Hello,
I'm new to cycling (about a month in) and I'd have to say, I really enjoy it so far. My first week, I was a mess, I never had my own bike as a kid(shared bikes in a huge family) and even steering on small turns and sitting on the bike felt unnatural. 4 weeks later and I feel much more comfortable(although cornering and one handed steering still takes a lot of practice). I have a good cardio base from years of running and like most people, enjoy going fast. One thing that I've yet to do is buy clipless bike pedals and shoes. I went on a few group ride with my brother and his friend(they are a little more experienced than me) and kept up fine wearing flats,but was told by many people that more efficient shoes will make me faster. Currently, I would consider myself a fast beginner(in terms of speed) who needs work on technique and comfortability. Yesterday I stopped to set my gps and a older biker(60+ id guess) waved at me coming from the opposite direction.I had to go that way as well(why I stopped to set the gps) and starting only started a few seconds after him, he was off in the distance. I was thoroughly impressed and motivated (i'm 28, 6'4" and 168 pounds for reference). Although I haven't tried clipless pedals yet, I like the comfort of not worrying about being "locked in" a pair of shoes. Currently I wear a pair of casual Onitsuka Tiger/asics flat sole shoes. My questions are
What are the advantages of wearing flat shoes?
What are the advantages of clipless pedals?
If I decide to wear flat shoes only, do you have any shoe recommendations?
I'm new to cycling (about a month in) and I'd have to say, I really enjoy it so far. My first week, I was a mess, I never had my own bike as a kid(shared bikes in a huge family) and even steering on small turns and sitting on the bike felt unnatural. 4 weeks later and I feel much more comfortable(although cornering and one handed steering still takes a lot of practice). I have a good cardio base from years of running and like most people, enjoy going fast. One thing that I've yet to do is buy clipless bike pedals and shoes. I went on a few group ride with my brother and his friend(they are a little more experienced than me) and kept up fine wearing flats,but was told by many people that more efficient shoes will make me faster. Currently, I would consider myself a fast beginner(in terms of speed) who needs work on technique and comfortability. Yesterday I stopped to set my gps and a older biker(60+ id guess) waved at me coming from the opposite direction.I had to go that way as well(why I stopped to set the gps) and starting only started a few seconds after him, he was off in the distance. I was thoroughly impressed and motivated (i'm 28, 6'4" and 168 pounds for reference). Although I haven't tried clipless pedals yet, I like the comfort of not worrying about being "locked in" a pair of shoes. Currently I wear a pair of casual Onitsuka Tiger/asics flat sole shoes. My questions are
What are the advantages of wearing flat shoes?
What are the advantages of clipless pedals?
If I decide to wear flat shoes only, do you have any shoe recommendations?