SPD Shoe recommendations?

19 replies · 2,434 views

TBtheWrecker
12 posts
#1May 15, 2020, 8:24 PMedited
On my new Specialized Diverge, I've put one dual pedals (one side platform one side SPD). This makes it versatile for me as I'm going to be commuting short distances here and there as well as training longer distances 3 days a week.

What are some lightweight shoes I can use on these? Most I found are very chunky.

Bonus points if I'm able to walk in them off bike haha.
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Zurichman
1,526 posts
#2May 16, 2020, 6:34 AM
Any mt. bike shoe should work. Whatever fits you as we all have different widths of feet.

Zman
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Jeb
113 posts
#3May 16, 2020, 8:40 AM
Anything by Shimano. They have many options.
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Ryn
1 posts
#4May 17, 2020, 6:32 AM
I wear the black Fizik Terra Ergolace X2 and love them. You can walk in them like regular sneakers and they’re very comfortable. I wear a size 11 in Under Armor and Nike sneakers, the Terra Ergolaces size 44.5 fit me perfectly.

Terra ERGOLACE X2 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YRZZQPV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_R.rWEb6X8WNB3
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scotton
1 posts
#5May 18, 2020, 9:55 AM
I've been super happy with the Shimano RX8. They look like sleek road shoes from the sole up but are walkable. Light and stiff, good vents.
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chas
1,305 posts
#6May 19, 2020, 1:47 PM
scotton wrote:I've been super happy with the Shimano RX8. They look like sleek road shoes from the sole up but are walkable. Light and stiff, good vents.

Agreed.
I splurged and got the RX9 (half off). Its basically a road shoe that takes SPD. Very light and fast and walkable. I use them at the velodrome - although I have to take the metal cleats off of them for that.

I do love the cleats, as IMHO I'm not gravel biking if I don't throw the bike over my shoulder and do a little climbing.

https://bike.shimano.com/en-EU/technologies/apparel-accessories/footwear/sphyre-xc9.html
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TBtheWrecker
12 posts
#7May 19, 2020, 1:51 PM
I ended up getting Rapha exlore as they were on huge discount in my size. love the olive green look and can be passable as regular shoes while being functional
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jfranci3
126 posts
#8May 19, 2020, 3:18 PM
TBtheWrecker wrote:On my new Specialized Diverge, I've put one dual pedals (one side platform one side SPD). This makes it versatile for me as I'm going to be commuting short distances here and there as well as training longer distances 3 days a week.

What are some lightweight shoes I can use on these? Most I found are very chunky.

Bonus points if I'm able to walk in them off bike haha.
TBtheWrecker wrote:On my new Specialized Diverge, I've put one dual pedals (one side platform one side SPD). This makes it versatile for me as I'm going to be commuting short distances here and there as well as training longer distances 3 days a week.

What are some lightweight shoes I can use on these? Most I found are very chunky.

Bonus points if I'm able to walk in them off bike haha.

Any XC MTB shoe with a stiff mid sole (usually this means carbon) will be good. I recommend getting ones with smaller knobbies so toe covers fit over them. Actually measure your feet and look at the guides online so you can get the right size - you can be a 43 in one shoe and a 46 in another. It should feel like a perfectly sized slipper when they're on, not dig in anywhere, and not cramped.

https://gearmashers.com/cycling-shoe-size-guide/

https://www.cyclingnews.com/features/best-gravel-bike-shoes/
Shimano, Specialzied, Bontrager, Fizik, Giro, Bont, Sidi, Mavic, and a dozen other brands make good shoes here.

I'd recommend starting with the Shimano as they'll have the best bang for the buck, but really get a shoe that you like the looks of. Ventilation is important; closing method is too - get shoes with 2+ adjustments, not one boa dial.

The pedals are the more interesting topic. Shimano makes SPDs, which are popular, but I've never liked them. I like Speedplay Frogs.
1
JonShack
3 posts
#9May 22, 2020, 9:36 AM
For what it’s worth I’ve been riding with Giro Cylinders for the last 6months, admittedly I’m more of a frustrated adventure cyclist on a road bike and have yet to take the plunge fully into gravel but I think they fit your brief and are probably about half the price of a Fizik or similar marque brand shoe shoe. Very solid and comfortable off the bike, they give me confidence to put foot down when stopping, or dismounting without slipping and the cleat is recessed so no tap dancing, they also don’t look too much look an ugly dayglo football boot and come in stealth black and grey. My commute often includes dismounting and going up several flights of stairs, I can run up or down then in these with my bike no problem. Only real drawback so far for me is only 1 Boa dial and no fine tuning of fit on the go without fully loosening, so maybe consider 1 model up. Very satisfied otherwise.
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bobrayner
10 posts
#10May 31, 2020, 3:52 PM
Everybody loves shopping online now, but I think bike shoes are the one thing where it's still worth going to a shop, to see them directly and trying for size before you buy.

