What is the difference between road and mountain bike shoes

Your shoes will either have a three or two bolt hole, but you can get an adapter that lets you attach two-bolt cleats to the 3 holes of a road shoe. Why does it even matter? Well, getting your cycling shoes right can be just as important as getting your bike right. Making the wrong choice can lead to an uncomfortable ride and foot pain. Making the right choice can improve the overall biking experience by improving your control, grip, efficiency, power and comfort. If you had to do one or the other, MTB shoes would perform better on a road bike than road shoes on a mountain bike.

Using road shoes on a mountain bike is generally not recommended. In fact, it would significantly make the cycling harder. Road shoes distribute the pressure to the entire surface of your foot, making them much more suitable for long days in the saddle. If you are on a strict budget and can only afford one or the other, but want to do both types of cycling, MTB shoes are the more versatile option. MTB shoes work with mountain bikes, road bikes, and also provide better comfort for walking and running.

Use shoes that are fit for purpose for comfort and performance. Founder of Vivi Nation, the cycling, running and active living brand. The problem is that they are perhaps the most impractical pair of shoes I have ever worn. I own the knitted version of the shoe, so when it starts raining or even drizzling it takes a good 2 minutes before my feet are soaking wet.

This is just an example and I know that it is probably not the case with your road cycling shoes. What I am trying to explain is that in the cycling industry, looks and status trump all. My Fizik R1 Infinito shoes cost a lot of money. After I bought them, I was complimented by all of my cycling friends on how awesome they look! So in short, road cycling shoes tend to be lighter and stiffer than mountain bike shoes, but they are terrible to walk in, require constant cleat maintenance and offer little flexibility as to where you can and can not ride.

If I was a professional cyclist and the ONLY thing that was important to me was my performance on the road, then I would definitely use road cycling shoes. Otherwise, I will happily trade all the marginal gains associated with road cycling shoes, for the safety, reliability and practicality that a pair of mountain bike shoes provide. I am getting a gravel bike soon and I have used this as an excuse to transition back to mountain bike shoes, as my primary pair of cycling shoes.

I can not wait to try them out! I have the exact same shoes in both MTB and road versions. From a ride perspective, used MTB cleats for years.

When I switched I noticed exactly zero difference. Skip to content You may think that choosing between road shoes and mountain bike shoes, would be decided by what type of bike you ride.

Why I choose mountain bike shoes over road shoes: Road cycling shoes are horrible to walk in! That brings me on to my next point: Road cleats do not last long. The Fizik R1 Infinito Knit So in short, road cycling shoes tend to be lighter and stiffer than mountain bike shoes, but they are terrible to walk in, require constant cleat maintenance and offer little flexibility as to where you can and can not ride.

Share this: Twitter Facebook. Like this: Like Loading Previous Previous post: How to run 5km in under 20 minutes Running Tips. In terms of performance, it is marginal gains at best. Pingback: What are the best cycling shoes for bicycle touring? Pingback: Pearl Izumi X-Project 1. Leave a Reply Cancel reply. Loading Comments On the other hand, MTB shoes are designed to be comfortable for running and walking. Mountain bike shoes are also easier to clip and offer you a good grip and control over pedals.

But compared to road shoes, they are easier to adjust in different positions on pedals. Road shoes are designed to remain in one position for a long time. Mountain bike shoes use a much smaller but more durable two-bolt cleat system shown above. The much smaller design means that smaller pedals can be used to pair them too which leads to less rock strikes out on the trail. MTB cleats are typically constructed using different types of metals making them hold up to the harsh conditions that mountain biking can put on the gear.

They also tend to sit recessed into the shoe and so walking in mountain bike shoes is usually not a problem. More importantly though mountain bike cleats are easier to unclip than road bike cleats which at some point or another you will be very thankful for out on the trail.

We are sure you now have a very clear idea about the difference between the two. You cannot use road shoes for mountain biking, and even for walking and running. The road shoes are very stiff with wooden insoles; it distributes the pressure to the entire surface of the feet, making them more comfortable and appropriate for longer cycling.

All in all, despite similarities in other features, both shoes are designed for different purposes. And with plenty of options available, it makes perfect sense to buy road shoes for road cycling and MTB shoes for mountain biking. You will have a better experience and have more fun if you use shoes designed for the specific purpose.

But if you have a budget for only one shoe that you want to use for both sports, we recommend MTB mountain bike shoes shoes as they can work with mountain bikes and road cycles, both and also offer comfort while walking, jogging and running. Find out more about the difference between road and mountain bike pedals here.

Here we have put together a few common questions about the difference between road and mountain bike shoes. Mountain bike shoes and road bike shoes use two different cleat systems and therefore MTB cleats cannot be put on road bike shoes. The same is true for the reverse as you cannot put road bike cleats on to mountain bike shoes. The short answer is yes you can, but is not something you would want to be doing regularly.

To go into a bit more detail it depends largely on the type of pedals that you have.