Cycling shoes, 3 bolt but walkable

[pvnisher]

Anyone have a recommendation for a cycling shoes that uses the three bolt Look keo pattern but is more walkable than the usual roadie shoe?

Note, has to be Keo style, not spd, which is a huge limiting factor.
I know it won't be a real Mountain shoe, more looking for a road shoe that doesn't (totally) suck when you have to get groceries or visit a gas station loo.

[cedica]

I'm guessing you are already planning on buying Look cleat covers (https://www.coloradocyclist.com/look-keo-cleat-covers). You can walk shorter distance in those, you will probably feel like Cinderella and find new appreciation for ladies walking in stilettos, but it will at least get visiting gas station part done. Alternatively, tying a pair of flip-flops under the saddle bag adds almost no weight.

There is a power advantage in stiff carbon road soles compared to softer ones, probably not a good idea to sacrifice that for possibility of doing short walks that may or may not happen imho. To put it differently, John Wick would never consider anything but super stiff carbon soles.

[jscully205]

I've been riding a while and have never seen such a thing released by the industry. The Look Keo 3-bolt pattern is a defining trait of a road cycling shoe. Road shoes by design have stiff soles for on bike power transfer and there's not much thought towards walking. Some have more "tread" on them and have constructions with varying amount of flex, but they all are awkward to walk in.

The only walkable option I've seen are the 2-bolt SPD style shoe with the recessed cleat. It would worth considering swapping out your entire shoe pedal interface to this system if you intend to walk a lot in your cycling shoes. There have been numerous studies done and I also share the opinion that it's not any less efficient than using road style pedals.

[justiner]

This may Become a Thing, as gravel racing is quite popular now.

You COULD try an adapter like this one:

https://www.deporvillage.net/sidi-shima ... ce-adapter

on a MTB shoe, but you'll also most likely need to modify your shoe for the road cleat to fit. With a hack saw.

This though may not actually solve the problem, as the cleat will still clear any of the lugs and continue to click/clack on the ground.

Aside 1:
I've never, ever worn a road shoe myself - MTB shoes work fine for me. I don't necessarily like the SPD cleats/pedals (although I hear the XT's and XTRs are great), I moved to Crank Bros really soon in my career, then moved onwards to Time ATACs, like any civilized person should.

Aside 2:
I'm not sure if the benefits of a super-stiff shoe are more than marginal - and even then only when you're elite athlete. A flat pedal is also pretty damn stiff, so the power loss we're really talking about is between the foot and the midsole/outsole of the shoe you're using. Only in a situation like a track race would I really demand that anyone use clipless shoes. Some track races use straps as well to make sure someone absolutely does NOT come out of their pedals, since it could mean the difference of... um a fractured leg, and a broken leg flying out into the crowd and blood needing to be mopped up, and guys: we have a strict racing schedule we have to follow here, let's hustle!

[cedica]

https://www.deporvillage.net/sidi-shima ... ce-adapter

That $10 adapter better be made of titanium, otherwise I can already see resin platform bending or shattering within 20 miles. Otoh, Sidi should know what they are doing.

A flat pedal is also pretty damn stiff, so the power loss we're really talking about is between the foot and the midsole/outsole of the shoe you're using.

That's right, but I would say it is more inability to transfer than losses (P=E/t, longer t results in less P). Real losses would have to go somewhere, either into thermal energy or travel back towards shattering the knees, but I haven't heard complaints about that yet. Even from those guys peaking 1.2kW while sprinting to the line.

[pvnisher]

I've been a big fan of mountain shoes and pedals on all bikes since the mid 90s. Road pedals seem to have marginal benefit at best.
Slightly lighter, and a little aero?
While they have significant drawbacks, namely one sided entry, vertical hang when not engaged, and, most importantly, the stupid unwalkable shoes. So I've always been an SPD and mountain shoe guy.

But I also decided to get into the power meter business and didn't want to be tied into a crankset or other option that is really hard to move between bikes.

And since the mountain power pedals aren't out yet, went with some road style ones.
For indoor riding it doesn't matter, but outdoors I'd like to be able to walk.

I just don't see what the road industry is thinking with ridiculous shoes. If you're a racer, sure, every gram and second count, and you're not walking.
But there's a billion recreational road riders who would surely appreciate being able to get a coffee on the ride without walking like a penguin and sliding all over the place.
How is this Not A Thing?

[cedica]

How is this Not A Thing?

Nah, man. Noblesse oblige!

[TomPierce]

While they have significant drawbacks, namely one sided entry, vertical hang when not engaged, and, most importantly, the stupid unwalkable shoes.

I just don't see what the road industry is thinking with ridiculous shoes. If you're a racer, sure, every gram and second count, and you're not walking.
But there's a billion recreational road riders who would surely appreciate being able to get a coffee on the ride without walking like a penguin and sliding all over the place.

I think maybe your issues are just the Look-style cleats? Larger, flatter, easy to skate on? Full disclosure I've used many pedals/cleats over the years, but never Looks. I had no issues in the past with whatever Shimano SPD cleats are called these days (the little 2" metal plates), but several years back I switched to Speedplays. Dual-side access, and their current generation of cleats are billed as a "walkable cleat." Every shoe/cleat has compromises, but they work for me.

Frankly I can't say I've experienced the problem, I've been able to walk just fine in every cleat I've ever used used (SPD, Speedplay, Crank Bros.), no problem for gas station/park potty breaks, convenience store refueling, etc. I wouldn't want to go for a hike in my road shoes, but the <50 yard pit stop walks are just no problem. Getting mud jammed in the cleat, however, now that's a problem...

-Tom

[justiner]

I think maybe your issues are just the Look-style cleats? Larger, flatter, easy to skate on? Full disclosure I've used many pedals/cleats over the years, but never Looks. I had no issues in the past with whatever Shimano SPD cleats are called these days (the little 2" metal plates), but several years back I switched to Speedplays. Dual-side access, and their current generation of cleats are billed as a "walkable cleat." Every shoe/cleat has compromises, but they work for me.

Hopefully Speedplays will be around in the future:

https://cyclingtips.com/2020/12/whats-g ... speedplay/

[AndrewLyonsGeibel]

I think maybe your issues are just the Look-style cleats? Larger, flatter, easy to skate on? Full disclosure I've used many pedals/cleats over the years, but never Looks. I had no issues in the past with whatever Shimano SPD cleats are called these days (the little 2" metal plates), but several years back I switched to Speedplays. Dual-side access, and their current generation of cleats are billed as a "walkable cleat." Every shoe/cleat has compromises, but they work for me.

Hopefully Speedplays will be around in the future:

https://cyclingtips.com/2020/12/whats-g ... speedplay/

That would be terrible. I love my speedplays.