At London Cyclist we love to receive your requests for topics to be featured – and when we covered casual commuter shoes for women, on request, we were soon flooded with requests for a mens equivalent.
Riding clipped in allows you to utilize more of your muscle with every pedal stroke, waste less energy, and it cuts down the chances of your foot slipping in the wet. However, traditional road shoes are tricky to walk in, and traditional mountain bike shoes don’t tend to blend with your outfit.
There are a range of commuter focused clip in compatible shoes that are designed to engage with pedals via MTB cleats, but still look like normal shoes when you’ve locked your bike.
Below are some of our favourite men’s commuter friendly, clipless pedal friendly shoes. If you know any additional options we haven’t mentioned here, please do post them in the comments for others to find.
DZR – Purp, $95 & H20, $175
We were limited talking about DZR in the women’s post, but for men they make a wide variety of shoes for “life on and off the bike”.
The casual, pump style shoes start from $95 for the ‘Purp’ no laces slip on, and go right up to $175 for the ‘H20’ which is treated with a clever waterproof membrane.
On all their urban bike shoes, DZR use a full length nylon midsole which promises stiffness for riding, whilst still being flexible when walking, whilst rubber soles offer optimum grip and a co-molded power plate allows you to really work the pedals.
Shimano MT44 Mountain Bike/Leisure Cycling SPD Shoes – £57
These MTB specific shoes are ideal as a multi-purpose option – unlike more casual looking DZR options, they are designed for proper off-road adventures, and use a dual density EVA (Ethylene vinyl acetate) sole.
EVA is not as stiff as the carbon on expensive cycling shoes, bit it’s easier to walk in, making it a great compromise for those after decent power transfer on the bike and comfort off it. The sole is made from a dual compound rubber and is fit for trekking should you be walking the off-road way between the shops and the office.
Breathable synthetic leather panels are durable, shouldn’t cause your feet to swelter, and will look smart enough during the day, too.
Specialized Cadet – £65
This great shoe came up in our women’s post, too – and Specialized haven’t left the man uncatered for with the Cadet. These clip into your pedals as normal SPDs, but they also provide plenty of cushioning and stability, even being fit for a trip the gym (we don’t recommend the treadmill).
A breathable mesh upper removes chance of overheating, and you still get all the great Specialized Body Geometry offerings – footbeds to improve comfort and pedaling efficiency, and a sole stiffness index rating of 4 with an EVA midsole.
You can get these in a strikingly bright blue, or black for a more formal look.
Giro Republic Road Cycling Shoes – £124.48
These are the ultimate in stylish. The Giro Republic SPDs use a two bolt system, despite being called a ‘road shoe’. An EVA molded footbed is used, and these provide medium arch support for your feet, too – and they’ve got an anti-bacterial treatment, too, to keep your tootsies smelling fresh.
The sole is made from injected nylon, making it more akin to a solely cycling focused shoe, but you do get replaceable high traction walking pads to keep you pottering about in comfort.
The laces are of course non-slip, so you needn’t worry about any embarrassing chain catching situations, and these come in black, or ‘lead’ (otherwise known as grey).
“Waste less energy” is a myth, isn’t it? Has anyone ever found that in a study, rather than anecdotes? Choose good flat pedals and you have a great range of shoes to choose from.
Yes! that’s why all the teams use flat pedals in the olympics and the Tour de France…. because it’s a myth 🤦♂️
Watch the MT44 if wanting to buy overshoes. if you have large feet like me (size 11), then you’ll find it a struggle to find a pair of overshoes that fit, and indeed last!
The Giro Republic shoes are currently available from Evans for £91.
Thanks for the review.
Must add though: http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/gaerne-nemy-shoes-2014/rp-prod113182
I’ve used for many years commuting and touring the earlier version; the Vega, Superb shoes.
Firm to cycle but enough give to walk comfortably in. Cleat not heard or felt while walking until shoes starts to wear down. Excellent Vibram sole.
I have the Giro Republic shoes, and while I think they are excellent shoes, I wouldn’t recommend them for commuting. There are small pads that cover only a small portion of the sole that are the contact points when walking in them. These don’t last long if you are walking around quite a bit, though they are replaceable.
Giro also make the Grynd and the Rumble, which have a sole much more suited to off-bike activity.
I would recommend all of DZR’s line.
I have the Giro Republics and love them. However, the “replaceable” pads aren’t yet available which is a problem as I’ve worn through them in 6 months and now almost worn the bolts that secure them to the point that they won’t be able to be unscrewed. I was wearing them all day around the office, so now just commuting in them and switching shoes when I get to the office to try and prelong the remaining life in the pads, which defeats the point. Giro’s UK distributor tell me the replacements will be available in 2015. It’s a real shame because otherwise they are fantastic.
I’m not sure why they think “Giro Republic Road Cycling Shoes” are the ultimate in stylish.
Unless they think walking around in what look like my old school football boots looks cool.
Hi
Also add the new Vintage leather clip shoes from velorution.com. Purchased this week for £120 and really great, comfortable and look good in office.
The other alternative that’s closer to a bike shoe admittedly, but work well off the bike
are those classed as TouringShoes.
I use Northwave ones:
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/northwave-touring-3s-road-shoe/
It’s not walking I have trouble with in my cycling shoes but driving. I often drive to where I want to cycle but have to change shoes because my cycling shoes just slip off the car pedals.
Toe covers on a cycling shoe may be a challenge to fit.Facing these issues also effects on their feets negatively like their feets swells day by day due to cold weather to overcome these issues RAKGRS have designed special Toe cover which also fits on MTB shoe and keep the feet of cyclists warm and can be use able on different temprature .
http:rakgrs.co.uk