On Sun, Mar 15, 2009 at 3:32 AM, Ken Cowan <maincom@optusnet.com.au> wrote:
> All the bikes I own are older than 1980 but I when on long rides I have only
> ever used cleats. These types of pedals don't look good on my vintage bikes
> and I have now set them up with toe clips. So, what sort of shoe is normally
> used? Do I just wear standard running shoes, I have checked ebay and
> everything seems to be for cleats.
>
Not sure what you mean by cleats, but slotted cleats, for use with toe clips and straps, were common on cycling shoes before 1980, both the older nail-on kind of cleat and the integrated adjustable slot cleats. This is what I use for comfortable and efficient riding but resources are difficult to find now--my slot cleat shoes are from before and after 1980, some old and still going, some NOS waiting to go into use. There are some ways to do slot cleats with newer shoes, and there are slot cleats that will bolt to the Look 3 bolt pattern. I've adapted, and occasionally use, orphaned vintage slot cleats for the 2 bolt spd pattern and mounted them to a pair of black Sidi mtb shoes and they work fine with toe clips and straps and well as being a little bit walkable. In the meantime the toe clips and straps work with most ordinary shoes when I'm not using slot cleat shoes. Stiff soles are better, and running shoes are a poor choice in my experience because the soles are both too thick and squishy and also too flexy to prevent the pedal edge from annoying. But they're fine for short distances.
Mitch Harris
Little Rock Canyon, Utah, USA