# Homemade SPD compatable shoes



## de.abeja (Aug 27, 2006)

Has anyone ever done this? I have done some pretty extensive searching and not really come up with anything, but I may just not be entering the magic search bolean. 

I ask this because I saw some guy wearing what looked to be a pair of old school Pumas but he clipped into this pretty cool retro-turned-fixie with little cheapo welgo's on it. I could get some shoes and could cut a hole in the sole then make a little insole out of some fiberglass with a threaded plate glassed in. They don't have to be awesome for century riding but spinning the quick errands in some regular shoes would be nice.


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## JCavilia (Sep 12, 2005)

*Never heard of it*

Sounds like a lot of work to end up with a pair of shoes that are so chopped up they hardly qualify as "regular" shoes anymore. I'd opt for a cheap mtn bike shoe, with a sole already built to handle the stresses of clipless pedaling. I wear a pair of such, bought on clearance from Nashbar for $20 several years ago and still going strong after hundreds of commutes in all kinds of weather.


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## FrontRanger (May 19, 2004)

I saw a guy in a pair of Chuck Taylors do the same thing. Most clipless shoes have a removable plate so if you have an old pair then go for it.


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## de.abeja (Aug 27, 2006)

JCavilia said:


> Sounds like a lot of work to end up with a pair of shoes that are so chopped up they hardly qualify as "regular" shoes anymore. I'd opt for a cheap mtn bike shoe, with a sole already built to handle the stresses of clipless pedaling. I wear a pair of such, bought on clearance from Nashbar for $20 several years ago and still going strong after hundreds of commutes in all kinds of weather.


Being a Taurus, left-handed and Dutch I don't ever do anything the easy way regardless of the complexity I may create for myself to obtain a simple solution, frequently for a non-existent problem. 
I just wanted to see if someone knew of an established method that I may of used for reference. Thanks for the replies and look forward to more!


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## singlecross (Nov 1, 2006)

Seems easy enough. Cut a hole in the bottom of a pair of shoes... cut a reasonably thick plastic "footbed" to fit in bottom of said shoes... drill into plastic footbed cleat pattern... add screw rivets and cleats... Aquaseal around perimiter of hole in shoe to seal water out. Voila! Probably $15 in materials and 2 hours of time if thats worth it to you. An old pair of orthotics would speed the process up and be comfy to boot...

singlecross


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## Slim Again Soon (Oct 25, 2005)

_Any shoe can be a cycling shoes.

_Hey, look at those Pumas!


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## Dave Hickey (Jan 27, 2002)

I read a lot the fixie magazines and blogs. 

There are many street shoes sold that SPD compatable..BMX style shoes....Vans and Mission are two that come to mind. 

In answer to your question, sure you can convert but check some alternatives to the standard cycling shoes.....


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