Shoes for a road bike

[bongoman]

I'm looking to move away from trainers and start using clip in shoes + pedals.

I notice that there seem to be two types of shoes, the road shoe and the MTB shoe. My bike is a Marin Toscana and I have giant feet (size 12) so I was thinking of going for the MTB shoes + Shimano XT M770 pedals as I thought these may be a bit more comfortable. Wiggle have a deal on Pearl Izumi shoes at the moment so it seems like a good time to invest?

Any pros/cons on using MTB shoes + pedals on a road bike?

 

[Globalti]

Pros: much easier for walking around because the SPD system is designed for walking while off-roading. You get the same ease of walking if you buy an SPD road shoe. Clipping in is also pretty easy with SPDs.

Cons: SPD pedals and the shoes are significantly heavier than a road setup. IIRC my Shimano MTB shoes and pedals weigh around 700 gms more than my Shimano road shoes with Look Keo pedals and cleats.

 

[Tynan]

weight don't matter unless he's racing though yeah? if he's been wearing trainers I'm going to guess it's riding to work

I've got mtb shoes for summer and a proper roaide boot for winter, the summer shoe is far more sensible

 

[HLaB]

For my winter/ training bikes I'm using spds with spesh bg mtb sport shoes and Shimano A520 pedals IMO they don't look out of place on a road bike. The shoes are stiffered soled than other mtb shoes and the A520's present a generous platform. This combo is maybe not as light and efficient as a full on road shoe and pedals but I feel the benefits of beigh able to walk out weight the efficiency benefits I get from the spd-sl's on the summer bike.

 

[bongoman]

Thanks for the replies, I think I'll roll with the MBR option since I'm commuting (about 10 miles round trip) not racing, although I'm still tinkering with entering a triathalon at some point...