"Modifying" road shoes for off road use

I could do with some new MTB shoes, I really like the look (ie colour) of the S-Works “Cvndsh” edition road shoes:

But… they’re road shoes. What do we reckon on ‘converting’ them for MTB use? Could use some of these to fit SPD cleats, dunno what the stack height’s like, if they’d be any good etc. I remember seeing some pro who’d used road cartridge brake pads for some ‘tread’ on road shoes, I’m wondering if you could do that, perhaps combined with some Sugru for some mid sole tread to avoid ‘skating over the pedals when you clip in’ incidents. Or get some SIDI SRS tread blocks and attach them somehow?

Reckon it would work? Complete disaster? I guess forefoot tread would be lacking – no studs.

I’m not really going to be walking on them per se, wandering around to get my bike, plus the odd ‘dab’ and what not, but nothing with any ‘hike a bike’ type stuff.

I could just the get the S-Works MTB shoe, but I don’t like the colours. Yes, I’m that vain.

You want them too much.

Unless you are mad handsome and doing photo shoots for a French mountain bike magazine you will have to, I’m afraid, get less fashionable shoes.

The biggest issue isn’t the tread or the cleats anyway. White mountain bike shoes, pffff….. 🙄

😉

<searches in vain for shaking head smiley frowney>

<makes do with 🙁 >

The biggest issue isn’t the tread or the cleats anyway. White mountain bike shoes, pffff..

Aah no, you see I have white ones, and 3 years on they’re perfect still. The Spesh ones are a sort of patent type finish, so they wipe clean really nicely.

The current ones are black, or black/red, neither of which appeal! If I’m spending £200 on a pair of shoes I want to like them!

Shimano ones are blue. The yellow Mavic ones would be good, but a bit of an unknown, Bontrager ones are red… decisions decisions!

Do it njee,go kawazzee with a drill on those suckers.

Even better,enter a few cross races and get someone to film you on the running sections.

Even better,enter a few cross races and get someone to film you on the running sections.

Well… no, because I said that I’d not be doing that. I’m not pretending they’re going to be adequate walking/running shoes, but they don’t need to be.

Bontrager RXXXXXXXXXXXLs are flipping unbelievable. You will get cold feet though.

If I’m spending £200 on a pair of shoes I want to like them!

if I’m spending £200 on shoes (hahaha) I don’t want to be ****ing around with cleat adaptors and sugru

No old stock of your current available online?

Dunlop greenflash disco slippers? I’m out.
They look nice now but when you’ve finished buggering about with them they’ll look crap. Get something else

Well… no, because I said that I’d not be doing that

What,even if I asked real nice* ? 🙂

* I would pay the entry fee

njee20 said » If I’m spending £200 on a pair of shoes I want to like them ones which are actually for mountain biking.

Yes, ie riding my bike, not walking with it.

They look nice now but when you’ve finished buggering about with them they’ll look crap. Get something else

Mmm, that was my thought too!

No old stock of your current available online?

I can get stuff discounted through the LBS, seems daft to pay more for an older product, even if I could track them down.

Buy them!

Bontrager RXXXXXXXXXXXLs are flipping unbelievable. You will get cold feet though.

I’ve got winter boots, so not really an issue. 90% of use will be in summer conditions, it’s the odd wet race and stuff where I want some grip!

njee20 rocking the feet up flat out look for the next 2 years.
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as he dare not put them down EVER

Gaerne G Kobra?

Gaerne G Kobra?

Ugly. As are those Bontrager ones. Don’t seem to be many aesthetically pleasing xc race shoes out there.

If you’re intent on running road shoes off-road (with the obvious disadvantage of not being able to grip or walk in them) why not just run road pedals as well and reap the benefits of them.

The specialized shoes are nice but I wouldn’t pay £260 for a nice show then make it ugly by sticking bits to the sole. Plus you’ll skite about all over the pedal.

wishes my bike had green highlights

Apart from ruining cleats by walking on them, and floundering on the odd occasion when you do need to push/walk, everyone you meet will say ‘wait, are those road shoes?’ which would annoy me no end eventually.

If you’re intent on running road shoes off-road (with the obvious disadvantage of not being able to grip or walk in them) why not just run road pedals as well and reap the benefits of them.

Because if you read more than the first 5 words I don’t want to run road shoes off road, I like those shoes specifically and I’m wondering about adapting them with tread so I can use them more effectively off road. For 95% of the time road pedals would be fine, but for those 5% they’d be utterly utterly useless, just not a goer!

