What do cycling shoes look like

Cycling enthusiasts have a way of making things a little overcomplicated, and you have a look no further than the pedal and cleat systems for a case-in-point.

Most cyclists including us are gear junkies and will tell you that each cleat and pedal system has a pro and a con, and they all have a place in the market.

For a non-gear-junkie, though, this can make the world of bike pedals and cleats more complex than it really needs to be. As a beginner or progressing cyclist, you will need to make a decision on which system or systems you commit to. This will affect the shoes that you buy, the pedals you put on your bike s , and other decisions. We were new to all of this once, and wanted to try to break it down for you. Here is our overview on the common bike cleat types, and some recommendations on which you may want to consider.

Not max power - power is transferred in a small contact point. Check Price Look Higher-end road cyclists who want max performance. Not great for mountain bikes. Check Price Speedplay High-end road cyclists. Not compatible with indoor cycling. Gaining popularity. Compatible shoes tend to be hard to walk in. Check Price. The SPD pedal is perhaps as close to a universal standard as there is in cycling, knowing that there will probably never be a true standard. The SPD is the most common kind of pedal and cleat you will find, perhaps with the exception of plain old generic kids pedals.

A classic two-bolt SPD cleat. The most common all-around cycling cleat today, but not preferred by many road cyclists. The kicker for road cyclists is that the SPD cleat was really developed for, and is probably most universally known as, a trail and mountain bike pedal. Still, SPDs work great on road and triathlon bikes, and there is nothing wrong with using them if that is what you are most comfortable with. We have known many road and tri cyclists who prefer to ride on SPDs, just for the ease of use, because they prefer the shoes, or because they just want to have one cleat system across all of their different bikes.

This gives the rider a feel of a more fixed attachment point on the ball of the foot, with the power transfer perhaps ever-so-slightly reduced when compared to a three-bolt system. What are the advantages of an SPD? First, the shoes they are compatible with are quite comfortable, and generally easier to walk in. This is a benefit if you like to get off the bike and walk around a town, a coffee shop, or any other site during your rides. Second, we find these cleats to be the easiest to clip in to when you are stopped, at a stoplight or just starting out.

That means less messing around when you are near heavy traffic. If you happen to rent a bike on the warm-weather vacation, or want to take the occasional spin class at your health club, the odds are best that the bikes will be outfitted with SPDs. They are the closest thing to a universal cleat that there is remembering that there is not such thing as a true universal cleat. Best For: People who want a highly universal cleat that will fit on many pedal designs, road and mountain bikes, spin class bikes, and other cycles.

Also great for people who want highly-walkable bike shoes to go along with their cleat. Not For: High-end road cyclists, because many of the top-market road cycling shoes are not compatible with SPDs. A Look-style pedal, with a wider overall platform. Look pedals are common with the road biking community, but not so much in mountain biking and you will rarely find them on spin class bikes.

Look pedals are a classic 3-bolt pedal, with the cleat connecting to the shoe using three points of contact for a more. This gives them a broad power based, and they have a wider contact platform. The cleats are compatible with most of the top road biking shoes on the market today. A native of the ski industry, Look took many of the concepts they were working with in the ski binding world and applied them to bike pedals.

This is easier on the knees, as it allows the leg to follow its natural range-of-motion with each pedal stroke. They have a bit more of a plasticky feel, and a triangular shape that embodies the three-bolt design.

We like the efficiency of the power transfer in Look pedals and cleats. You feel like you are getting a nice, stiff, direct transfer of your effort to the chainring with every stroke.

We also like that the shoes compatible with Looks are stiff and high-end, perfect for serious road riders and triathletes. What is not to like about the Look system? Probably the most obvious thing is that shoes equipped with Look cleats can be hard and a bit slippery to walk in. Do not plan on having a normal gait and stride if walking around your destination in your Look shoes. And they are a little less universal than other options when it comes to things like spin classes and renting bikes on the road.

If you are on vacation and plan to rent a road bike for a long tour, you may need to bring your own pedals in addition to shoes. They are basically twins. We write more about the SPD-SLs below, but if you are looking at them side-by-side, they will appear to be one in the same. Unfortunately, the two systems are not compatible with each other, so take take to get the right system for you.

Quick note: There is a version of a Look pedal that actually has a built-in power meter. Look Shoe we Like: Sidi Alba find here. Speedplay pedals and cleats are a notch or two down in terms of popularity, but they tend to group of road cyclists who are very loyal to them. The innovative Speedplay cleat and pedal, with a loyal but smaller following. Looking at a Speedplay pedal, it looks a little funky when you first see it. The clip is circular. The platform can be quite large, or next-to-nothing, depending on which pedal you choose.

Quickly, though, you see that the functionality is quite good. Speedplays usually have dual-sided surfaces, which is great when you need to get clipped-in in a hurry like at a busy stoplight. Uppers are light and made from soft and supple leather or synthetic materials that provide a comfortable and snug fit. Some have nylon mesh to keep your feet cool.

A stiff, reinforced heel cup will stop your foot from slipping out while pedaling. Knit uppers are also starting to become popular for their comfortable fit and ventilation. Mountain bike shoes come in two styles: clipless and flat. Compared with road shoes, clipless mountain shoes have grippy lugs and are built exclusively to accept two-bolt cleats. While top-end mountain shoes can have carbon soles and be every bit as stiff as a road-racing shoe, many clipless models have a bit of flex in the toe to make hiking easier.

Mountain shoes usually use heavier-duty upper materials to withstand more rugged conditions—dirt, mud, rocks, roots—and often have armoring on the toes and heels to add durability and reduce the pain of rock strikes.

