Cycling Shoes...Road or Tri?

The biggest advantage of triathlon shoes is that they allow for easy entrance and exit of the foot for speedy transitions, especially if you're going to try leaving your shoes on the bike. I love my road shoes for their comfort and adjustability but cannot put them on while on the bike.

If speedy transitions aren't a concern, stick with road shoes. Otherwise, go triathlon. (If I had to choose one it would be triathlon).

I have road shoes...they are not the buckle kind, just three straps (of which I only use one). My shoes suit me fine. They are Specialized, and I have had them for eight years. A bit schmarmy now, but still fully functional.

(I have no plans to do a flying mount. I don't want to be one of the 75 people I see every race bobbing and weaving and listing all over as they try and do it. :p Ergo, the direction my strap goes isn't really important to me.)

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Well, you could be one of the apparent minority that practice enough to avoid the "bobbing and weaving and listing all over" and as a result have <30-second transtitions.

LOL, yeah I've seen the youtube videos, they crack me up.  I know I am a newbie, and completely unknowledgable about the finer points of this great sport, BUT...I am not sure I can be convinced that the flying mount/ shoes on pedals approach would truly be faster than simply buckling a tri-shoe and having the benefit of protection to your feet as you run to the bike mount line (as opposed to hobbling, and wincing as you run over gravel and road debris) and then a fast start out of the gate (instead of the 'bob and weave' routine that looks so dangerous and slow).  

Based on my (very limited) experience, I think T1 could be an Olympic event in and of itself. 

I am sure after many years of practice and training, I will someday have a tried and true T1 routine that is very efficient and worthy of youtube footage, and will look back and scoff at my ignorance today.  I truly thank all of you who took the time to post.  And, I can confidently assure you for now, I won't be attempting the flying mount/ shoes on pedal approach.

I think my biggest concern is overall shoe comfort (as tris will be less frequent events vs. training, which will be the majority of wear) and pedal compatibility.

Any difference in general level of comfort between styles?  I know every specific shoe will have it's own particular fit...didn't know if in general this was one of those aread where the 'tri' version might sacrifice a level of comfort for overall speed.

Eh, it's not going to save me enough time to warrant practicing it enough to get decent at it. Like swimming, the time gains made for time invested aren't great enough.

if keeping those (somewhat ironically named) smarty pedals is a high priority, that's going to limit your choices in shoes, I'd probably just stick with whatever MTB shoes you have until you can get some 3-hole compatible road pedals too. I would highly recommend asking the shop if they'll give you a credit toward the cost of some better pedals; first because road pedals are going to be compatible with tri shoes, and second because I wouldn't use expensive shoes with crank bros pedals even if they did fit, becuase they will erode the soles of your shoes where the bars touch (it would really suck, IMO to have fancy carbon soles ruined this way).

as others have said, the compromise is the best possible fit vs getting them on quickly. Tri shoes often have drain holes in the sole too, which is good for when your feet are wet when you put them on.

edit: belay that compatibility statement; I see there are adapters (though not an ideal solution, it would work), they look like they would also address the sole-erosion problem, as the adapter looks like it would take the contact.

Edited by fausto 2009-08-24 12:25 PM

EDIT: double post.

Edited by dalessit 2009-08-24 12:24 PM

I use these.  got them from http://www.coloradocyclist.com  for 150.  They use the Boa system like the specialized ones do but at 1/2 the cost.  There is a dial on the back, to get out of the shoes, you pull on the button and all the tension comes out of the "laces" and feet come right out.  Easy to adjust when on the bike, just reach down and turn the dial to tighten.  I don't leave my shoes on the bike in T1 but this would work there also.  I do take my feet out going into T2 and don't have any problems with these shoes.

All the tri-specific shoes I tried before always seemed too loose for me and thse also have carbon soles so much stiffer.

Also when you ride with your roadie friends you don't look like a dirty triathlete

I love CB pedals.  However, I hate the way they feel on road shoes, not nearly enough platform to feel comfortable.  You(I) really need full tread MTB shoes to feel comfortable/fast on CB pedals.

I'd say velcro-only road shoes plus new pedals.  get tri shoes later.  I got some Pearl Izumi 3 velcro strap road shoes a couple years ago for cheap, and they work great in races.

I've got both the three strip with ratchet type and tri shoes. I cannot remember where the road shoes are, I've not worn them in a year I only wear the tri shoes.

I have road shoes and want to pick up a pair of Tri shoes as well.  I went through the same thing awhile back and ended up with the road shoes because as soon as the weather gets cold my feet would have frozen off with the tri shoes I was looking at.

FYI.  Specialized BG S-Works road shoes and going to pick up the Trivents soon.  I actually just was trying a pair on (again) about an hour ago at lunch but they didn't have the half size I wanted.

Just something else to consider seeing that you are from Central NY.  You will need to get covers for your Tri shoes (I guess depending on the make, but they are all highly ventilated from the ones I've seen) if you go that route because socks aren't going to cut it...

I used to train in road shoes and race in tri shoes until I realized I was more comfortable in the tri shoes. I now only buy tri shoes.

I would go with road shoes. I have both tri shoes and road shoes and greatly prefer the road shoes. I find them much more comfortable and if you are not going to be doing tons of tri's a year, or ironman lengths, you will find that you are riding way more than actually competing in your shoes.

My vote would be for road shoes. I have some nice Sidi shoes (both my road and tri shoes). You cannot go wrong with them unless they are too expensive.

The Smartys are a MTB 2-bolt (SPD-style) pedal.  They are different from SPD's, but use the same bolt pattern on shoes.  Did they supply you with the cleats for the Smarty pedals?  If so, then there is no question that that would be the cheapest, most cost-effective way to go...at least for your first few races.  All you would need to buy is a pair of shoes that are compatible with the 2-bolt pattern.  It's true, the selection would be limited...but they're out there if you look hard enough.  I've even seen a few tri-shoes that accept a 2-bolt cleat.  But there's nothing wrong with using a MTB (I'd go with a rigid shoe with velcro straps instead of laces) shoe for your first few races (that's what I did).  Certainly easier to walk/jog through transition wearing a MTB shoe, than a road or tri shoe.  If keeping costs to a minimum is important to you, then this is what I'd do.  You can always upgrade your pedals/shoes later on.  Just my .02 cents.

Edited by nscrbug 2009-08-25 6:09 PM

Heather,

Since you asked...

I have road shoes (three velcro straps), and they have never been a limiting factor in 17 tri's. I have average T1's (I don't, and probably never will, try the flying mount thing with the shoes already on the bike) and I have great T2's (I do a flying dismount even with the road bike shoes).

Having said that. If I was doing it all over again. I'd try to find tri shoes first. If I couldn't the right shoe at the right price, I wouldn't have any qualms about going with a road bike shoe.

Good luck.

JC

My vote is for the tri shoes. I think I might have sized mine slightly big when ordering online, but they are plenty comfortable sockless (I love going sockless now, my feet are so much cooler) for as long as i'm currently riding and quite easy to get in and out of while leaving on the bike. I got my tri bike, tri shoes, and pedals all at the same time and had no problem doing a running mount and dismount with leaving the shoes on the bike after practicing it a few times on one short practice ride (bike came in friday, got it fit saturday, raced it sunday), so I definitely recommend the tri shoes so you can get your transition times down. It's one of the easiest and best ways to pick up time, IMO.

I'm going to have to vote for Tri shoes - my road shoes have been gathering dust for the past few months after I started to ride the Tri shoes exclusively.  (To be fair to the road shoes, they were a pinch too small and got uncomfortable after a while).  That said, I won't buy another pair of road shoes unless I'm going to give up Tri's.