Shoes for biking!?

elisian

vintage queen
Oct 16, 2014
616
8
I live in a very bike-friendly town and don't own a car -- for trips across town Car2Go is perfect for me, or when I have the time I love to take my bike for a relaxing and convenient light workout. I have a really cute and fully blinged-out Pashley Princess that I love to pieces - I'm not fixie-bike-messenger-bag hipster.

My problem is, biking takes a huge toll on shoes! I now only wear almond-toe flat shoes/boots with full knowledge that I'll end up scraping the toes and tops of them while out. I wouldn't dare wear patent, suede, or even finely finished leather - so those shoes languish in my closet.

Ladies that also bike - what do you wear? I'm not talking about biking shoes, but basic fashion-conscious shoes that are safe (to you, to the shoes) on short city bike trips.
 
Honestly I have never damaged shoes while biking :P But I prefer of course either sneakers, or some low heeled or flat (ankle) boots, loafers (anything that covers more than a ballerina flat) or sandals (flat).

Anything that won't fall off my feet, or with a too high heel (just feels wierd).
 
I find most of my Fluevogs are great on the bike because with the exception of one or two pairs of dressier heels, they all have some kind of rubber on the soles. The only shoes I really avoid biking in are shoes with smooth leather soles, but that's because I live in a fairly hilly city and sometimes need to stand up and really crank to haul myself up them...that kind of usage doesn't really pair well with smooth-soled shoes.
 
I go almost everywhere by bike, because I live close to the city centre and my work. I have never ruined my shoes while biking (except a few times when I fell), so I do wear everything but like someone already said I also hate smooth leather soles (especially when it's moist outside) and really high heels. I don't wear high heels that much and the leather soles I do wear but they are annoying because your feet will slide easier. So, I wear all of my shoes... that includes heeled boots, wedge sneakers, ballerina flats, sandals, patent leather... Why do you think your shoes are getting scraped up that soon?
 
Ok, now I just feel clumsy and bad about myself. Haha.

A combination of kickstand-kicking and moving the pedal back up to start again is the main thing, I think. Maybe? I don't always notice when it happens. I guess I'm just particular about scuffs -- even a 10% scuff rate means nice leather shoes will be ruined after biking 10 times in them.

Rain also doesn't help.

I love the biking in heels photo. I have done that... but I kinda hate how the pedal then slips into the "crotch" between sole-slope and heel. It's not comfortable.
 
A combination of kickstand-kicking and moving the pedal back up to start again is the main thing, I think. Maybe?

I don't have a kickstand suggestion, but I found that adding some Power Grip straps to the pedals of my city bike keeps me from having to use the toe/top of the shoe to reset the pedal after stopping. (They're available from REI.)

I mounted mine so that the "Power Grip" label was on the inside, so the strap is just solid black on the side that faces the world. (You might not be bothered with these kinds of things, but I'm kind of fussy when it comes to the look of my bikes.) I keep them set pretty loosely, so they're mostly just there for the use case above. I don't do a lot of pulling against them when I'm actually riding.
 
I don't have a kickstand suggestion, but I found that adding some Power Grip straps to the pedals of my city bike keeps me from having to use the toe/top of the shoe to reset the pedal after stopping. (They're available from REI.)

I mounted mine so that the "Power Grip" label was on the inside, so the strap is just solid black on the side that faces the world. (You might not be bothered with these kinds of things, but I'm kind of fussy when it comes to the look of my bikes.) I keep them set pretty loosely, so they're mostly just there for the use case above. I don't do a lot of pulling against them when I'm actually riding.


WOW. How did I not know these exist?!

On Amazon one person talks about how they were tough to install on plastic pedals. How did you find it? I have a pretty typical plastic pedal and I am not about to switch to metal (talk about ruining shoes!)... but if there are some plastic pedals that work better than others, I can find a thinner one -- mine are a little decrepit and due for a change anyway.
 
I remember them being pretty fiddly to put on, and I spent the better part of an evening getting them to work.

I did find this pic of a similar strap that's been attached to a pretty standard plastic BMX pedal. My guess is anything that has some opening at the sides will allow you to attach the straps, though you may have to hit a hardware store to try out some different nut/bolt sizes to find the perfect fit.
 

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