# Sneakers with rat traps how far can I go?



## lawrence (May 17, 2005)

I just bought a new bike that came with pedals and rat traps. Is that the right word?

How far can I ride without my feet hurting? Is 20 or 30 miles too far?

At what distance should I consider replacing the pedals and buying "cleats" and shoes?

I was thinking about using my rock climbing shoes, which if you don't know, has a steel shank inside the shoe down the middle. This way you can stand on small knubs on the rocks on your toes and your weight is not being taken by the toes, it's being taken up by the steel shank. Climbing shoes are extremely unflexible in the sole. My shoes are cloth and they also cover the ankle.

Would using climbing shoes be a satisfactory alternative?

Is it easier, faster, and safer taking your feet out of rat traps rather than twisting your foot out of the pedals?


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## dir-t (Oct 14, 2005)

It's so dependent on shoe and pedal type and individual foot shape etc that no one is going to be able to give you a perfect answer. When I got my road bike it had flat pedals with straps and I was totally comfortable riding 45 miles in Converse All Stars. 

On my MTB I've done at least ten 50 to 60 mile rides in All Stars and flat pedals with no straps (actual more comfy since the Shimano DX BMX pedals have more of a flat platform compared to the thin pedals on my road bike). I've been able to keep up with everyone I've ridden with regardless of if they were on clipless pedals or not (except for a few real animal racer types).

You'll be fine in any pair of normal sneakers that you can fit into your straps. I wouldn't risk messing up expensive climbing shoes (you'd also get some funny looks if you wore them). And beside, aren't your climbing shoes super tight? Clipless pedals are great but not a necessity.

That said, putting clipless pedals on my road bike was the smartest thing I've done and I'm looking forward to putting some on my MTB this spring. Not so much because of foot comfort but because of how much more efficient my pedalling has become.


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## Cory (Jan 29, 2004)

*I did 20 years, and my dad did more than 50*

I started cycling (as an adult, not counting kid stuff) in about 1970. I wear size 15 shoes, and in those days NOBODY made bike shoes larger than a "12" that was really about a 10 1/2. I rode from then until at least the late '80s in tennis shoes, hiking boots, whatever I had. I finally found some Bata Bikers (canvas, hard rubber soles, no cleats) that fit, and rode another four or five years, including several centuries and countless 40-50-60- mile rides, in those. I never had foot, ankle or knee problems, but that may have been because I was young and strong, not because of the shoes. My dad was a fairly serious rider until he was in his 70s, and he never owned a pair of bike shoes. He rode from Santa Barbara, Calif., to Berkeley after WWII in his Navy dress shoes.
For what it's worth, I still ride most of the time with toe clips and straps, and I don't go any slower with those than I do with clipless pedals and high-zoot shoes.


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## Kerry Irons (Feb 25, 2002)

*About as far as you can go*

The longest single day I ever rode in tennis shoes was 125 miles. I rode from Michigan to Seattle, WA to San Francisco in tennis shoes, averaging 80 miles a day on a self-contained tour. I think that you can go farther than 30 miles


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## lawrence (May 17, 2005)

Yeah, rock climbing shoes are very tight. That's very knowledgable of you. I haven't worn them for a few years and I've gained a few pounds, they may not even fit.


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## MR_GRUMPY (Aug 21, 2002)

Didn't beta bikers have a steel shank in their sole, so that you could ride long distances in them.
When I first started out with toe clips and tennis shoes, my feet would start burning after 50 miles. After 75 miles, my feet would feel the same as if I moved a few squares on shingles up to a roof using a ladder with round rungs.


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## mercierfils (May 10, 2005)

*what kind of pedals?*

Do the pedals look like the ones on your Stingray plus bolted-on "traps"? Or is the trap integrated smoothly to the pedal, which has (here's the important part) a ridge along the trailing edge of the top?

As others have pointed out, the former will do you about as far as you want, recreationally. If you want to go harder or over 40 miles (IMHO), get shoes with real soles and clipless pedals.

If you have the latter, you need real bike shoes right now and you need to find old-fashioned "cleats" that screw onto the bottom to grab that ridge. That ridge will kill you in sneaks or anything else - it's made to engage a cleat.

Disengaging, easiest to hardest: "clipless" pedals w/ real shoes; toe clips ("traps") and street or climbing shoes; toe clips and cleats. The last requires you to manually loosen the strap to get out, but is the most secure connection - long favored by track riders. The clips/sneakers lets you out but doesn't let you use any pulling stroke - you pull your foot out instead. Clipless lets you apply power 360 degrees (big argument about whether anyone does, in fact) as well as get in and out quickly.

happy riding


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## TeddyO (Oct 8, 2005)

*sneakers*

The thing about sneakers is that they are designed to ABSORB pressure, not transmit it. Biking shoes are hard-soled for that very reason--to transmit directly--energy from your leg to the pedal. That having been said, sneakers will be fine. I've gone 100 miles in sneakers several times. Its handy that when you get off the bike you can walk easily. 

If you have an old pair or leather soled shoes, try them. I rode for a few years in old rockports because I didn't have money for real bike shoes and they did not get hung up on the toe straps the way sneakers would. The hard sole worked real well as a surrogate biking shoe. 




lawrence said:


> I just bought a new bike that came with pedals and rat traps. Is that the right word?
> 
> How far can I ride without my feet hurting? Is 20 or 30 miles too far?
> 
> ...


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## JayTee (Feb 3, 2004)

Yup. Rock shoes will make you miserable. And despite that the sole has a little less flex, the top is flimsy so if you want to crank down the straps, you've got a recipe for foot MISERY once those little buggers start to swell (which they will).

Retro roadies, folks on a budget, Freds and others ride in sneakers and toe traps forever. It wouldn't be my choice, but there's no true limit to how long, far, or hard you can ride in that setup without discomfort. There's a stud that rides the Bicycle Tour of Colorado on a banana seat with denim shorts and platform pedals, after all. 

That being said, if your budget can swing it, an entry level MTB setup can really be had for a song at certain places (Performance, Supergo, Nashbar... all related). For $100, you can go clipless and you WILL see better performance and comfort. 

Good luck.


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