7/11/15 10:38 AM

Those are probably the most important components of a bike because they are the "contact points" between the rider and the bike. More important than lighter wheels and drillium cranks.

If you're lucky to find a pair of shoes/shorts that fits and performs for cheap, great. But if I find something that fits perfectly and performs well, I'm quite willing to part with whatever amount they demand!

That said, commuting isn't where I care about efficiency. So I actually ride on my street shoes rather than cycling specific shoes.

7/11/15 11:54 AM

Street shoes can be ruined with toe clips and straps. Bike shoes work much more efficiently for riding. Why not just keep a pair of nice shoes at work? Ride in and change. You need to clean up anyway or stink for the whole day...

7/11/15 11:56 AM

"shoes can be ruined with toe clips and straps"


The diagonal straps also deformed my Pumas in addition to making my feet numb off piste use where I wanted to have the feet help tight and not move, so yeah...

7/12/15 9:25 AM

I have never spent more than $50 on shoes . Bike shoes included. I may have exaggerated a little--I do have a pair that cost $70. My best shoes is a pair of French Shriners that I got in 1982, and which have been re-soled and heeled multiple times. I think of this as the "Ralph Nader Approach to Shoes."

I do have a tendency, when I find something I like, to try to buy multiple copies, since finding good narrow size 13 shoes is a bit of a challenge...

But I completely agree on the importance of shoes as contact points--not only when cycling, but when walking as well. Fit is all-important.

7/12/15 4:35 PM

The Dromartis are expensive, but based on Heine's review, I can use them for everything from commuting/office wear to D2R2 to court appearances to my niece's wedding, so they replace about 4 pairs of shoes. :)

Seriously, I expect to be able use them on hard rides on my Rando and cross bikes, as well as commuting. I may well use them for D2R2. And I have enough ATAC pedals that I have cleats for both them and the Chromes.

For me they have a nostalgic connection to the Maressis as I mentioned, and with the perforations also to the Detto Pietros which were my first good bike shoes (with nail on cleats).

@Andy, French Shriners, I have a vague memory of them as a shoe I couldn't afford back in the '60s/'70s...

7/13/15 4:43 AM

Yeah, pricey ...a weird name, too.

I own them because I had this job in the summer of '82 where I was going to DC to interview lobbyists about their connections (known as "the Washington Lawyers Project," it eventually lead to a book (The Hollow Core: Private Interests in National Policy Making).

So I needed some Good Shoes. They cost an arm and both legs, and I made the mistake of walking all over DC without breaking them in first... But I still have them!

7/14/15 11:36 AM

Not really an issue, and makes my bike a lot more versatile in terms of neighborhood errands. Not even sure of the brand, just some I had in my parts bin.

I can see if the commute is more than say 10 miles and hilly how clipless would be warranted, but other than that, no issue.

Ride on!

7/21/15 5:28 PM

Picked up the Dromartis today the post office (via Royal Mail), put on the cleats at lunch, wore them to ride back to the office, around the office, grocery shopping and riding home. They are awesome. Already the most comfortable bike shoes I have, sole plenty stiff for riding, great for walking due to soft rubber blocks on the sole. I have fairly wide, "high volume" feet and with the laces they fit great. Should only get better as the leather breaks in.

I'll take them for some hard dirt road rides on my cross bike and I suspect they may become my shoe of choice for that too. They may become my shoe of choice for everything.

7/22/15 10:08 AM

I put flip-over Shimano pedals from my junk box back on my bike, largely as a result of this thread, but I don't know if they're going to last there.

They work OK, but of course, the combination of my Nikes and the flips means I'd probably need to adjust the saddle, and then it would likely not be in the right place when I ride with MTB shoes on the other side.

Grrr. Argh.

I'm going to have to try this a few more times. Maybe I'm just being picky.

On the other hand, I'm wearing shoes that are comfortable for walking...

7/23/15 9:06 AM

One important thing that I've noticed is how a flexible running shoe grips the pedal much better, seemingly by drooping so as to "wrap around" the pedal to some degree.

So, for a few of those "mad dash" rides across town, to a store that is near closing time or to just get in a short ride in some minimum of available time, I usually keep a flat-pedal bike handy, and just use running shoes instead of a stiff-soled cycling shoe.
Maybe those shoes that Sparky mentioned have enough flex for added grip and walking-around prowess, which I'm sure their maker took somewhat into account.

The flexible shoes are torture on long rides with cage pedals, and be forewarned of what Craig said about "digging" or "clipping" any bulky, wide pedal (why Schwinn Varsities had 1"-higher bottom brackets!).

7/23/15 12:20 PM

I did my first ever century in tennis shoes. My toes were so numb from cage& strap by the end that I had a weird kind of limp.

7/23/15 12:51 PM

I did my first race in sneakers (probably Jack Purcells) and a borrowed hockey helmet.

But now I feel set with my Dromartis, 3 days in. They are good for everything I need shoes for - commuting, riding hard, walking the dogs, I could use them for light hiking, hanging out in the office, I'd even wear them with a suit in the right context (OK, standards for dress shoes in Maine are not high).

Really a great design, and totally Old Skool. Fit right in with my steel bikes (though I'd need the race shoes for the Sachs unless I changed the pedals).