Bike shoes w/o clips?

[shirleymom]

I just bought some new Specialized Sport MTB biking shoes. I'm not quite ready for the clipless pedals. I'm curious to know if it is possible to ride on regular pedals with these shoes until I am ready to go clipless? thoughts?

Thanks,
Shirley

[alpinerabbit]

Are these similar?
Sure, why not?

[batsheva]

yes, for sure-- just dont fit the cleats to the underside of the biking shoes and they should be just fine for regular pedals and much better than sneakers!

[shirleymom]

Here's a picture of the shoes.



I was told that the shoes would probably just slip off of the pedals a lot. I was curious to know if anyone else had tried it with any success?

[10yearstogether]

I was planning on just using my tennis shoes for now to save on my costs.

I'm curious, if they aren't clipless then why get them at all? Were you going for that firm/flat factor? I'm so new at this and I thought that the point of "real biking" shoes was that they attached to the pedals, so you get the power from pedaling up as well as pedaling down. Not sure if I'm making sense.

[Eden]

I was planning on just using my tennis shoes for now to save on my costs.

I'm curious, if they aren't clipless then why get them at all? Were you going for that firm/flat factor? I'm so new at this and I thought that the point of "real biking" shoes was that they attached to the pedals, so you get the power from pedaling up as well as pedaling down. Not sure if I'm making sense.

Cycling shoes have stiffer soles than walking shoes. Long ago, far away, before there were clipless pedals.... I had a pair of Nike cycling shoes. They looked pretty much just like tennis shoes, but they had a steel shank in the sole. I could easily walk in them, but I certainly wouldn't have wanted to spend the day doing it.

Why do you want stiffer soles? It can make pedaling more efficient, but more importantly cycling long distances in shoes with flexible soles can make your feet hurt. Having a stiff sole spreads the pressure out over your whole foot rather than having it all on the ball (or wherever you happen to put your foot on the pedal - if your foot slips to having the arch over the pedal - ouch!) and helps prevents your foot bending with every pedal stroke. So even if you aren't ready to go clipless there are reasons for having a cycling shoe. Of course any good sturdy shoe will do fine for shorter rides.

[Flur]

I rode for about a month with Specialized Riatas (similar tread as those above) and I found that it was really hard to get into toe clips, and it definitely felt like if I didn't have the toe clips I would have slid off the pedals.

That said, try it for a while and see if you like it. For me, it made me really happy to go clipless.

[alpinerabbit]

I was told that the shoes would probably just slip off of the pedals a lot.

That's possible because the tread looks like it is hard plastic rather than rubber. You'll have to give it a go and if it doesn't work, do it the hard way.
are you mountain biking or road riding? I would guess road riding would be on the safe side of things.

[shirleymom]

That is exactly my reason, with my running shoes on the pedals the ball of my feet hurt alot, so I figured the harder sole would feel better. I will give it a try without clips and see what happens, can't hurt as long as I don't fall but that happens too. I'm riding a hybrid..Trek 7.5
Thanks for all the response, it helps alot.
Shirley

[luvmypwds]

How about using toeclips? I think that's what you call them - those "cages". As long as you don't tighten them so they're super snug they're easy to get in and out of. That may work with your new shoes with less slippage. I have similar biking shoes (MTB biking shoes by Shimano) and I definitely find them slippery on flat pedals.

[sundial]

I have a pair of those Specialized mtb shoes and I found that they do have a tendency of sliding a bit on platform pedals. It does not slip as bad on a BMX type platform pedal, the pedal with the pins in them. I wear Tahos instead so that it stays put on the pedal.