Review on Enhance Your Commute with Louis Garneau's Athletic Men's Cycling Shoes by Jason Caldwell

These are fantastic shoes for what I need: a shoe with recessed SPD cleats that's comfortable for touring and walking on concrete, gravel, mud, and inside rural Iowa pubs (look for the Ragbrai). I've been looking for a shoe like this for a long time, but there's actually only one Shimano road bike shoe with sunken cleats. Otherwise nothing seems to exist. What I really like about this shoe is that the sole is stiff from heel to ball of foot, but the toe box gives way as you walk. This provides good power transfer like a road boot, but doesn't result in the clunky, awkward gait you get with stiff road boots without recessed cleats. The tread is fairly light but good enough for the occasional unexpected terrain like gravel, mud, hills and grass. It still doesn't feel like a real mountain bike shoe. I don't have to worry about ruining the mandrel and the mandrel ruining the interior floors. It's fairly breathable and lightweight, but that's not where they shine. I can use them with my regular reversible SPD pedals, which seem to offer better clamping tension than touring pedals, without having to flip the pedal. This is a simple shoe that meets all my needs. Other than that, it seems impossible to find anything that works exactly the same without going to mountaineering boots/pedals or sandals (ble). If you take long car rides where you stop to do all sorts of things, these traditional SPD pedals might be best for you. They are also great for cycling. Glad I found her! If only someone would design a shoe/pedal that looked more like the SPD-SL. The only thing I have to complain about is that the length is a bit shorter. At the same time, the upper part should sit slightly loosely over the foot. For a stable road bike shoe, I keep the straps tight. I wish the upper was a little thinner, stiffer and more breathable, but I'm not trying to win the Tour de France on those things.