Do I need/want road bike shoes?

[flash]

Hi,

I would say that a good quality, good fitting, pair of shoes is more important than whether you have mtb or road shoes. (One exception? If you want to be competitive in triathlons, you will need a tri-specific shoe that's easy to get in and out of.)

I currently have these shoe/pedal combos set up & I honestly don't notice a difference in speed or comfort with any of them. I was supposed to transition to road pedals for my road bike, but didn't want to mess with cleat alignment & don't see the benefit, so I haven't gotten around to it yet (maybe never will). I often ride my road bike (SPD pedals) with my road shoes for club rides and races, but grab my mtb shoes for commuting to work, the grocery store, or our girls' ice cream/pub rides

• Nike tri shoes w/ Shimano SPD road pedals
• Nike Poggio road shoes w/ Shimano SPD (yes, the mtb pedals -- very slippery for walking, also dead easy clip in and out of the pedals b/c the cleats stick way out of the sole)
• Specialized motodivas w/ Shimano SPD

So decide what's important to you (easy walking? large pedal surface to eliminate hot spots? shoe weight? versatility?) If you only want to deal with one pair of shoes, make them good mtb shoes & you can use them for EVERYTHING...road riding, 'cross, mtb, and commuting.

Good luck with your decision!

[KnottedYet]

Speedplay Frogs mtb pedals and Specialized Taho mtb shoes.

On my road bike.