Hi, I competed in two triathlons last year for the first time and used my Sidi road bike shoes with a ratchet strap. After those tri’s I’m hooked and need the right shoe. I have used Sidi for over 5 years and love 'em. But I really got hung up in T1 and 2 getting them on and off. My transition style is to keep the shoes clipped in the pedals and slide my barefeet in while rolling. A lot faster than stopping to put shoes on. Sidi makes a tri shoe with two straps while Shimano makes them with one big strap. Now, to put the shoes on on the fly, Shimano seems the way to go. Can anyone please share there experience. I dont want to fiddle with another strap if I dont have to or have it get in the way. Thanks for your help.
I use the Specialized TriVent and love it. It has 2 straps…one small strap near the toes and one bigger strap on the top of the shoe. I have NEVER touched the bottom strap. Just set it up the day I got them (over a year ago). I ONLY use the top strap and I have never had an issue not having enough room to get my foot in.
Hope that helps.
Hi, I competed in two triathlons last year for the first time and used my Sidi road bike shoes with a ratchet strap. After those tri’s I’m hooked and need the right shoe. I have used Sidi for over 5 years and love 'em. But I really got hung up in T1 and 2 getting them on and off. My transition style is to keep the shoes clipped in the pedals and slide my barefeet in while rolling. A lot faster than stopping to put shoes on. Sidi makes a tri shoe with two straps while Shimano makes them with one big strap. Now, to put the shoes on on the fly, Shimano seems the way to go. Can anyone please share there experience. I dont want to fiddle with another strap if I dont have to or have it get in the way. Thanks for your help.
i have a pair of shimano tr50’s and love them. the single fat strap does the job. they’re an excellent shoe, especially if you leave them clipped in…very easy to
get on on the go. nice and stiff with tonnes of ventilation.
.** But I really got hung up in T1 and 2 getting them on and off. **
I just don’t understand this. I had no problems with my spcialized roadie shoes in T1 or T2. They went on easily in T1, and came off quickly in T2. I didn’t spend any time trying to balance on my bike while fitting my feet in my shoes on the move. Oh well, to each their own, I guess.
Hi, I competed in two triathlons last year for the first time and used my Sidi road bike shoes with a ratchet strap. After those tri’s I’m hooked and need the right shoe. I have used Sidi for over 5 years and love 'em. But I really got hung up in T1 and 2 getting them on and off. My transition style is to keep the shoes clipped in the pedals and slide my barefeet in while rolling. A lot faster than stopping to put shoes on. Sidi makes a tri shoe with two straps while Shimano makes them with one big strap. Now, to put the shoes on on the fly, Shimano seems the way to go. Can anyone please share there experience. I dont want to fiddle with another strap if I dont have to or have it get in the way. Thanks for your help.
i have a pair of shimano tr50’s and love them. the single fat strap does the job. they’re an excellent shoe, especially if you leave them clipped in…very easy to
get on on the go. nice and stiff with tonnes of ventilation. I totally agree! Get these shoes, they are comfortable (very comfortable) and super easy to use!
Same with the ZW…top strap only
.
i also have the shimano tr50 and love the one strap. Never had a problem with them.
I prefer the 2 strap trivents. I tried one strap LG ergo air shoes and they seemed too loose at the bottom. You’ll find tons of love for the trivents here.
good luck
Barry
I use the Specialized TriVent and love it. It has 2 straps…one small strap near the toes and one bigger strap on the top of the shoe. I have NEVER touched the bottom strap. Just set it up the day I got them (over a year ago). I ONLY use the top strap and I have never had an issue not having enough room to get my foot in.
Hope that helps.
Bryan as you’ve found out, the 2 strap shoes are a bit misleading… the bottom strap is basically one that you adjust once to make the shoe fit a bit better in that area of the shoe. So essentially it becomes a one strap shoe. The new high end Shimano shoe TR-70 works that way, the Sidi T 2.0, T2.6 and their new Xterra tri shoe also function that way.
Yea that’s how the Specialized Rep. explained it to me at my LBS when I was looking at them. The system seems to work out great. I’m not up to speed on new shoes, as I’m not in the market.
I also have the Shimano TR-50’s and like them. Like you I keep the shoes clipped to the pedals with a little rubber band to the axle to hold them up and it’s really easy to slip into once you get rolling. I loosen the strap as far as the velcro hooks can go and just barely hook a corner of the loops with the end of the strap. There’s plenty of room to get the foot in the shoe and the strap is under control on top of the shoe.
Shimano tr31
cheapest of the shimano tri shoe selection and i absolutely love them, really comfortable and really supportive. foot feels extremely secure and the single strap makes t1 fast
I’ll give more praise for the specialized trivent.
As another poster said, it has 2 straps, but you really only use one, the other is a one time set-up.
But as with all shoes, I prefer these because they fit my feet best. Doesn’t mean they will fit you, but if they do, they really are a great shoe.
I use the Specialized TriVent and love it. It has 2 straps…one small strap near the toes and one bigger strap on the top of the shoe. I have NEVER touched the bottom strap. Just set it up the day I got them (over a year ago). I ONLY use the top strap and I have never had an issue not having enough room to get my foot in.
Hope that helps.
Ditto. I have the Sidis; set the lower strap once and forget it.
I’ve had both. I’d say that it really is a benefit to be able to adjust the front bit of the shoe depending upon what you’re wearing underneath. I’m actually on my second pair of Trivents. The first pair (first version) were of poor quality as the cleat attachment(where the threading connects to the shoe itself) fell apart. The current version are pretty good. Very comfortable IMHO. Anyway, I found that having just one strap for long rides kind of limited adjustability and kind of left my feet a bit numb. These were Carnacs, but others might be better. My 2P.
Rav
Believe I have the same ones. I love them also. They have a little notch to keep strap open that works great. I have a wide foot 4E plus and wear a mega in Sidi that is tigh but okay. The shimano shoes actually are a little more confy then the sidi’s. I think the sides stretch a little and conform to foot well.
I ride with Nike single-strap tri-shoes. Love them. Can’t really speak to the two-strap system because I’ve never tried that. I imagine they are both fine, so I would just look for a tri-shoe that fits you well.
Jodi
Another Trivent fan here … used them for three seasons so far with great success.
If Sidi’s fit your foot well then I would get one of their tri shoesvand avoid the Shimano’s. I tried on both the T2.6’s and Shimano’s top of the line model and ended up going with the Sidi because the Shimano was to wide in the toe box.
Specialized > Shimano tri shoes. I also like Nike. The Adidas are okay but they were a little narrow for me. Still really comfy and if I wasn’t being a stickler for fit I am sure I could have done the Adidas. I don’t like Diadora or Sidi is just okay (I think Sidi are too expensive and overrated.)