Personally, I love the Fizik Vento Overcurve X3 as a summer shoe - a good balance of weight & stiffness & price - but the sizes are a little generous (mine only fit well after adding an insole). Everybody has different feet, though.
1
pete kumble
20 posts
#11Jun 3, 2020, 2:30 AM
Sidi Dominator. Can't go wrong with these.
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Jack1112
33 posts
#12Oct 27, 2021, 7:30 AM
Steel-soled footwear is one of the best type of safety footwears where the sole is pressed with a steel plate. The steel plate helps in ensuring that the sharp tools will not pierce through your shoes and wound your feet’s sole. You should wear steel-soled shoes if you are working as a crane operator, heavy truck driver, and other jobs which involve a lot of pedaling. The steel plate will help in stabilizing the foot, reducing the chances of having joint and bone injuries.
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ljsmith
762 posts
#13Oct 27, 2021, 12:08 PM
Jack1112 wrote:Steel-soled footwear is one of the best type of safety footwears where the sole is pressed with a steel plate. The steel plate helps in ensuring that the sharp tools will not pierce through your shoes and wound your feet’s sole. You should wear steel-soled shoes if you are working as a crane operator, heavy truck driver, and other jobs which involve a lot of pedaling. The steel plate will help in stabilizing the foot, reducing the chances of having joint and bone injuries.

I must have missed the part about the OP being a crane operator. Are SPD shoes any good for operating cranes?
2
Max Schnell
59 posts
#14Nov 6, 2021, 8:38 AM
ljsmith wrote:

I must have missed the part about the OP being a crane operator. Are SPD shoes any good for operating cranes?

Marketing opportunity here maybe, for crane operators that commute to work by bike 😉
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Djg21-2
37 posts
#15Nov 16, 2021, 8:51 PMedited
If you have issues with your feet or special needs, or just want the best fitting shoes and custom insoles possible, Don Lamson makes bespoke custom cycling shoes. They are not inexpensive, but they really are awesome shoes. https://lamsoncycling.com/off-road-shoes
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Volsung
878 posts
#16Nov 17, 2021, 5:55 AM
After getting a custom helmet and feeling how comfortable custom made things are it really makes me want to expand into other custom areas.

Not Lamson shoes though. Those look like a recipe for sweaty feet.
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Djg21-2
37 posts
#17Nov 17, 2021, 7:45 AM
Volsung wrote:Not Lamson shoes though. Those look like a recipe for sweaty feet.

Not at all. Lamson shoes are built in Green Valley, AZ, which is south of Tucson (near Patagonia, which is becoming a gravel Mecca (SpiritWorld 100)). Don is pretty cognizant of the need for shoes that are not overly warm given that he often rides in 100 degree temperatures. He uses a synthetic leather upper which does a pretty nice job of regulating temperature in conjunction with the perforations on the top of the foot. I’ve never had an issue and I’ve ridden and raced in Don’s shoes for decades, even on the hottest and most humid days of summers in the Northeast. https://www.facebook.com/lamsoncycleshoes/reviews
1
Volsung
878 posts
#18Nov 17, 2021, 8:24 AM
Good to hear. My Lakes have huge mesh vents in addition to the little holes those Lamsons have.

I'm a Minnesotan so I get hot at 70. Unfortunately we regularly get into the upper 90s these days, plus humidity from having lakes everywhere.
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Djg21-2
37 posts
#19Nov 17, 2021, 8:47 AM
Volsung wrote:Good to hear. My Lakes have huge mesh vents in addition to the little holes those Lamsons have.

I'm a Minnesotan so I get hot at 70. Unfortunately we regularly get into the upper 90s these days, plus humidity from having lakes everywhere.
Volsung wrote:Good to hear. My Lakes have huge mesh vents in addition to the little holes those Lamsons have.

I'm a Minnesotan so I get hot at 70. Unfortunately we regularly get into the upper 90s these days, plus humidity from having lakes everywhere.

You will have no problems whatsoever in Minnesota. I’m in upstate NY where it can be brutally hot and humid in the summer, and freezing cold and snowy in the winter. I ride outside as long as temperatures are over 32 degrees and the roads are snowbank and ice free. Now with the gravel bike, I plan on riding right through as long as the dirt roads near me are clear. 90+ degrees and pea soup-thick humidity is not unusual in the late summer. I’m not big on winter-specific shoes — I prefer booties or toe covers and wool socks so I can wear the same shoes all of the time. I may spring for some heated socks if I can find some thin and decent ones that aren’t cotton and would work well with the Lamson orthotics.

1
Djg21-2
37 posts
#20Nov 23, 2021, 11:05 AM
Here are some photo’s of Don Lamson’s newest designs, that are in the final stages of development. The yellow shoe, tentatively called the Oracle Wizard, has has a strap over the instep that tightens with a Boa dial. The new white soles, called Bi-flex soles, are carbon fiber and made with Innegra fibers (all his soles are carbon fiber reinforced with Innegra, which also is used to strengthen Allied bicycle frames. Don uses it to enhance strength and dampen vibration a bit. Most interestingly, the Bi-flex soles flex in front of the cleat to make walking and running running more natural. But they are stiff from the cleat back to allow for efficient power transfer. These soles are an option, and you can opt for a sole that is stiff throughout if you prefer more of a road shoe feel.

I don’t work for Don. But he is a friend and has been building my shoes for decades. His shoes are not inexpensive, but they are well worth the cost.

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