On Wed, May 14, 2008 at 1:56 PM, <marcus.e.helman@gm.com> wrote:
> Also for me, toeclips and straps go with the whole classic bike gestalt.
> It is easy to slip into the toeclips with my Adidas Sambas. They even
> look a little like bike shoes. Riding with sneakers gives an added excuse
> when someone else is faster. "I could probably keep up with you if I had
> modern pedals, or if I wasn't riding this heavy old bike with only ten
> speeds and the shifters on the downtube."
>
> I suppose I could try to find a pair of Dettos, but I am also leery of
> traditional slotted cleats. I fear that I would not be able to get out of
> the pedals easily.
>
> I want something that looks like a bike shoe, but walks like a sneaker.
> Before I just go buy another pair of Sambas, I would be glad to hear your
> suggestions
Like John, with slotted cleats I have the straps slightly loose--they are touching the shoe all around but not pressing at all so there is no constriction. This gives me good retention for climbing, even sprinting, but a foot comes out easily when I want it to. Never had a problem getting a foot out. I have used tighter straps but only for certain bunch sprints and for track racing; in those situations you do have to reach down an loosen a strap to get a foot out.
I think you'd find that you'd have not trouble getting out of the pedals easily with slotted cleats and still have good pull back and up.
Now if only someone would start making a proper slotted cleat and shoe again.
And sure, clips/straps/dettos/slot cleats look good on classic bikes but I use them because they are comfortable and efficient for me. I've used several clipless systems extensively and found most of them to be just fine but they didn't provide any advantage for me.
John said:
>The problem with this is that any shoe with a stiff enough sole to be a
>decent cycling shoe will simply not walk like a sneaker.
True. Even classic cleatless touring shoes like Sidis and Diadoras don't walk like a sneaker. The closest I've come for short commutes is the off-topic Shimano lower end line of SPD shoes: pretty comfortable for walks, even walking all day in the Louvre, for example, but still stiff enough for distance riding and sleek enough to go in and out of toe clips/straps easily (I don't mount spd cleats on them). And they look like normal casual shoes.
The closest I've come to finding a shoe that looks like a classic bike shoe but is walkable are a pair of off-topic Sidi mtb shoes that I mounted slotted cleats on (drilled some Vittoria cleats for the spd pattern). They work fine as slotted cleat shoes, and are much more walkable than my Dettos/Vittorias, etc. But not even close to sneaker walkability. Plus, even though they are black, these Sidis have velcro straps instead of laces so they don't look much like classic bike shoes either. If someone made a simple black lace-up spd mtb shoe with diminuitive black lugged sole like the Sidis, then we'd be in business for a classic-looking somewhat walkable slot cleat shoe.
Mitch Harris
Little Rock Canyon, Utah, USA