiff enough, yet slim enough to fit nicely in straps and flats.
Piss the flats ‘n’ straps off and get a sneaker that can take an SPD cleat(or those ‘gay’ Time pedals that Mikey uses, cause he wants to be different). Then you’ll be clipless and good to go.
until i went clipless i used adidas shell caps with the laces sewn under, the toe seemed to fit my clips good and didn’t scuff up too bad, having said that i would never buy them for any other purpose as the ‘leather’ is ar*e and the soles will wear out in a few months if you ever feel like walking any where, $100.
So I’ve been looking into clipless (it really seems like clipless should be called “clips” seeing as how the sytem had much more clipping involved then cages and straps. but I digress) Why do they have to make the shoes so ugly?
Look at these http://www.cecilwalker.com.au/category333_1.htm
They must start with function, follow that up with form, then follow that up by puking all over the shoe.
Do clipless shoes exist that you can walk in and that look normal? Because Im not really against the idea of clipless. I’m just against the idea of having to change shoes when I get to work.
The Shimano shoes that Snowflake has kinda look dorky but practical for their use, though I feel that if you put the same shoes on someone not so dorky themselves the shoes would take on a whole new un-dorky appearance :evil:
I don’t think snowflake has ever owned a pair of Shimano shoes … at least not in the last few years. I have a pair of Shimano MTB shoes (SH-MO37). They are their basic/casual types with laces and one single velcro strap to keep the laces out of the way. Very comfy while still stiff at the sole. I sometimes wear them at work all day. Don’t look very dorky either. Their only problem is that the cleat mount is not recessed enough for certain cleats so you get that annoying clickclickclick when you walk. It happens with Time but not EggBeaters. Not sure about Shimano cleats.
Hey Cell…try nike blazer they r in between chucks and Van oldschool in terms of fatness…
They go for $50 to 150 on ebay depends on style or are they limited edition. if u got to nike outlet they would be around 80 bucks.
perfect shoe for me.
i can work in them for 10 hours at a time, or stand in the shop for 8.
i can run/walk while i’m delivering, and they don’t slip much in the rain.
if you look around you can still find them even tho they are an '06 model.
the ‘07/08 models are a bit more colorful, but still pretty good.
i only own 4 sets of footwear in total. 3 sets of cycling shoes and a pair of army boots, so these also double as my goin’ to town shoes.
pearl izumi make a set very similar in a sort of lightish brown color.
or look at the shimano DX shoes.
…gayer than sticking a Shifterbikes badge up your boy-vadge Craigie?
Though that is ‘different’ too…
And just to add my 2c - go for some skate shoes, not those crap ‘fashion’ skate shoes, but REAL skate shoes from a skate shop that have a stiff-as-a-stiff-thing sole and a waffle tread pattern. Sorted.
Hell, with those shoes, you could just run DMR V8’s with massive grub screws and piss the clips off altogether.
Otherwise, Torpedo7 have also had some 661 casual spd shoes for cheap.
(I’d choose spd’s if you want to ride this bike lots, but if it’s just a pub bike and you want to go out and look trendy and pretty, then wear whatever looks good and sacrifice a bit of cycling practicality. :-P)
I have the same range of shoe. They’re 5 years old now. The soles are pretty worn so I get the click click all the time. One cool thing is the sparks you can get off the cleats on a wet road at night.
BMX shoes! Always wore them when I had the SS MTB. ORCHID were my favourites, but I had one or two of the others.
They lace up, good stiff sole but you can still walk in them ok. These guys always have them on special so budget around $80 when they’re on sale.
Uhh yeah thanks. I figured that one out on my own. What I mean is the clipless syetem seems much more like a “clip” then a toe clip does.
All the skate shoes seem a bit fat to be slipping into clips’n’straps. Thats the problem I have with the vans I’ve got. Also I prefer hi cut to lo cut and that severly limits my options.
Givin my budget I dont want to have to buy pedals to go clipless.
Sigh…
I guess I’m stuck with Chucks. They are perfect in everyway except sole stiffness. (also they only last 8 months. But when you can get them for 30beans you cant complaine)
Maybe I can glue a Vans sole onto the bottom of some Chucks. It couldnt hurt to give it a go. I’ve got enough old pairs lying around.
I’m going to hit the shoe shops at the weekend with a wing and a prayer and report back on monday. Don’t be surprised to see me in pair of Chucks bitching and whinning.
