WANTED: Mountain SPD compatible shoes (and pedals?) recommendation

[Grog]

Hi ladies!

I'm going to get a new pair of shoes and I want to go back to receded cleats, i.e. cleats IN the sole so I can walk without looking like a duck or fearing to fall.

I currently have Specialized Pro Carbon road shoes with very stiff carbon soles. I love them. I know I can find equally stiff soles in "mountain" shoes. Please tell me which ones you have, how stiff they are, and whether you'd recommend them.

Also, any recommendation for receded-cleat pedals will be welcome. I have an old pair of mountain SPDs that would do the trick but I'm open to trying others!

Thank you!

[KnottedYet]

I have Speedplay Frogs (love love love!) and Specialized Taho shoes.

The shoes are probably too soft for what you're looking for, but they are mighty comfortable, and I've walked a lot in them, no problem.

http://www.mtbr.com/reviews/Shoes/product_125934.shtml
http://www.speedplay.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.frog

[Tokie]

I need some recessed cleats and pedals for touring this summer. I'm trying to decide between frogs and eggbeaters. I already know that specialized shoes are best for my knees. I do need plenty of float, and use speedplays on my road bike. Anyone have eggbeater experience? Thanks! Tokie

[VeloVT]

Tokie,
I have eggbeaters on my cx bike. Super easy in and out and shed mud/ice/slop like a charm. Not sure what the degree of float is but definitely more than my road pedals... I actually prefer less float, but they do the job I want them to do :).

I have Sidi Blaze shoes for my eggbeater bike. They're the cheapest Sidi mountain shoes (or were when I bought them). Very comfortable, reasonably stiff but I"m sure less stiff than your Specialized carbon road shoes (less stiff than my Sidi road shoes too).

[mimitabby]

I have SIDI MTB shoes and SPD's - they are fairly recessed.

[melissam]

Hi Grog,

I have a pair of Specialized BG Comp Motodiva shoes. They're probably very similar to the shoes you currently have, but the Motodiva's don't have a carbon sole.

I haven't noticed any issues with the sole not being stiff enough during riding; my longest ride in these shoes has been a 60 miler, but I have 70 miler planned for Saturday. I feel pretty comfy walking in these shoes. My Shimano SH-M036W shoes are more comfy to walk in, but I don't think they're as stiff as the Motodivas.

Hope this helps.

-- Melissa

[Grog]

Thanks for the ideas everyone!

I am considering the Sidi Dominators with Frogs, but I have read that the Frog cleats do not quite fit in the Dominator's soles. Any thoughts??

[crazycanuck]

Grog, what about Crank Brothers pedals??? They're easy to maneuvre..

[Grog]

Tell me about 'em! They're not very common around me so I've never heard first-person account about them.

(It's great to see that two canucks thousands of km apart can be awake at the same time and thinking about bike pedals.)

[invsblwmn]

sidi dominator plus crank brothers=great fit. Had egg beaters on the specialized I wrapped around the SUV last fall and have smarty on my cannondale road bike. Love the entry and the fit with the sidis. Have Fun!:D

[HillSlugger]

I have Diadora Astro mtb shoes with Shimano PD-M540 spd pedals. The thing I like about the shoes is that they are built exactly like a road Shoe (the Diadora Astro road shoe) but with a sole that makes them walkable.

[Tiffany]

I have the Sidi Dominator 5's with standard SPD pedals. I love the combination and I came off road shoes also. It was (obviously) different at first but I have grown to love the way they feel and fit. I hope this helps.

[Grog]

Thanks everyone!

I think I am leaning towards the Crank Bros pedals. I have SPDs already (not currently on) and I am curious to try something else.

Among the various Crank Bros versions, which one(s) have you tried? Which do you like best? I don't need extra mud-cleaning features, because this will be for 99.9% road riding, and price is a concern. (Weight isn't really.) Ideas? Recommendations?

Thanks!!

[emily_in_nc]

Among the various Crank Bros versions, which one(s) have you tried? Which do you like best? I don't need extra mud-cleaning features, because this will be for 99.9% road riding, and price is a concern. (Weight isn't really.) Ideas? Recommendations?

