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Shoes: Worth the big bux?

05.16.2008 by Ray Niekamp // 8 Comments

I’m always blown away when I look at the various types of biking shoes in catalogs or online.Not because there are so many different types, but because some of them are so expensive.

What does the typical road cyclist really need in the way of a shoe? (What’s a “typical” cyclist, Bike Noob? I dunno. Insert yourself.)

Number 1 — stiff soles. Inexpensive bike shoes have soles made of plastic. It’s stiff, but not as stiff as soles made of carbon fiber. Plastic can flex. Mid-range shoes may have fiberglass or carbon fiber added to the plastic — or maybe all carbon fiber. The high-end shoes have carbon fiber soles.

Uppers. Expensive shoes have uppers made of leather. It breaks in quickly, and is generally considered more comfortable. Less expensive shoes may be made of synthetic leather, or plastic.

Fit. Summed up in one word: snug. The heel should stay put, and not come out during the pedal stroke. At the same time, you don’t want shoes so snug that they cause numbness in the foot. To fasten shoes, velcro straps, buckles, or shoelaces all work. Most road shoes seem to use two velcro straps and a buckle for the top strap. Of course, be sure to leave some room at the end of the toes.

The Sidi Genius. Carbon fiber sole. MSRP: $299.99.

If I averaged 30 mph over a 100-mile ride, maybe I’d want to pop for some shoes like the Sidis, and pay the big price. But I’m guessing you know me better.

My shoes, the Exustar sr421.

I ordered my shoes from Nashbar, and paid about $40 (on sale). Nylon-fiberglass soles, coated leather uppers, velcro closures for all three straps. But they fit well, with the right amount of snugness. Sometimes the little toe on my left foot goes numb, but that’s usually because I pulled the small strap too tight. I’ve had these for nine months, and I have no complaints.

From just cursory observations of organized rides, club rides, and individual cyclists, it seems that many people are willing to pay for quality. Lots of Sidi shoes on cyclists’ feet around here. Maybe someday — but for now, the money I save on fancy shoes can go to buy well-padded shorts, or maybe a really garish jersey.

(Thanks to BicycleApparel.com for providing much of the info contained in this post.)

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Categories // Accessories, Equipment

Tire talk

05.06.2008 by Ray Niekamp // 10 Comments

I picked up my bike from the LBS today. I had run it in for one of the two free tune-ups I get this year, since I bought it new at the shop in February. I figured it was important to get this taken care of now, since on Saturday, I’m riding in the Armadillo Hill Country Classic, and I want to make sure everything is copacetic.

So I was surprised when the mechanic wheeled it out and called up the report on it. “Gash on rear tire — recommend replacement ASAP.”

I usually do a quick visual check of the tire tread and sidewalls before starting a ride, and I hadn’t seen anything. But then, I have not been as diligent lately about wiping the tires off with an old towel, to make sure no nasties are stuck to the rubber. They’ve been covered with a fine layer of dirt I’ve picked up on rides, which makes it harder to detect any problems.

Sure enough, the mechanic and I rotated the tire slowly, and we found the gash — really a cut, about a half-inch long. We also found several tinier cuts.

The Specialized Mondo Pro with the blue Gerolsteiner stripes.

I had been really happy with the stock tires that came with the bike. They’re Specialized Mondo Pro, with blue stripes in the Gerolsteiner team shade. (My bike is the blue/black Gerolsteiner color scheme.) The tires I had had on my old Raleigh flatted frequently, one time twice on the same day. That bothered me, because the tire that flatted most often was a Continental Ultra Sport on the rear, and I had been led to understand that these were more resistant to flats. But the Mondo Pros performed like champs. And I admit I rode them over some debris-filled roads. Besides, my old front tire on the Raleigh was also a Specialized, and it never flatted.

The shop was out of the Mondo Pros, so for a replacement I chose its close cousin, the Specialized All Condition Pro.

Specialized All Condition Pro

It doesn’t have the colored stripes, but does have a traction belt where the color would be. The tread itself, instead of being smooth like the Mondo Pro, is siped for added traction. I haven’t ridden it yet, but I was relieved to leave the shop with it after catching what could have been a problem.

When I got home, I took a wet rag to the front tire and cleaned off the road crud. I found a small cut that they’d missed at the bike shop. It’s small enough that I doubt it will cause trouble this weekend (knock wood), but I will be watching it closely as I do my rides over the next couple of days.

What really got me in this whole experience was that the tire was only a little over two months old, and had maybe 500 miles on it. This is way short of the mileage a tire should normally get, although the glass and such that caused the cuts would certainly cut the tire’s life span short. I paid $42 for the new tire, and don’t relish the thought of replacing tires at that price every two to three months.

What’s your experience been with tires? Do they flat too often, or do you get good wear? Any pet brands? Brands to avoid?

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Categories // Equipment

Which type of pedal?

05.01.2008 by Ray Niekamp // 14 Comments

Last weekend at Road 1, as we were sitting around on a break between practicing maneuvers, I glanced around at the pedals mounted on the various bikes in the group. Some were Look-style road pedals, like mine, but several riders had mountain bike pedals on their road bikes.

A “road” style pedal is usually patterned after the style developed by Look, the French bike & equipment company. It’s shaped something like a cradle. The cleat has flanges at front and rear that fit inside the lips of the pedal. Once the cleat is engaged in the pedal, it’s a solid, stable connection between the foot and the bike.

Look pedal

The original Look pedal.

But there’s a major disadvantage to the Look-style pedal. They attach to the bottom of the shoe’s sole, which means you’re walking with heels down, toes in the air, balancing on top of a large cleat under the ball of the foot. Very ungainly, and no fun to walk in for any distance.

Mountain pedals, typified by the Shimano SPD, are somewhat smaller than the Looks. They feature two metal grippers that the cleat clicks into. SPD pedals aren’t as good looking as the Looks, but they’re only bicycle pedals, so who cares about looks(!) anyway.

SPD pedal

Shimano SPD pedal.

The SPDs certainly have one important advantage — the cleats are recessed into the sole of the shoe. This means the wearer can walk around normally in them. A biking acquaintance of mine, who looks for functionality first in all of his biking equipment, will wear only SPDs for this reason. He can hop off his bike and walk around normally inside a store or restaurant. He can’t figure out why anyone would want to wear “road” cleats.

Repeated scuffing of road cleats when walking also contributes to wear. They get torn up quickly, and it’s actually more difficult to disengage the cleat from the pedal than when they’re new.

I never really thought much about cleats and pedals before. I have a road bike, so I have the Look-style pedals and clunky cleats. That’s what you do, right? But after watching some other bikers over the weekend, I wonder. What’s your preference?

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