How to choose your bike shoes?

 How to choose your bike shoes?

If you are going to start mountain biking, or you already do and want to use clipless pedals, you will also need special shoes for those pedals.

Clipless cycling pedals are a huge plus. They allow you to put your foot in a correct position, which is convenient for pedaling for many hours, and they make you exert better force on the pedal and take advantage of all the movement of the leg when pedaling.

- How to choose your bike shoes and products

Although at first they may seem difficult to use, once you get used to it you don't want to pedal with anything else.

All clipless pedal shoes have a stiffer sole than normal shoes. This is so that they do not deform when pedaling hard and that it does not affect the foot, and to be able to hook them to the pedal and pull with force without breaking.

Therefore, although some models may seem like normal shoes, the truth is that they are designed specifically for cycling.

There are specific shoes for both road and mountain or MTB. Road shoes have a smooth sole, and MTB shoes have studs or rubber soles like trekking shoes, for when we have to get off the bike and walk on dirt roads and not lose grip.

For cycling or cycling trips, the shoes used are MTB, they already allow walking with them and are not as rigid as road shoes.

Within the MTB shoes there are different types depending on the cycling that you are going to practice and the use that you are going to give them.

We can differentiate them into sports, mixed and casual. You can find a multitude of MTB shoes in Bike Parts where you can see a wide variety of models and choose the one that best suits you.

Types of MTB Shoe

1. Sports shoes
If you practice mountain biking in a sporty and intense way and on your outings you don't usually stop to visit places, this type of shoe is ideal for you. They are the most similar to the road but with studs on the sole.

With a more aggressive aesthetic, they are very light, stable and resistant to strong pedaling. They adapt perfectly to the anatomy of the foot.

2. Mixed shoes
If you prefer shoes that are sporty but at the same time allow you to walk comfortably, this type of shoe that mixes the previous model and trekking footwear is what you need.

They are less rigid shoes that combine comfort with good adhesion. They have a rubber sole to ride longer and are usually made of more flexible materials such as leather.

Recommended to combine full-power day trips with quiet trips where you stop to visit towns, monuments, etc.

They are also recommended if the mountain bike you practice requires constantly getting off the bike in complicated sections.

This is the footwear that we use on our trips.

3. Casual sneakers
Casual shoes are normal shoes but with the sole adapted to fit the clipless pedals.

They are very comfortable and flexible shoes, with which you can walk perfectly as with other types of footwear. They are usually sport or hiking type with a sole designed for this type Vibram.

These are the ideal shoes for a touring bike or for cyclotourism, that stick more with a more relaxed aesthetic and with less tight clothing.

Another advantage of these shoes is that they serve you both for pedaling and for walking, so you save on carrying another pair of shoes in your saddlebags for when you get off the bike.

In addition, if you are one of those who travel with platform pedals instead of automatic ones, you can remove the cleats and pedal with them more comfortably as they provide more stability than normal shoes.



Speaking of platform pedals, there is a type of shoe designed for these pedals that does not train the holes for the cleats.

They are casual type shoes, usually leather or leather, but more robust, with well-protected sides and toecaps, as they are designed for a more radical MTB such as downhill or enduro where you have to walk and push the bike often.

The sole in this type of shoe is made of a softer rubber and less tack that adhere perfectly to the platforms.



As you can see, there are slippers for all tastes and needs. As I said before, we use them mixed, perfect both for one-day MTB trips and for trips of several days or weeks. Now you just have to take a look and choose the best ones for you.