Do you already have clip-less pedals and road shoes? If you do, those are fine for just starting out. Most beginners just use flat pedals. Benefit of tri shoes is quicker on/off and cooling/draining holes. Make sure to get fit without socks.

Some use a fairly basic MTB shoes (like the Specialized MTB "sport" ) with SPD pedals. They pull double duty for spin trainers at local gyms. The plus is that they have pretty easy to get on velcro straps and not much (if any) time is lost over a true tri shoe.

Bought pedals but haven't put them on yet because no shoes - I literally just bought my first bike since high school five days ago, so I'm cruising around the neighborhood getting used to changing gears and starting and stopping with just flat pedals and running shoes at the moment, which works but feels inefficient and annoying. I expect to fall plenty! I'm okay with it, will just find some safe places to practice clipping in/unclipping.

When it comes to contact points people often have different preferences.

I've personally been using road shoes for 4 season now. My specialized s-works shoes are the most comfortable cycling shoe I have tried. I use them for races from sprint distance to 70.3's. I don't do flying mounts. I leave them wide open before the race so I can put them on easily and the boa dials are easy enough for me to operate in T1 with wet cold hands.

Some people use road shoes with laces like Giro Empires. If you use elastic laces like some people do on their running shoes it could shorten your transiton time.

Flat pedals with running shoes is also an option. Then you don't have to change shoes in T2.

Sizing can be different between brands, and models. I would at least recommend trying on shoes from different brands to see what fits you well before going online. At least then you will have a better idea what size to order.

S-works are on sale at my LBS and those are the ones that I tried on and immediately said "Ooh!!" the day I bought my bike, lol. I'll have to go back and try pulling them on and off a few times and see what I think. They may be able to order me the Trivent if I like the Specialized fit but opt not to go with a road shoe. Definitely want to try on as many brands as I can find in person to lower my chances of buying something that doesn't fit me at all if I have to resort to buying online.

I’d go try specific now, no reason not to anyways as soon as you get going you’ll end up buying tri specific shoes so might as well do that now get a nice pair of them and just have them pull double duty when doing roadie rides!

That’s what I did when I first started (I did get a TT bike first tho) then once I got a roadie then I got roadie shoes but totally up to you!!! SWorks trivents can be had relatively cheap in eBay now days specially for smaller feet

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Speed kills unless you have speed skills!!!

I would go with triathlon shoes. They work better as road bike shoes than road bike shoes work as triathlon shoes. I'd suggest something basic that has both 2- and 3-hole mounting like a Shimano TR5 or a Pearl Izumi Tri Fly Select. That'll let you start on the easier-to-deal-with SPD cleats, then graduate to a 3-hole cleat like an SPD-L or Look down the road, should you want to. Then I'd start with a set of the Shimano PD-ED500 pedals. These look like other road SPD pedals, but they're two sided and have a lower spring tension and easier release. (Essentially, the "Clik'r" retention system.) I bought a similar pedal (PD-T400) for my first clipless setup. While I now have Looks on my dedicated triathlon bike, I still use the PD-T400's on my road bike. Knock on wood, I've never had a spill when riding on them. FWIW, the very first time I road on the Looks, I fell over at a stop!

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"They're made of latex, not nitroglycerin"

Thanks for the input folks!

I tried on several pairs in different sizes today. Bontrager fit my feet the best and the shop is ordering a pair of their tri shoes for me to try on, so we'll see how that goes. The S-Works 6 didn't feel quite as amazing as I had remembered, but I was told that they were redesigned between the 6 and 7, so I'll give them another look when I'm in the market for a second pair.

I didn't like the S-works 6 that much either. I think I have the previous 2 versions before the 6 and love them. I might have been fine with the 6's after spending some time breaking them in, but I'd rather find a model that feels good from the start. Thats why its good to try on shoes before buying.

I had tri shoes first when I only had a tri bike. Liked them for sprints and Olympics that first year. Then when I got my road bike, I got a better road shoe. Also switched to longer distance where transition wasn't quite as quick. Wasn't doing a flying mount/dismount anymore either after doing it coming into T2 and hitting a slick wet spot and going down hard. So I just never stopped wearing the road shoe.

If I went back to sprints after this year, I'd probably switch back.

The only question I'm still struggling with is how loose or tight should the shoes be, especially going sockless?

Snug enough your foot doesn't shift around. Not so snug that you lose sensation or create pinch points.