You ride them with platform pedals, and the absence of cleats means you can get on and off easier—good for stop-and-go commuting or bailing on downhill runs. Brands like Five Ten and Vibram make extra-grippy soles that stick to pedals better. A very stiff sole will make power transfer more efficient, but the lack of give can cause hot spots and discomfort. Brands typically use nylon in lower-cost shoes, which can feel less efficient but is more flexible and thus more comfortable, especially on bumpier terrain.

Midrange shoes include some carbon-composite-enhanced materials. And the stiffest, highest-end soles will be entirely carbon, which is so stiff that not as much of it is needed, resulting in a lighter shoe. Laces: After being spotted in the professional road-racing peloton, the laces trend has grown on the highest-end road shoes.

The retro look has its fans, plus laces are light. Another benefit to a laced shoe is that it tends to be very accommodating to unique foot shapes. The only downside: Laces are difficult to fine-tune mid-ride.

Hook and Loop : This Velcro-type closure system is found on shoes at all prices. The downside: The hook-and-loop system can easily get caked with mud and other debris and lose its grip over time. Dial: A system with a hub that, when you rotate it, tightens a cable, which acts as the lacing of the shoe, snugging the upper down over your foot. Dials usually offer the most closing force and are micro-adjustable, weather- and mud-resistant, secure when locked in place, and easy to adjust on the fly.

Every pair of shoes on this list has been used and abused by our team of test editors. Sidi has built a strong reputation on high style, high performance, and commensurate high price. We were pleasantly surprised by the stiffness of the sole, as it far surpassed expectation for a shoe at this price. The Techno 3 dial closure at the top of the shoe functions in a similar fashion to a Boa dial, with small buttons on the outside that we found easy to adjust on the fly.

Though not as easy to use as Techno 3 dials, the two Velcro closures at the toe and mid-foot were good enough to dial in the fit.

Although the Alba 2 falls on the cheaper end of the Sidi spectrum, they retain the level of style Sidi is famous for. The newest addition to the S-Works family of shoes is not lighter or more well-ventilated than its brethren.

First, the two-dial Boa closure created such consistent pressure across the foot that it allowed us to tighten the shoes far more than usual without creating hot spots.

Additionally, the shoe held our feet so well that even without cranking down the dials there was hardly any movement inside the shoe. Our only complaint is that we found it tougher than usual to slide these on.

Loops of webbing, as opposed to plastic guides, direct the cables. The Imperial carves out space as one of the lightest dual-Boa shoes you can buy. The Course Air Lite II offers weight, features, and performance comparable with the highest-end road shoes, but cost a bit less. The shoe is pretty standard fare for high-end road models these days: two Boa dials, a thin and stiff carbon sole, an insole with adjustable arch support, and a slotted cleat mount for more fore-aft positioning range.

Though we do wish the heel retention was a bit better. Take note: This shoe fits slightly large. Ever noticed all those people riding flat pedals—the ones in bike parks, downhill races, even on your local trails?

This shoe and earlier versions of it helped make that happen. The Freerider Pro is light and comfortable, has the right amount of stiffness good for riding, okay for walking , and the sole sticks to your pedals like glue.

The latest version is well-ventilated, dries quickly, and has extra protection on the toe as well as some modest protection around the heel.

The magic of the Recon is largely in the materials. At the bottom, where your foot meets the pedal, Specialized uses its stiffest, lightest carbon footplate.

That insane lightness extends to the strong upper, made of Dyneema Mesh. At all. Despite getting numerous other shoes to try, our tester keeps coming back to her Recons because she asserts they are her favorite off-road shoe ever. The nylon sole accepts three-hole cleats and has rubber bumpers under the toe and heal for safer walking on slick surfaces. It features a full carbon sole and dual Boa dials, and the outsole has large lugs and a little bit of reinforcement to guard against the inevitable abuse of riding in the rough.

The two-Boa wire closure cinched around our feet nicely, and the break-in time was remarkably quick. And despite numerous muddy races and several crashes, the Boa dials work as well as they did when they were new. This is a high-performance shoe that makes no performance sacrifices for the sake of increased comfort.

The sole is crazy stiff and the synthetic leather upper felt like it was getting molded around our feet when tightening down the Boa dial. That single dial does an impressive job of uniformly distributing pressure across the entire foot when tightened, with no pinch points or hot spots.

In fact, it does such a good job it renders the Velcro toe strap useless. Our feet felt extremely secure ensconced in these kicks, and the direct connection to the pedals was palpable. Adding to the secure feeling is directional material and a rubber strip inside the heel cup. But even on a day in the low 40s, and with lightweight socks underneath, our tester was pleasantly surprised to come home without frozen feet.

On my first big ride, I finished the Wooler Wheel with zero foot discomfort - not always the case for me after a K ride - which I could only put down to the stiffer sole reducing pressure on the ball of the foot. Probably the best way to describe the Look difference is that the next time I wore my SPDs my immediate impression was that that the shoes felt more loosely attached to the pedals. Posted in: Accessories , Guides , shoes.

The Giro Techne Road Cycling Shoe is seriously stiff for maximum cycling efficiency and as little walking as possible. Click the pic to find out more about this shoe. Road cycling cleats are bolted to the sole of a road shoe. Look cleats clip into a pedal that tends to resemble the one above. There are MTB leisure shoes that take cleats, and those that don't, like the one below: The Five Ten Freerider Women's shoe can't receive cleats, but features super grippy rubber instead.

Click to go to product page. Here, the Giro Petra VR. Perfect for people who are unsure about using cleats and want to mix and match. This particular model is designed for — you guessed it — touring. Here, the Giro Privateer R.