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"Why do millions of cyclists have to walk like ducks?": Could this "walkable cleat" revolutionise cycling shoe design?

One road.cc reader is on a mission to make shoe brands consider making a "third type" of cycling sole, but would it work and what do the shoe companies think?

Ever waddled across a slippery cafe floor amid a mid-ride coffee stop and questioned why road cycling shoes can be so impractical when doing any distance of walking? Well, one road.cc reader thinks he's come up with the solution — no, not switching to mountain bike pedals and cleats — instead, a new third shoe and cleat design to offer riders the same old road shoes and pedals we've been using for years, but with the added practicality of mountain bike cleats. Introducing the "walkable cleat"...

Walkable cleat design (Hugo Suy)
Walkable cleat design (Hugo Suy)

Designed with one very specific activity in mind, road cycling cleats and the shoe sole design they work with, aren't very practical before and after your pedalling. Step off the bike as you head back inside your house, or worse up steep stairs to your flat, or across that shop's smooth, slippery flooring and suddenly you'll begin that hobbling/waddle you've probably all perfected and don't even think about any more. It's that same clip-clopping shuffle that your office colleagues, family, friends and complete strangers can be so interested in too.

Or maybe you don't have that problem at all because you use mountain bike pedals and can walk untroubled by a cleat making your progress continually treacherous, loud and impractical? But, not wanting to have to use mountain bike cleats, as he has on his road bike for the past 30 years, road.cc reader Hugo Suy got in touch with a new "third design" of cycling shoe that he thinks could potentially bridge the gap and offer road cyclists the option of continuing to use the same pedals we've used up until now, just without all the "walking like ducks". 

Walkable cleat design (Hugo Suy)
Walkable cleat design (Hugo Suy)

Hugo's been trying to get the cycling industry to take notice for 10 years now and tells us being "as stubborn as a mule" means he just can't give the idea up. Now recently retired, he's got the time for his "project" and formalised his description of, as he sees it, the problem and solution, including the homemade "silly tests" you'll see throughout this article.

Walkable cleat proposal (Hugo Suy)

[Credit: Hugo Suy]

Having bought and ridden Sidi shoes for 25 years, he has long since wondered why road cycling soles and cleats are designed the way they are and if, rather than simply switching to mountain bike shoes and pedals, cycling brands could offer us roadies a third type of sole?

Walkable cleat design (Hugo Suy)

As he puts it: "Why do millions and millions of cyclists have to walk like ducks when shoes are made for only a few thousands of competition cyclists?"

"For several years I've tried to explain why we need a third type of sole for cycling shoes so we can continue with the race pedals we've used until now," Hugo tells us. "Shoe manufacturers (only) have to make a third type of injection mould and it's done!"

Walkable cleat design (Hugo Suy)
Walkable cleat design (Hugo Suy)

"So, if you can convince a cycling shoe manufacturer to make the third type of sole, I'll be very glad and I'll buy immediately, even if it isn't Sidi..."

 We thought we'd brainstorm what cycling shoe brands would probably say about this design. 

We imagine there would be comments about extra weight from the added material, an often non-negotiable area when designing cycling kit. Then, we'd assume, any brand would also point out their range of mountain bike shoes that essentially do the same thing as what Hugo suggests, something like Sidi's MTB Eagle 10 for example.

Sidi MTB Eagle 10

However, during his decade-long pursuit of the design, Hugo has put it to figures in the cycling industry, a former Ritchey employee apparently telling him he liked the design, while another suggested it sounded like "the perfect gravel shoe". Hugo also contacted two French brands Véloland and Culture Vélo to see if they'd make him a few pairs, but to no avail.

Back in 2016, Speedplay released its Zero Aero Walkable cleats which we reviewed as a "much-improved cleat that makes walking easier and reduces clogging problems", however of course the Speedplay pedal design, while having the same issues when trying to walk in a shoe featuring its cleat, is different to the three-bolt Shimano SPD-SL-style cleat we're talking about here.

