DaveInPA said:
What do you guys think of these two products before I go ahead and place the order? Also, I wear a 10 or 10.5 in normal shoes. Do I want a 44 or 45 bike shoe?
Pedals:
Nashbar SoHo Commuter/Touring Road Bike Pedal - Normal Shipping Groung
Shoes:
Nashbar Sport II Mountain Shoe - Normal Shipping Groung
The pedals look great for commuting, assuming you want the option of riding with street shoes and sneakers as well as the bicycling shoes.
The shoes are probably fine, but it's always best to either buy shoes in person. Like most shoes, there's subtle but significant differences in how they're built and sized, so personal fit and size can vary from manufacturer to manufacturer.
I'm not saying anything bad about those Nashbar shoes (I buy a lot of Nashbar stuff and have always been very happy). But, they're pretty much entry-level shoes. NOT THAT THERE"S ANYTHING WRONG WITH THAT. I have no doubt they'll work great and you'll be happy with them. But my point is, there is nothing there you can't find in the lower priced shoes that might be sold at your local shops. If you have bike shop with a decent selection of shoes locally, I'd advise you to just go in and try on some you can afford, and buy locally, even if it costs a few dollars more. These shoes will probably last you a long time, so don't be afraid to spend a few bucks to get one you know will be comfortable and whose features you like.
I have a very poor selection locally so I buy on line and either go with a brand and size i know will work, or I'm prepared to possibly have to send some back to get the right size. I was looking for some fairly expensive, high end shoes, and found a couple of models on deep discount/closeout type of bargains (~50% off). I'd never used these brands, so I bought 4 pair by mail - 2 different sizes of two different brands. The differences were that in one brand the 42 was perfect and the 43 was too long and wide. The other brand, the 42 was just a bit too short and narrow, and the 43 was long enough, but still seemed a tad too narrow. Even with extra shipping for the three pair I rejected, the result was a good 20% less than similar quality locally, and the options I really wanted weren't available locally anyway.
That's almost what you need to be prepared to do if you order online. You might luck out and get a good enough fit first time, but might not. If you're looking for something special that just can't be found locally, and/or absolutely know the brand and size to get, by all means look online.
By the way, I used mountain bike shoes and pedals for about 15 years on my road bike before I switched to "real" road shoes and pedals a year or two ago. Why did I switch? Just because at my age (late 50s) I just decided to try them since I never had, and I could afford to. Are they actually better? Quite a bit lighter all-in-all, and "feel" a little sportier while riding, but I do not believe for a minute that they are functionally better. Certainly not more comfortable on the bike and don't make me go faster. I never had any problems with the MTB shoes/pedals....ever. The road shoes/cleats are bad for walking in, for sure. That, to me is a very good reason to recommend MTB shoes/pedals for any rider, even serious-ish roadie.