what shoes for touring

[rusty nail]

Hi What sort of foot wear do you use when touring ,spoke to a bloke he just wears like teva sandles all the time, on & off the bike ,do you take a spare pair of shoes or flip flops for round camp , do you go hiking in them cheers

[rapidfire72]

I've found in recent years, that touring in sandals are really good. The trouble is, is rain, but I don't think that is a real problem if the sandals are combined with Sealskinz socks. The sandals I have are the original Shimano SD60, which are sadly not made in that style anymore, but there is a updated version. There is some good sandals on the market such as Keen and Merrill, but the Shimano's are the dog's bo**ocks and to save weight, can be worn on the campsite or to the pub.

[tatanab]

For riding I use Sidi Dominator shoes, or a more perforated Sidi version when hot. For casual use on tour I use Jinga shoes because they pack so very small. http://www.jingashop.com/ They are certainly not suitable for hiking since you feel every little pebble through the very thin sole - but that is why they pack so small. I've worn the Sidis when walking a couple of miles, so that is no problem.

[cycle_tourer]

My partner uses those Jinga shoes as likes them a lot. As mentioned, they pack down really small, and are perfect for walking around the campsite/village etc, but not hiking. I uses these SPD shoes on tour and have done light hiking in them on tour as well:
http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/shimano-shim ... prod14350/

I find they are far less slippery than some of my previous SPD shoes, and also give some ankle support.

[james01]

Cheap flip-flops are perfect campsite/short walk wear after a hard day's ride, and weigh next to nothing.

[iviehoff]

I think it depends on your style of cycling. Many of my tours involve extended sections of rough road with fords. I would recommend wearing light hiking shoes while on the bike, because there is usually some tough pushing on rough surfaces. You also need some decent sandals, fully strapped not flip flops, for fording. On roads with frequent fords, I might cycle for some distance in my sandals, if it isn't too cold, and doesn't require any tough bike-pushing between the fords. Some friends of mine carry Salsa shoes as superlight footwear for use at hotel.

[andrew_s]

I used to use Sidi Dominators & jingas, flip flops, Tevas etc, but I've now switched to SPD sandals (Exustar) with no separate evening footwear.

Skin is waterproof, and feet & sandals dry out quickly so I only bother with socks for warmth. I decided that 5 or 6°C was about the limit (if dry).
Fords I just wade through (or ride) wearing the sandals. You can gain quite a lot of time over those who change footwear.

[brianleach]

I use the Exustar Stelvios most of the time but do take an old pair of M & S sandals as well. They are a bit bilky but very comfortable and I don't want to walk in cleats all the time.

It was lucky I had the sandals with me recently as a screw came out of the cleat which meant I couldn't remove the shoe from the pedal!! Until I was able to resolve the problem temporarily in the evening I removed the lace from the shoe and used it whilst riding but when I came to a hill which I couldn't cycle up I got off taking my foot out and then slipped on the sandal. This saved walking in a socked foot. Slow progress but a lesson to check the tightness of cleat screws regularly how ever tired you are!!

Brian

[slowpeddler]

I tour in Marks and Spencers sandals with no socks.
I rejected the go fast culture some time ago and pedal for fun. I got rid of the dropped handlebars for comfort bars and adopted an upright riding style to see the world go by
My advice is use your everyday clothes to cycle.
John

[Cunobelin]

I Love churches and ancient sites which can be quite difficult to access... I tend to tour in a pair of Goretex shoes or boots with a good grip and cleats

At present Summer is the Shimano MT60 and for bad weather / winter or where I know it is going to be rugged the Shimano MT90 boots.

I tend to use these in he evenings as well.

[TheBrick]

My limited experience on different trips.

Last year (Scotland in the autum) I used some lightweight hiking books I customised to take spd cleats and took some DIY flip flops made from a old sleeping mat for around camp sites, boot worked well for walking and cycling but I had no dry shoes to wear the boot took a long time to dry and evenings were cold with the flip flops. The flip flops also disintegrated very quickly. I spent 90% of my time off road though, fording streams and even did a scrambling route in the boots.

The previous year I used some "touring" spd shoes and normal flip flops in France (July), this worked well in this situation.

It looks like I will not get a chance to get away this year but I think for my next trip (planning a return to Scotland or maybe Wales) I will go with my normal specialized spd shoes and a pair of fell running shoes. Fell running for walking / evening. With a little luck due to being lighter weight they should dry quicker than the boots and give me a full change of shoe.

The other plan for next year is back to France and I think I would be tempted by the spd sandles if that were the case.

Shorter w/e trips I have just used my "touring" spd shoes which are softer than the specialized shoes. http://www.jejamescycles.co.uk/diadora- ... 29786.html

[meic]

SPD Sandals.

I have only just got my shoes out of the cupboard now that I have started seeing 3 degrees Centigrade at the start of the rides.
For the six months of the year when I do most of my miles it is the sandals.

Nothing more horrible than a pair of soaking shoes in your tent. The more "waterproof" they are the longer they take to dry.

Also they are very good for doing hard cycling and excellent for walking in.

Some real hard nuts use them all year round. I am too soft for that.

[Nutsey]

Never seen a hard nut wearing sandals tbh! (Gladiator doesn't count)

[hartleymartin]

What-ever is comfortable to walk in. You don't want to be pushing a loaded touring bicycle up a steep hill in cleats.

[brianleach]

What-ever is comfortable to walk in. You don't want to be pushing a loaded touring bicycle up a steep hill in cleats.

I don't know. I did quite a lot of pushing in Northern Spain recently and the cleats weren't a problem at that point!!