Speedplay Zero Aero Walkable Cleats 01.JPG

Likewise, brands like CHPT3 and Adidas have brought walkable cycling shoes to the market through the Transit 2.0 and Velosamba, although both of those are aimed at more casual riding or commuting, and both call upon SPD compatibility.

CHPT3 Transit

Ultimately, Hugo just wants to keep using his road shoes, with road pedals and cleats, but would quite like to be able to walk when off the bike. 

We contacted Sidi to ask if we could put this to a designer to see what they think, but were told the brand didn't want to get involved with this one. So, it seems, Hugo's walkable cleat-less cycling life will continue... unless any brands fancy hooking him up with a few pairs of his own designs?

What do you reckon? Is there any need for the "third design"? Would you buy it? Or is it a solution that already exists in the form of mountain bike pedals and shoes? As ever, let us know what you think in the comments...

Dan is the road.cc news editor and joined in 2020 having previously written about nearly every other sport under the sun for the Express, and the weird and wonderful world of non-league football for The Non-League Paper. Dan has been at road.cc for four years and mainly writes news and tech articles as well as the occasional feature. He has hopefully kept you entertained on the live blog too.

Never fast enough to take things on the bike too seriously, when he's not working you'll find him exploring the south of England by two wheels at a leisurely weekend pace, or enjoying his favourite Scottish roads when visiting family. Sometimes he'll even load up the bags and ride up the whole way, he's a bit strange like that.

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37 comments

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Simon E replied to Rendel Harris | 1 month ago
2 likes

Rendel Harris wrote:

A best of both worlds SPD pedal like the Shimano PD-ES600 Explorer can eliminate those problems, you lose out on the double-sided capacity but you get the wider platform whilst still being able to use walkable shoes.

I had the A520 single-sided SPD pedals but found the need to flip it with the toe annoying in stop-start riding (and worse in the wet) so switched to the M530 double-sided pedal, now superseded by the PD-ME700. There is also the 'light action' ED500 that looks very similar.

I have absolutely no desire to use 3-bolt shoes for regular riding.

Avatar
Shades replied to Secret_squirrel | 1 month ago
1 like

Secret_squirrel wrote:

SPD-SL is inferior in every way way to SPD except for Road racing and fashion.

99.9% of recreational riders would actually be better off with SPDs  

 

There are some stylish gravel/touring/adventure SPD shoes on the market; seems to get better every year.

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Bmblbzzz replied to Secret_squirrel | 1 month ago
2 likes

Secret_squirrel wrote:

SPD-SL is inferior in every way way to SPD except for Road racing and fashion.

99.9% of recreational riders would actually be better off with SPDs  

 

I expect that about 50% of recreational riders and the majority of utility riders (including commuters) would be better off with flat pedals, possibly with toe clips, and "civilian" shoes.

Avatar
quiff replied to armb | 1 month ago
1 like
armb wrote:

Whether there's enough of a market to make it worthwhile is another question.

The table he's made, shown in the article, identifies 4 types of cyclist. Every one of them is already using one of the existing shoe types. What's the incentive for a shoe manufacturer to invest in a third niche?

Avatar
JMcL_Ireland replied to Secret_squirrel | 1 month ago
1 like

This. I tried SPD-SLs for just over a year when I bought a new road bike. While they were fine when clipped in and pedaling, I hated everything else about them - the duck walk, the fact the cleats are made of plastic with the durability of butter, and multiple occurrences of my foot slipping off the pedal violently while trying to clip in (and the impossibility of this anytime there was any dirt whatsoever on the cleats).

I switched back to my SPD pedal (earlier version of the Shimano PD-ES600s Rendel posted), and haven't looked back. I did however quite like the road shoes that I had been using so bought the gravel equivalent (Northwave Rebel 2) which have been great. I would like something a teeny bit wider for my feet, but with the sole stiffness hot-spotting has never been a problem (including 7 to  9 hour spins)

Avatar
NotNigel | 1 month ago
0 likes

If someone could develop a cleat cover for speed plays that don't go AWOL after a month of general use with minimal foot down, I'd appreciate that.

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matthewn5 replied to NotNigel | 1 month ago
0 likes

Genuine Keep-on Kovers are brilliant, mine are years old and still hanging on.

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