PTW

I'm thinking of switching to MTB cycling shoes for audaxing and touring.

I've briefly used SPD's before and found them slightly tricky to click in and disengage but that was 14 years ago!

Does anyone use SPD's or Time ATACS and what would you recommend?

Hi Alf, I've still got some SPDs on my MTB, I find them easy to get into and out of. SPSs are def better than the Time pedals. Embarrassingly I used to use MTB pedals for ages on my road bike as a junior and didn't have any problems of note. (Apart from looking like a c**k)

Davey C wrote

Hi Alf, I've still got some SPDs on my MTB, I find them easy to get into and out of. SPSs are def better than the Time pedals. Embarrassingly I used to use MTB pedals for ages on my road bike as a junior and didn't have any problems of note. (Apart from looking like a c**k)

Looking like a c**k ???? Gave you good grounding for your cycle clothing choices then Davey !

Thanks Davey. TIME ATAC's have got quite a few fans in CTC and Audax circles but perhaps it will be safer to stick with the big 'S'.

What about sizing? Are they narrow (crippling) like Sidi's?

Hi Alf, I use spud's and when someone said I looked like a cook I thought he was on about my waste line. Anyhow,never had any problems with them, just bought a pair of touring/ race shoes from your campag butty up in Nelson cycles, Shimano rt 51, down from £65- £36. The sole is as stiff as my sidi's, but the cleat actually finishes flush with the bottom of the sole, so no daffy duck style leg work. Shimano also do a cleat adaptor, which adapts from the look 3 hole fixing to the 2 hole spud fitting, sjs for around £12.

SPDs? Did someone call?

Being as my previous SPD shoes were about 7 years old, and were still going strong (but unfortunately smelling rather strong as well ) I now have a new pair of these:



These are bigger and chunkier all round, with the result you get far less of the cleat hitting the pavement when walking about (yes, you can walk about in them) than my old ones. They now come with the obligatory velcro strap to stop laces getting caught in the chain, and by and large, despite being a bit outdoorsy they do look just like normal shoes. Great for trips to town.

I know Alf has had problems disengaging, especially when wearing overshoes. This is no laughing matter! When the pedal gets caught on the overshoes you discover new reserves of strength you never knew you had, borne out of the sheer desperation you feel as you attempt to detach your foot moments before you hit the deck I've literally torn one pair of overshoes to shreds, but the good news is that after they have been torn to pieces disengaging does become easier.

However, I have discovered that some overshoes get caught, whereas others just don't. It just depends how elasticky they are underneath. Getting overshoes monstrous enough to fit over my current shoes has been a challenge, but it is possible. I cycled over the Black Mountain on Saturday, and my feet didn't feel the cold until my second descent on the way back. I think that's a new record

In all other respects SPDs are fit and forget. Certainly they should be slightly easier to disengage than Look, and a heck of a lot easier to engage. Not as fast for racing, which is why I still have Look on my Monoc, but for the rest of my cycling life it is SPDs all the way.

Alfie wrote

Thanks Davey. TIME ATAC's have got quite a few fans in CTC and Audax circles but perhaps it will be safer to stick with the big 'S'.

What about sizing? Are they narrow (crippling) like Sidi's?

Yes, I was caught up in the TIME hype a while ago and bought a pair, but there sometimes is no beating the 'big S'. (That was hard for me to type as a Campag man!). As for fit, I've never had problems...

Looks like Nelson are still the best bet. £20 cheaper than Wiggle on a Shimano MTB shoe and XT spud pedal combo.

ive just woken up to the reason alfie boy is after another type of pedal/shoe combination, the alfster is trying to find shoe he can use to make walking more comfortable when he gets off his bike on all the climbs that crack him!!!!!

Don't go down the mtb shoe road Alf, to much flex in the sole, I reckon the shimano rt51 is your best bet. if you want to see um before you buy, gis a call and call over.Priced at £46 on the site, but he sold them to me for £36 .

Hi Alf
What Size are you as I bought SPDs when I started last year. I bought them especially as I knew at 17 stone (Plus) I would be walking up a lot of hills. So If your a size 9 you can have them. Only wore them for about 3 months. (Then I put a smaller gear on or got stronger one of the 2.......)

Let me know or call in next time your in Porthcawl


Les

Thanks Les but I've taken Titus' advice and bought the spiffing RT51's and matching pedals. I'm now going to spend the rest of the evening scratching the ShimaNO logo of the pedals and polishing out the ShimaNO logo of the shoes.

Gawd, he does go on about Campag doesn't he? Perhaps he was bitten by a Croce D' Aune front mech when he was younger.

Good call on those RT51's Titus. First ride today and an absolute doddle to get in and out of. Best of all, when you're on a level surface (like a cafe floor for example) the cleat doesn't actually touch the ground. Interestingly, I always take a size 8 in shoes which is a 42 but needed a 44 in these.

'Wreckermended' - as they used to say in MBUK.

Glad to hear you're happy with 'em Alf, I think all Shimano are on the small side,I seem to recall someone else saying the same as your good self about needing a size bigger,anyway you know what they say about big shoes!

Big insoles?