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I've done a bunch, but I never thought of this. The bike course sounds non-technical. Has anyone ever used road/tri shoes and pedals if they think the likelihood of dabbing is low? It's a super short race and I know I can save a bunch of time if I don't screw around with the laces and ratchets on the MTB shoes. I think I have a decent chance of winning the thing, so every geeky second may count.
Thoughts?
I wouldn't. You may not have to dab when pre-riding a course, but many things happen differently during a race, e.g. people crash or stop in front of you; you get flat tires, etc. I find road cleats are highly prone to fail when they get dirt or mud in them. I wouldn't risk it.
For the Xterras last year I used a pair of Sidi MTB shoes with the two straps vs. the Sidi Dominators with the ratchets and they worked fine. My .02 would be to not use road tri shoes as weird things tend to happen on mtb courses and you can't predict what other riders will do. I had a crash (fortunately not bad) at Nationals because someone decided to slam on their brakes in front of me. Having mtb was easier to get back up onto the trail without slipping all over the place. Also, some courses have spots where you may need to dismount unexpectedly like at High Sierra in Tahoe (crossing a creek) or at Incline climbing over rocks.
Get yourself some velcro only mtb shoes. Sidi makes some.
You guys are all super conservative. I figure I'll save a minute in transition(s) (since I'm not buying new shoes today) and probably ride faster with lighter, stiffer stuff. I'd have to be all over the place to give up that kind of time. I'll check it out the day before. Thanks for the opinions.