[Pinnah]

What I'm hearing from my podiatrist is that (for my case, and I could be understanding her wrong) it's a combination of repeated impact, tight shoes and second order complications from a totally flat foot.

I tried to ride my bike with BMX flat pedals (which have a bigger surface areas than LOOKs by a long shot) and it helped for a ride or two but the pain flared right back up again. Hard to see how it could be the concentration of forces by my Frogs, as my mountain shoe is stiffer than any road shoe I ever owned.

Getting back to the original question though, I don't this is a question about the superiority of MTB vs road pedal systems in terms of support.

I think the question is why are there no road pedal compatible shoes that have toe and heel lugs.

While I perfected the art of skating across grocery store linoleum in my old Dettos, it's just a lot easier to be able to sort of walk in MTB shoes, albeit a sort of stiff and clunky sort of walk.

I don't miss toe straps at all....
_________________
Dave "Pinnah" Mann
========================
"It is impossible, or not easy, to do noble acts without the proper equipment."
Aristotle, <<Politics>>, 1323a-b, trans Jowett

[Highland Sport]

Pinah it is the rigid sole of the shoe that gives the support and not the cleat/pedal interface. If your foot is going numb take a look into having a custom insole made foe a "Fixed Foot" shoe and also look into a cleat that will give you the most float(side to side horizontal movement) for "English that a platform pedal will allow.

[polemonium]

[mel]

The pair of DP's pictured are not the old ones, with the older ones you had to nail an aluminum cleat to the shoe, the one shown is an adjustable cleat. I always thought the first adjustable cleat was a huge improvement in shoes, I used to use tacks to keep my cleat in place until I found the right position, usually by riding rollers. Then I went to a cobbler and had it nailed for a permanent fix. Puma had the first adjustable cleat, but they didn't always stay in position. Sidi improved on that and took Puma's market share away. I just read an interview with Levi Leipheimer who claims he prefers straps to buckles because if he crashes and the buckles break you are in a world of sheeeet. So he has gone back to shoes with straps and no buckles. All the stuff about cleat size, sole stiffness, MTB vs. road I think becomes personal preference. For example I am in agreement with Polemonium that Time MTB (and I mean the old yellow ones with a larger base) are very comfortable, but I have friends who aren't comfortable with them at all. I prefer the older wider and larger Look road pedal to their current model and have had a foot doctor who made molds of my feet make a custom cork/leather foot bed. But I know many riders who just ride those wimpy footbeds that come in a pair of Sidi's and think nothing of it.

[hankster]

mtn shoes : telemark bindings :: road shoes : fixed-heel bindings

mtn bike shoes give you options - you can actually walk in them. Road shoes offer limitations. Who among us ever find themselves in a position where road shoes offer an advantage? They are merely a concession to convention, disregarding logic. The mere thought of discussing the issue on this forum is an affront!

A nod to Frog Speedplays.
_________________
"The farther backward you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see."

[bbense]

[mchin]

Rule #34
_________________

[yardsale2]

[hutguy]

[telebelly]

[bbense]

[telebelly]

That's why I said equivalent. What I mean is comparable models between a road and mountain in a given brand. S Works road shoes have a flex index of 12 versus 11 for the S works off road shoe. Shimano 315 road and 315 mountain have different soles with the mountain having something referred to as tuned heel flex. Sure as one goes lower on a line of shoes they do tend to become less stiff.

The comment was that they are the same, but they are not the same. It's like suggesting a T1 is the same boot as a T Race because they look same except for colour.


The question is are they stiff enough and the answers is probably but it depends on the riders wants and needs. Like I said, Sidi Dominators are in my view very flexible. My feet hurt after a 5 or 6 km on the road. Even off road they will hurt after a bit but because I often end up off the bike that provides some relief and the flexibility is an advantage for hike a bike sections.
_________________
see ya

[agtucker]

I have Sidi Genius 5 (road) and Dominator 5 (MTB) shoes, each about 5 years old. If I hand flex them the road shoes are noticeably stiffer than the MTB ones, despite having more miles. I've never noticed a difference riding though. I imagine any of the newer carbon soled shoes (for either road or MTB) are going to be stiffer than my older shoes with nylon soles.

[telegeezer]

While there is no doubt roadies can be slaves to the "racer style", there is a reason for road bike shoes. They are lighter and stiffer, all things being equal. On a road bike you spend way more time in essentially the same position while on the trail on an mtb I change body position way more often. I suspect the result is that, on a road bike, you concentrate the force from foot to pedal in almost exactly the same spots for the whole ride. Also I ride a lot farther without stopping on my road bike than my mtb. bike, typically 25+ miles without stopping on the road.
If you are sliding across the floor get some Kool Kovers. They let you walk with confidence and protect the often expensive cleats from wear. It is rare that I walk more than 10 feet from the bike on a road bike ride.
That said, if I was on a tight budget I'd buy mtb shoes and pedals for both my road and mtb and hope I wasn't one of those folks who get hot spots. For touring, mtb shoes are just the thing since you do a whole lot more walking, sightseeing, etc.
_________________
In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on.
Robert Frost

[zentao]