The CT71's were my first real "cycling shoes." I still have them, and the "Click'r" pedals I bought with them.. I don't race in them any more (did my first couple tri's in them), but I still use them for touring, gravel, and even mountain biking. I've gone to Look-compatible pedals on the tri bike, now, but still use SPD's on the road bike.



The Shimano SH-RT82's are my current workhorse road shoes:



If ever I were in a triathlon where the transition area was huge and the likely distance from rack spot to mount line was long, I'd throw the SPD pedals on the tri bike in a heartbeat and race in the RT82's.

---

"They're made of latex, not nitroglycerin"

Not a power answer per se, but I find that I get a hotspot under my feet at the interface from long miles on the SPDs that I don't get with either my SPD-SL or Vectors. I put that down to there being a broader platform to support the foot. I might try some different SPD-compatible pedals like the Issi Trail to see if that mitigates it any. Could also be cleat placement, but now I'm just thinking out loud. I'd guess that comfort impacts power more than the difference between SPD and other "road" pedal styles.

Regarding mounting and dismounting.
Quite honestly I can, and do, do both.
The reason I didn't push the flying mount is because....

A) YouTube has a ton of videos showing a myriad of crashes by people who "can't get a leg over", including many people with rear bottles. And if you miss, as some do, the cross bar is an unforgiving reminder that you're not wearing a cup. (I never carry a rear bottle, so no worries there)

B) A similar amount of people are undone coming into T2 because they have a sweaty (slippery) bare foot on top of a cycling shoe, or they come to a complete stop at the line to unclip and someone barrels into them. Or they trip over a pedal when the clipped in shoe digs into the ground. Or they stop and can't raise their leg over the saddle and have to drop the bike sideways and step over.

Coming out of T1 it's easy on MB shoes to do one pedal, with a trailing leg, double push, leg over start. And you have complete control over the bike. You can do it from a dead stop, walking speed or slow running speed (with practice). It's not as fast as a flying mount which is done at a faster running speed, but I would hazard that if it's more than a second difference over 50m, you're doing it wrong. And a lot of flying mounters are all over the road when they do it.

I must admit that a dismount with one foot still in the clips where you hope it lets go as you hop off should be practiced. Because sometimes the muscles for cycling aren't ready to do much else. The spd lets go a lot easier than the spd-sl, which is why I do it. But I wouldn't be doing it at any speed faster than I can sensibly run after trashing my legs on the bike.

All of these things are more important if you are doing anything shorter than a Half.

Sorry for being long winded, but..... it was this or the impeachment hearings. :0)

I mean, it all needs to be practised so you can do either movement properly come race-day?

My litmus test is what are the itu/xterra guys doing. That's the cinch, as they're all about speed. I'm yet to see someone in an Olympic test event, MTR, or Superleague not do a flying mount... I agree that learning to clip in on one side, swinging a leg over, and starting to ride is great for your handling skills but it's easy to graduate from this! I'd be willing to bet my bike that 99% of everyone who's come off trying to do it haven't practised it before race day. Side note, never land where you'd need extra protection for a flying mount. You land on the inside of your thigh and slide across.

If you can do a flying mount properly, it's well over a second faster - you're on the bike, moving the pedals, with your feet in the shoes, at a faster starting speed, than anyone who does the other kind of mount. I've heard coaches who have said it's up to 10 faster when you take all that into account, and saves you from having to hit the same power spike when you're taking off and trying to get up to speed. Yes it needs practise! Take half an hour out of a session to practise mounting your bike properly.

Btw, the impeachment is more interesting *pink*

I certainly won’t argue a flying mount is faster and I don’t doubt it’s 10 seconds. Certainly if you’re near the FOP then those 10 seconds can be important even more so when the distance is less than HIM. For me, it’s just not important enough to shave off a few seconds. Certainly not something I feel like practicing for half an hour. But for others I can see it being more important.

The favero’s have the look style cleats and I agree they are much slipperier than the spd-sl.

Any suggestions on shoes?

Thanks for saying this. It has been in the back of my mind this whole thread. I'm not a contender for overalls anymore, but usually win my age group in local stuff by a good 5 minutes or so. In big brand name races, I'm not a contender, so several seconds in transition is nothing, compared to making it on a blooper video, having a crash ruin the rest of my race, or running barefoot through sand/loose gravel/mud. I don't even do the leg-over mount/dismount anymore. I just stop completely, and safely get on or off. And I still pass folks trying to do all the fancy pro moves. And routinely run through transition faster than most of them.

---

Athlinks / Strava

Do a season of CX. Then you’ll have it down.

Also, the rubber is what you walk or run on. Nothing to do with the cleats.

Lastly, the VR90 is expensive but an amazing off road shoe. I love mine.

