[longjohn]

Originally Posted by BobH

Hi,



When I walk on a hard surface, the cleats come in contact with the surface. I think I'm going to slip and bust my butt.

Finally my question, is there a shoe / cleat combination that is totally recessed?
I had hoped to be able to ride to a location and be able to walk with some comfort without having to change shoes.

Bob H.

What kind of shoes did you buy? Road shoes? If you get mountain bike shoes the spd cleat should be completely recessed. I forgot my running shoes one time when I showed up for a mini-triathlon and actually ran the two miles in my mountain bike shoes, it wasn't too bad.

[BobH]

Originally Posted by longjohn

What kind of shoes did you buy? Road shoes? If you get mountain bike shoes the spd cleat should be completely recessed. I forgot my running shoes one time when I showed up for a mini-triathlon and actually ran the two miles in my mountain bike shoes, it wasn't too bad.

longjohn,
The box sez Garneau Multi Rx. From what you said, it must be a road shoe, the sole is fairly smooth. I had been running Diamond BMX pedals with adjustable pins. I thought that if I couldn't live with the cleat pedals, the shoe platforms would bind well on my old pedals. I likely made a bad chioce in shoes. The sales guy is a roadie so, he recommended what he liked.

Bob H.

[Poolie]

Originally Posted by BobH

longjohn,
The box sez Garneau Multi Rx. From what you said, it must be a road shoe, the sole is fairly smooth. I had been running Diamond BMX pedals with adjustable pins. I thought that if I couldn't live with the cleat pedals, the shoe platforms would bind well on my old pedals. I likely made a bad chioce in shoes. The sales guy is a roadie so, he recommended what he liked.

Bob H.

BobH, I'm sorry I didn't mention this in my initial post, but MTB shoes are the way to go. I'm guessing the sales guy pushed you towards a road shoe because technically road shoes are more efficient due to their more rigid construction, but the trade off of not being able to walk around off the bike isn't worth it for me.

MTB shoes are more or less just a hiking shoe with cleats recessed in the bottom. Occasionally walking around I'll hear a cleat scrape the ground, but my shoes are about 10 years old so that probably has something to do with it.

Performance Bicycle is having a sale through today and one things that I saw Friday while in the store was these: Forté Traverse MTB Shoes for $40. I almost bought these, and would have except the ones I have still have life left in them.

[longjohn]

Bob, over time you will probably discover what type of shoe and pedal works best for you. I started out with spd pedals on both my mountain bike and my road bike. I thought it would be easier switching from one bike to the other. After a couple years I switched to a Look type road pedal on my road bike. It's not a problem going from one bike with spd pedal to one with road pedals. I used my mountain bike turned commuter for most of my everyday riding. I just use the road bike for charity rides and group rides where there really isn't any walking around.

[BobH]

Poolie and longjohn,

I went to the website of the company that I bought the Garneau shoes and the Shimano PD-A530 pedals from. The website stated that the cleats are totally recessed into the sole. Not! my cleats hang down about 1/32 of an inch.

I rode about 4 miles today using the shoe / SPD combination. I felt better about it, it is easier to get out of the pedals than it is to click into them. I really don't like feeling the cleats when I walk.

Questions,,, Are there lower profile cleats available? Can I modify the cleats by grinding down the ends, will I lose the entry ramp and not be able to seat them into the pedals?

Returning the shoes and pedals are an option, but not a very good one. I dislike returning anything. Has anybody got a plan "B"?

Bob H.