Hi Dr Paul,
I bought a pair of Reynolds shoes a couple of months ago (www.reynoldsshoes .co.uk). I believe that they have updated the design considerably includin g padding and rubber treads.
The main reason I bought them was because I wanted a pair of shoes that loo ked inconspicuous off the bike that had reasonably hard soles. The picture on their website is unflattering, but not far off true life- they use matt leather and it's not particularly fine in terms of grain.
They have what they describe as double leather soles. Actually, these are not true double leather (like the Tricker's shoes I normally wear for work) , they only have a double thickness in the front area of the foot (not heel and arch).
The leather sole is also covered with a rubber tread which makes a good dea l of sense, since the metal of pedals eats leather soles pretty quickly. U nless you are using plates, I wouldn't recommend using bare leather soles ( or carbon) soles with metal pedals.
They are pretty good in terms of construction - I would have preferred a tr aditional welted sole (again like the Tricker's shoes I normally wear for w ork) as this makes sole replacement easier. Instead the Reynolds sole is b onded with adhesives (like Carnac and Sidi shoes).
I have a pair of Sidi Genius in Megawidth because my feet, like many in Nor thern Europe and the US, are significantly wider than Southern Europeans. The Sidi's are clipless and unbeatable for racing. The Reynolds are good, in fact they're 'double sole' design make them highly effective for touring . The difference is that I wouldn't be seen dead walking around a church o r an art gallery in Sidi's. At that point, the Reynolds shoes look just li ke any other pair of 'casual' shoe.
Mark Lawrence Oxford United Kingdom
-----Original Message----- From: classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org [mailto:classicrendezvous-boun ces@bikelist.org] On Behalf Of Dr. Paul Williams Sent: 05 August 2008 10:52 To: Classic Rendezvous Subject: [CR]Query on cycling shoes - from iBOB list
For those who don't follow the iBOB list there is an interesting discussion of more traditional type touring shoes for clips and straps. Thoought a couple of the links might be of interest on CR too:
http://www.albabici.com/
(maybe not intended for clips but cool retro appearance and look like they will take a variety of other cleats - also available in silver!!!)
(we all know these old standbys - didn't know they were still in operation)
Paul B. Williams, BAH, MPhil, PhD
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
castell5@sympatico.ca