Ha! I totally stop and mount/dismount. But I completely understand for the faster people or just people who like working on that skill.

Yes. Specialized S-Works Recon. (I've used the specialized mtb shoes in all types of races...... cross, tri, grand fondo, regular road rides. MTB shoes have worked great for me, but they are as stiff as my road shoes, otherwise you'll get too much flex and you will lose power transfer if you are riding long distances.

I had 4 races this year decided by 21 seconds or less in my age group. I came out on top of three of those because of my transitions and I was 6 seconds away from the 4th.

The flying mount really helps me.

Agreed. Doesn't matter what kind of race you're doing, seconds add up more than you think. It would suck to be racing for 8+ hours only to find out you miss a Kona spot by 10 seconds right? But you get long course guys who think it doesn't matter, and that's ok - it helps the new breed like me coming from short course to long course who have the skills & practise them enough to save those seconds

Yep. It definitely can a difference maker. For me, at a local sprint race I probably benefit since I usually am in the top 3 there but I don’t think it’s ever come down to a matter of seconds. For the HIM/IM I’m not close enough to the front for it to matter.

This was almost 15 years ago, but I was living in downtown Philly, and doing the Philadelphia Triathlon (Olympic distance). I put my gear in a backpack, including my cycling shoes, and rode to T1 on my bike, wearing my running shoes. Once I started pedaling I was amazed how fast and comfortable the clipless pedal/running shoe combo was. I didn't race like that but if I could have swapped out for platform pedals I'd've put my running shoes on in T1 and skipped the T2 shoe change.

I have done tests on my old computrainer with:

1. Running shoes and rat trap pedals
2. Mountain bike shoes and SPD pedals
3. Road bike shoes and Look or SPD-R (road) pedals

There is zero power difference between all three when I am riding at 80 RPM or above seated.
There is zero power diference between 2 and 3
There is some very minor power difference, climbing out of the saddle at low RPM (like cranking at 60 RPM) when you want to pull up harder with hamstrings.

But the rest of the time, pounding the pedals down with the quads its zero. You could probably ride without rat traps in case 1 and not lose any power if the RPM is high enough.

Back in the 80's that's how most of us rolled in the local races. With cages and running shoes. I've thought about going back to that. Sure would simplify T2. But I'm also considering that running shoes 35 years ago were much less cushioned. I don't know how well it would work with today's Hoka marshmallows (which I run in with, old man shitty knees)

---

Athlinks / Strava

I used to use Egg Beater pedals on all my bikes and the journey of getting the cleat to work suitably on my road and tri shoes was... trying. Particularly once I added shimming for a leg length discrepancy.

https://shitsuesays.blogspot.com/...g-my-5-year-run.html

Re time loss / gain for various mount / dismount techniques, I won fastest bike split (at a women's super sprint tri) over two stronger riders based on my doing those things while moving. But something changed after that and I ate it and worse, led to another rider falling too, at my following race mount. So back to equipment tinkering, I was planning to adhere some thin foam to the arch of my left shoe so I could step onto the (Shimano road) pedal without slipping (ie without enganging the cleat), and swing my leg over vs the flying mount I was previously executing effectively. (I changed my handlebars and tweeked my fit which changed the geometry just enough that I have a harder time clearing the saddle in my flying mount now).

---

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

I was shopping for a replacement for my tri shoes and considered lace up road shoes that I'd put elasticized laces on. But they were hard to get my feet in quickly while I was calmly sitting in my living room so I figure they'd be frustrating in a race. I ended up getting shoes with a boa and cutting the tongues out. Do you have issues with the tongues?

Like you, I'm all in with doing shoes inside T1 / T2. Luckily I've been able to run on the rubber pads on Shimano road cleats well enough.

---

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

I forgot my tri shoes at one local sprint race so I had to wear my new balance beacon which have the squishy fresh foam sole. It felt like my shoe was wrapping around the pedal and at times I had to adjust the foot as it was slipping on the pedal. I had one turn I was pedaling through and my toe scraped the pavement due to lack of stiffness in the shoe so toe pushed down towards the pavement. I was about 15-20 watts off my goal watts

Wonder how aero that design would be if a company made a road/triathlon shoe like that recessed clear

I make sure they are spread wide open before the race, and haven't had any trouble with the tongues. The speed laces are really good, and almost instant.

---

Athlinks / Strava

A few years ago I did a Sprint with just flat pedals and running shoes (no traps).

I was running in Hokas and had noticed that there is no real bend in them as most running shoes like Nike Free etc had.
It was a flat course, so I thought maybe T2 would be faster. And that would make up the difference in lost power.
I am terrible in just about every transition, there are people who stop for lunch who are faster than me.

T2 was the fastest in my group (by seconds). As was the bike.
Too bad I can't run.