I like the Candies for their pretty colors! :D Candy SL's are pricier, Candy C's are less. There are probably some other versions too; I'm just stathing the ones I'm familiar with (all are 2-4 years old). Unfortunately, they didn't work well with my shoes (with heavy tread), so I'm using Frogs now, but the Eggbeaters Candies were definitely purtier....

Emily

[VeloVT]

lots of eggbeater reviews (and other mtb Crank Bros pedals) at www.mtbr.com.

When I was looking at them several years ago, I noticed a lot of comments about how the combination of a four-sided interior pedal with a two-sided platform was a little awkard/unnecessary (regarding candies, mallets, etc). Lots of people here seem to love their platform Crank Bros pedals, and I've never tried them so I can't comment, but that point made a lot of intuitive sense to me.

That said, although my eggbeaters are good for the purpose for which I use them, I actually like my road pedals much better. Some of it is that they have less float, and I think that causes them to feel more secure and powerful, but some of it may be the bigger platform (I have Ultegra pedals).

[Grog]

I just thought I'd provide an update on my shoe/pedal situation.

I have tried to purchase Sidi Dominators from various LBSes around Vancouver. I became quite frustrated with them:
- MEC does not carry many women cycling shoe (I can sort of understand) but I tried the men's sizes which gave me an idea of the size I would need (40 was too small, 41 was not bad but felt too wide).
- La Bicicletta did not carry Sidi yet but they said they would very soon and would give me a call. They did not plan to get the mountain bike shoes but could special order for me once I knew my size exactly (from trying the road shoes). They never called back.
- Campione - the total Italian bike shop - had several pairs of Sidis but it seemed to be an old inventory. They had a Ruby Dominator *drool* but it was a size 36 I think, no good for me. I tried other styles and settled on size 41.5, but they did not have the Dominator. I asked them to special order from Toronto, was ready to pay upfront. The guy said: "I'll have to talk to my boss to see when we're going to make an order from Sidi..." What?? Anyway, I gave my number, and they never called me back either. (It's been three weeks.)

So I came home after that day of shopping and I had a feeling the LBSes would not step up to the challenge. So I simply ordered the shoes from TE. I love to buy from TE although for customs reasons (I live in Canada) I try to buy from my local shops, whose service I usually enjoy. Well TE definitely beat them on this one!!

It took a bit of time for me to get the shoes due to customs delays and Canada Post messing up with delivery, but I got the shoes three days ago. So far they are really comfortable except that my left foot was a bit too tight and I did not want to stop and remove my toe covers to adjust the fit for such a short ride. The shoes also feel really fast for some reason. They are quite stiff, about as stiff as my Specialized carbon road shoes.

I am currently keeping my SPD pedals. I'll see if they give me pain over longer runs, and perhaps try to get the cleats in a better position. Perhaps I'll switch to the Candy, but that would require another online purchase and I'm not ready for that!!

Thanks for all who provided advice!

[VeloVT]

Congratulations on your new shoes. Frustrating that the shops were so unresponsive, but partially in their defense, I think Sidi **IS** slow. When I bought my Sidi mountain shoes they didn't have my size at LBS. They ordered them the next day (I bought the shoes the same night I bought a bike and stayed right up until closing finalizing everything), and it took nearly a month for them to come. They kindly let me keep the test pedals so I'd have something to ride with until the shoes came in :). Yay for TE though!

[invsblwmn]

Sidi, aka veltec in the usa, is a little slow. I ordered a pair from a company that was giving me a great deal just as a customer satisfaction deal. They ordered the shoes from veltec, a pair of 2008 women's dominator 5s 41.5. Sidi sent them a pair of 41s. With the whole process, it took about a month, but got my shoes ready for as soon as my body is ready!

[Grog]

Well La Bicicletta just called me today that they have received the shoes! (But not the one I'm interested in.) Too bad for them!

This is the Canadian distributor, not sure which though...

[kelownagirl]

I have these

http://northwave.it/usa/shoes_det.php?itemid=252&catid=2&area=2

and I love them. Super comfy. However I have no experience with any other shoes, especially road shoes, so I can't tell you much about 'stiffness'.