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To breathe, to feel, to know I'm alive.

If you care about getting to flying mounts where your shoes are attached to the bike and you do all of transition barefoot, you'll want to pay attention to how the shoes open up. Does an open strap interfere with the drive train? Is there a useable heal strap to grab to help get your foot in? If you intend to shoe up in transition those things don't matter but maybe the ability to replace the heal grip will (b/c it'll get worn by hussling in them on the road while executing a flying mount).

I wear my tri shoes for 90% of my cycling, b/c they are more breathable. My road shoes feel terribly hot so really only get used when I'm biking in cold weather. I got my tri shoes at the end of 2010 into 2011 and just noticed the carbon soles are detaching from the upper at the heal. I'm unsure whether 6 years is a usual lifetime, but find myself also in the market for a new pair.

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To breathe, to feel, to know I'm alive.

I raced my first few seasons in mountain bike shoes and SPD pedals/cleats. Double sided, easy to get into and they doubled for gym spin classes I was doing at the time... now I barely go to the gym and ride SPD-SLs and have both road AND tri shoes.

Honestly there are lots of right answers here... doing too much all at once might be the wrong thing or it might work out. I know some have a hard time learning clipless and some go right on with it like it's no big deal.

I'm a classic researcher and overthinker too... welcome to the tri game... plenty of things to overthink.

I'd go with tri shoes. If you get an adequate pair, they will work well for road purposes and you won't need two different pairs of shoes.

Tri shoes are helpful even if you do not do "flying" mounts (i.e., a mount where you run the bike and then jump up and land with your butt on the saddle and put your feet in your shoes while you are gliding from your running speed). You can do a more cautious mount with your shoes clipped in (if you mount from the left side, put your left foot in your left shoe while standing still, push off with your right foot to get the bike going, swing your right leg over the saddle -- at that point, if your right shoe stays open and you can quickly insert your right foot in, do so; otherwise, take a few pedal strokes with your right foot on top of your right shoe to get up to a comfortable speed (and up to a flat spot if you are going uphill coming out of T1) and then work on getting your right foot in; now cinch up both shoes and off you go).

I am not sure exactly what people refer when they talk about flying dismounts -- I guess it means keeping both legs straddled on your bike until you come to a complete stop? But the risk of swinging one leg over after you have slowed down (in fact, this is the way I have always dismounted) is a lot different than trying to jump off the bike when you are still going at full running speed. At any rate, dismounting is just easier if you leave your shoes on the bike and you take your feet out of your shoes before you get to the dismount line (for safety, I recommend well before so you can focus on avoiding your competitors, etc. as you approach the dismount line).

Anyway, I think having tri shoes is a big advantage for any approach other than wearing your shoes to the bike and then off the bike. Tri shoes that have velcro straps (most entry level shoes have velcro and not BOAs or laces) tend to have their straps come from the opposite sides of the shoes (compared to road shoes) so the straps don't try to get stuck in your chain etc. while pedaling before you fasten them (or after you start riding with your feet on top of your shoes heading for the dismount line).

Good luck and welcome to the club.

Anyone have the over/under for both the stopwatch times for each shoe method vs. the probabilities of failure or issues?

Like if you handicap the shoe on pedal method with the probabilities of the failure modes?

I also don't like how you're paying more attention to your shoes than the road.

On the mtb cleat thing......consider that those pedals aren't weighted to rotate to the "clip it in" position when at rest. So you're at the mercy they don't move when you mount. If they do, you're spinning the pedal with your toe to find it. MTB pedals and cleats aren't designed to be easier, they're designed to not take on mud in the shoes/cleats when you dismount.

CX cleats/pedals are designed to be faster than mtb pedals for mounting and stay clean. Mounting/dismounting is key there. Most CX pedals are a small platform and "egg beater" cleat system.

An spd-sl will rotate itself to the perfect clip in position as you start off.

For the shoe on the bike thing.........consider if your T1 immediately is going uphill.

Go with road shoes. You have three contact points on the bike for comfort.....comfort for feet trumps.

The seconds you save on the shoes is not worth it. You will be training hours and hours so have the most comfortable. To be honest, your run being the strongest, and those current times, the seconds you lose on the shoes will not cost you a podium

Take your time with the shoes.

It's an important interface and contact point with the bike. Many try and go cheap here, and then later regret it.

Fit is HIGHLY individual, so while I may say such-and-such Specialized shoe is awesome, it might be terrible for you.

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog