Tips Archive:

Hot Tip of the Month- April 2005: "Regular Shoes vs. Clip-in Shoes"

Recently I had the displeasure of using a regular athletic shoe to instruct one of my Spinning® classes. I was running unusually late one day, and on top of that, I was pulling double duty; teaching back to back classes. When I opened my gym bag to put on my shoes; alas, no cycling shoes! So, I was forced to snap in a pair of adapters. I am a fairly aggressive instructor and the adapters were not in cooperation with my plan. It did give me a unique perspective about what it’s like for other students whom for whatever reasons; use a regular athletic shoe. First off, I couldn’t stay firmly connected as the toe strap kept backing off; give me WAY too much “float”, which can be dangerous at a high cadence. Second, my arches wee killing me the next day, obviously, athletic shoes too much flex and very little support for indoor cycling. I’ve been doing little polls, before each class and recommending my students consider the investment of a decent cycling shoe. What a difference a shoe makes. Happy trails until next month.