Switch from mountain to road shoes?

Triathlon Forum
1

A few years ago, when I first started getting interested in triathlon, I bought a basic road bike and—thinking about practicality—outfitted it with SPD pedals. The mountain shoes’ walkability seemed valuable to me at the time.

Since then, I’ve bought a tri bike. In order to cut corners, I put SPD pedals on it as well, and kept using my mountain shoes.

Now, three years later, it’s time to replace the shoes.

Is it actually worth it to buy bona-fide road shoes (and, thus, have to buy two new sets of pedals)? Or, do I save the money, buy a new set of mountain shoes, and continue to be the odd guy in the group ride for the next several years?

Thanks for your help.

2

I used mountain bike shoes on my road bike for years (the same reasons as you). If you don’t want to shell out the money, no reason not to keep doing what you’re doing.

3

Depends on what your goals are. If you just want to ride get another pair of mtn shoes…If you are looking to get faster and be quicker in transition etc get a pair of tri/road shoes that will be lighter, easier to get in and out of and more efficient.

4

A few years ago, when I first started getting interested in triathlon, I bought a basic road bike and—thinking about practicality—outfitted it with SPD pedals. The mountain shoes’ walkability seemed valuable to me at the time.

Since then, I’ve bought a tri bike. In order to cut corners, I put SPD pedals on it as well, and kept using my mountain shoes.

Now, three years later, it’s time to replace the shoes.

Is it actually worth it to buy bona-fide road shoes (and, thus, have to buy two new sets of pedals)? Or, do I save the money, buy a new set of mountain shoes, and continue to be the odd guy in the group ride for the next several years?

Thanks for your help.

If road shoes are what you want, but don’t want to switch pedals, you should be able to find a pair of shoes that have both the three-hole and two-hole configurations. You can keep your SPDs and upgrade them at a later time should you ever chose to do so.

5

In addition to the aero and comfort advantages of wearing road shoes with road specific cleats, they just look better. You can outfit your rig with a basic pair of road pedals for short money - why wouldn’t you?