Are cycling shoes necessary , if so why ?

[Andy in Germany]

The shoes I wear are best for me and suit my riding.

I am right and every person who doesn't do the same is wrong.

I think you will find you are mistaken, I am right and it is you that is wrong!

You're both wrong: categorically and completely.

What were we talking about?

 

[Johnno260]

All I know is my shins like me being clipped in! haha

 

[BalkanExpress]

All I know is my shins like me being clipped in! haha

Not just my shins: if I am using flats or even clips and straps and I have not pulled them tight, I sometimes whack my ankle bone against the crank arm

 

[Andy in Germany]

Not just my shins: if I am using flats or even clips and straps and I have not pulled them tight, I sometimes whack my ankle bone against the crank arm

I've never managed to tighten clips: that always seems to be a disaster waiting to happen for someone as absent minded as me.

 

[Rusty Nails]

I am a MTB SPD wearer, even on a road bike. I only use them because on longer rides they prevent me from getting pain in the achilles tendon. They don't make me any faster, and offer no better grip on the pedal than my old flats with pegs did.

The downside of SPD's is that if you are coming off, then there is nothing you're going to be able to do to stick a leg out to regain balance or to try and break the fall. You're going to injure your hip when you crash at any speed while clipped in. Just ask my mate who came off on Easter Monday and spent a week in hospital, and now has plates and screws holding his left hip together. He'll be lucky to ride a bike again at the age of 57, and certainly won't be the competitive, fast rider he previously was.

My personal advice on SPD's is, if you can use flats without suffering problems, stick with them. Unless you have aspirations to be a pro..

OTOH I fell off a few years back and put my leg out to try to break the fall. Ended up in hospital with torn knee ligaments. There's a good chance I would have just ended up with scrapes and bruises if I'd been clipped in.

You pays your money and you takes your chance.

 

[GuyBoden]

I badly torn a ligament in my ankle while rambling last year, so I have gone back to using flat pedals and stiff soled normal shoes. My ankle prefers them, even if I don't......

 

[Levo-Lon]

I have 10 pairs of cycling shoes...

Waste of time if you ask me

 

[ChrisEyles]

Well, I've never owned a pair of "proper" cycling shoes, so they clearly can't be *necessary* as such.

I use toe clips with something like these on my road/touring bike

and work boots or walking boots on the MTB. On the 1950s roadster anything will do (maybe not flip flops? who knows!). It's certainly convenient (not to mention cheaper) to be able to wear the same shoes for cycling as daily life.

Not saying there's no benefit, but they're clearly not necessary.

 

[recumbentpanda]

My one word answer to the original question is : ‘no’

Evidence: hundreds of miles of cycling on many different kinds of bikes.


Also: the idea that stiff soles are somehow more efficient doesn’t seem to me to comply with the laws of physics. I am not a physicist, I may be mistaken about this, but surely all a stiff sole does is take some of the more complex muscles of the foot out of play? How this improves matters of efficiency and power transfer, I am not sure.

I think the psychosomatic aspect is often overlooked. If something feels good, or even just different, people sometimes tend to assume it’s better.

Stiff soles don’t feel good to me!

 

[roubaixtuesday]

the idea that stiff soles are somehow more efficient doesn’t seem to me to comply with the laws of physics.

I think the idea is that compressing an elastomer is not 100% efficient, so there is an energy loss. No idea how large such a loss could be.

 

[C R]

I think the idea is that compressing an elastomer is not 100% efficient, so there is an energy loss. No idea how large such a loss could be.

That's probably the thinking. The idea is that the leg is two rigid rods connected at the knee, so not much power loss other than friction, but the foot can flex absorbing power, the rigid sole reduces the power loss due to flexing and compression. How much that power loss is as a percentage of the total power output, and how significant it is for a regular cyclist I don't know.

In my case I find a stiffer sole more comfortable over longer distances, power doesn't come into it for me.

 

[Smudge]

I dont find any difference between using my harder soled hiking boots and my softer soled trainers when riding. The only difference is that one is better suited to colder and wet weather and one is better for warm dry weather.

 

[Dogtrousers]

In my case I find a stiffer sole more comfortable over longer distances, power doesn't come into it for me.

Same here. Squishy soles like running shoes just don't feel right to me. Maybe they do to others.

The whole question of power transfer ... meh. If I was worried about power I'd do things like training.

 

[User169]

I've been wondering whether clipless is really necessary. Gonna give it a go without and I really want a pair of these...

https://global.bluelug.com/blue-lug-panda-pedal-foot.html

 

[screenman]

When I went to school there was a guy we used to see daily, 12 months of the year he only wore shorts, no top, no shoes or socks, naked except for shorts. So there is your answer.