New Urban Cycling Sneakers -- SPD possible

[StressStrain]

Originally Posted by lorenbike

Why people pay extra money for casual shoes with spd cleats just to commute with clipless pedals never made sense to me. Just run flat pedals and regular adidas sneakers for way less money.

I ride a single bike in 2 modes:
1. long miles
2. short errands and outings

I need SPDs for mode 1. Sneakers are great for mode 2 - I hate sounding like a tap dancer at the grocery store.

So to answer your question 'why?': I don't want to swap pedals as I switch modes.

[Tall]

Originally Posted by marsh

I found the Velo Sambas to be pretty uncomfortable. The Giros are very nice, they run kind of narrow if you have wide feet. Specialized has a sale going now on their lace-up spd shoes.

I guess different feet are different. In my experience, the Giros were okay but not super comfortable for standing/walking; the Velosambas are comfortable on and off the bike. Here's my old review of the Giro: https://ride-or-pie.blogspot.com/201...-year-out.html

Additional advantage of the Velosamba: They are less crunchy than the Giro when walking.

[dr.dre]

I have a pair of Velosamba, and the fit is fine for me. But I do have narrowish feet, and would agree they fit on the narrow side.

For pedaling, they are ok. I wouldn't want to ride much distance with them, as the sole is not stiff enough to stave off foot fatigue. They are fine for what they are, something to get around town, it's not meant to be a performance shoe.

However, I find their walkability to be mediocre, the sole is a little too stiff for comfortable walking, I get a lot of heel slip. I wouldn't want to have to walk very far in them. More problematic is the unavoidable click clacking of the Spd, which occurs semi regularly.

So they are fine if you don't need to ride very far, nor walk very far in them. But then I circle back to why bother. They do look cool, there is that. But not cooler than a regular pair of Sambas.

If given the choice, I wouldn't buy them again and just get a pair of regular sambas. For commuting around town, there's no need to be clipped in (for me), and I don't want to deal with the tap tap tap of the cleats when I am just walking around.

I just think these kinds of shoes (casual look, but Spd compatible) are just too much of a compromise to be more than mediocre at either of its design intent.