Ugly. As are those Bontrager ones. Don’t seem to be many aesthetically pleasing xc race shoes out there.

The Gaerne ones aren’t bad, not sure I can get them through the LBS though, certainly not at the same margin as Spesh, but I agree – the MTB Spesh ones manage to look very clumpy, despite being the same shoe as the Cvndsh ones, with some rubber on the sole.

The specialized shoes are nice but I wouldn’t pay £260 for a nice show then make it ugly by sticking bits to the sole. Plus you’ll skite about all over the pedal.

Wouldn’t pay £260 for them (or anything like that), but that’s my general concern. I’m wondering how neat a full set of SIDI SRS tread would be though… I may get some cheap Spesh road shoes to try!

I’m not really going to be walking on them per se

These should do the trick then

With those I could probably take my brakes off and save some weight. Hmmm….

I have screwed old tyre to road shoes with great effect.
Obviously i changed the tyre according to the conditions.

I don’t know, but I sure want to see the finished result if you go for it!

Then buy some and do the same myself!

nasty looking shoes, but there’s no accounting for taste, the adapters would work fine, but the stack height would worry me, more than owt else.

Mmm, that’s what I thought. I wondered about drilling the soles, but that really does scare me! Doubt the sole thickness is much as well.

If nothing else I’m thinking that my road shoes are getting a bit tired, so if it’s a massive failure I just have some new road shoes!

Because if you read more than the first 5 words I don’t want to run road shoes off road, I like those shoes specifically and I’m wondering about adapting them with tread so I can use them more effectively off road. For 95% of the time road pedals would be fine, but for those 5% they’d be utterly utterly useless, just not a goer!

I read all your jibba jabba. They’ll still be road shoes, no matter how much you modify them. Do you mean you don’t want to run road pedals off-road?

so if it’s a massive failure I just have some new road shoes!

If it’s a massive failure you’ll have a trashed pair of new road shoes 🙂

Do you mean you don’t want to run road pedals off-road?

Yep, nor do I want to run road shoes off road, I want to run those shoes off road!

If it’s a massive failure you’ll have a trashed pair of new road shoes

For this reason I’d not want to do anything irreversible, a bit of Araldite will come off!

The road ones which aren’t road shoes ? 🙂

nor do I want to run road shoes off road

Yes you do, adapted ones maybe but they’re still road shoes.

Taken out of context – note the italics. If those shoes had a mountain bike sole I’d buy them, they don’t, but I’m underwhelmed by all the mountain bike shoes, so wondering if there’s a viable way to make them work.

If not, I’m not going to look at other road shoes, that would be daft!

These don’t appeal because they’re road shoes, I just like them specifically. That they’re road shoes is an inconvenience.

Specialized sell replacement tread for their top end S works Mtb shoes. Get the drill out and fit some….dont forget to take them off before you start drilling

http://www.cyclestore.co.uk/specialized_replacement_sworks_mtb_shoe_lugs-ID_54404

mere semantics, they’re still road shoes 🙂

I want to run those shoes off road!

I thought you were not going to be running in them ?
🙂

Mr B

Don’t seem to be many aesthetically pleasing xc race shoes out there.

Specialized sell replacement tread for their top end S works Mtb shoes. Get the drill out and fit some….dont forget to take them off before you start drilling

Interesting… that appears to be the exact tread on my S-Works MTB shoes I’ve got infront of me now, other than the toe piece I can’t see how the hell you’d remove it though!

I thought you were not going to be running in them ?

Eh? I’m not doing cross races in them, they’ve got to cope with a bit of mud, that I may encounter in an XC race. We’re going in circles here.

And those Shimanos look cheap and shit IMO.

We’re going in circles here.

Well get some practise,you could be spinning a lot 😀

Not that nice, but Shimano do seem to be the best of a pretty ugly bunch at the moment.

Eh? I’m not doing cross races in them, they’ve got to cope with a bit of mud, that I may encounter in an XC race. We’re going in circles here.

I think you just need to buy them and accept that if you need to unclip then your race is over 🙂

Well get some practise,you could be spinning a lot

Spinning would be fine, I’m not aware that tread on shoes helps while you’re pedalling 🙄

Not that nice, but Shimano do seem to be the best of a pretty ugly bunch at the moment.

The XC90 has really weird tread – using random studs rather than tread blocks, plus I’m not keen on the lack of midsole tread, I know folk who’ve found them very slippery.