Road Bike Shoes

Road Bike Shoes to Maximise Your Performance

Getting the right pair of road bike shoes can make a huge difference to your comfort and performance while cycling. Not only do they allow you to pull up on the pedals to get more efficiency out of your legs, but they also allow you to most effectively transfer power to the pedals and keep a stable platform for your feet. So, it’s no wonder that bike shoes are one of the most important investments you can make in your riding quality.

Choosing the Right Pair of Road Bike Shoes

Road bike shoes come in a huge variety of styles and materials. There’s no onebest shoe for everyone – it depends on your comfort, riding goals, and budget. Tohelp you find the right road bike shoe for you, let’s look at some of the features to consider:

Types of Road Bike Shoes

Road bike shoes span the gamut from high-end racing shoes to commuter-friendly shoes with flat soles that you can walk around on. There are also discipline-specific shoes, like triathlon shoes, and heavy-duty winter biking shoes for cold weathertraining.Which type of road bike shoe is right for you? It depends on what you plan to use it for. Most cyclists will want a “standard” road bike shoe that can be used year-round for training rides. But, if you’re a triathlete or professional racer, it’s worth looking for a road bike shoe that’s adapted for these purposes. Commuters and urban riders will want to look for shoes with recessed cleats so that the shoes are comfortable to walk around in off the bike.

Cleat Holes

When thinking about which bike shoe is right for you, you also have to consider which cleat system you’re planning to use. There are 2-hole, 3-hole, and 4-hole road bike shoes, each designed to work with a different set of cleat systems. 2-hole cleat mounts are designed for Crank Brothers and SPD cleats. These are mostly used on commuter-oriented pedals and on spinning bikes at the gym and aren’t the best for maximising efficiency on the bike.Your choice of cleat systems expands with a 3-hole mount. These shoes work withSPD-SL, Look, and Time pedals. Most road cyclists will use a 3-hole mount bike shoe.If you’re a Speedplay cleat fan, you’ll need a 4-hole mount. Many 3-hole shoes now come in a 4-cleat version as well to allow for this increasingly popular pedal system.

Sole Material

The material at the bottom of your road bike shoe provides the platform for your foot and determines the efficiency of power transfer from your leg to your pedal.So, it’s important. Less expensive shoes are built with plastic or nylon. Nylon is what you’ll find on most road bike shoes, and what most non-professional riders will want. If you’ve got the budget for it, carbon soles provide the stiffness at the lowest weight and so offer the most efficiency.

Closure System

The closure system comes down partially to preference and partially to budget. More budget-friendly shoes tend to use simple Velcro closures or a combination of Velcro and laces. Premium road bike shoes typically feature a Boa-style closure, which allows for a more adjustable fit.

Road Bike Shoes at bikester.co.uk

Your local bike shop probably only carries a few dozen types of road bike shoes, and you’ll be lucky if they have your size. But at bikester.co.uk, we have hundreds of road bike shoes for men and women. Our shoes span every cleat style, every budget, and every rider.