Shoes for the Pedal Leg

Someone asked today: Can you provide pros/cons and a recommendation for cycling: cycling shoes & Clip pedals vs. toe clips & running shoes. I assume that toe clips/ are better than no clips.

I think if you did a survey of individuals, most athletes today are using bike shoes with a pedal system though I know several master men that swear by the running shoes with toe clips. The answer to the question probably comes down to your transitions.

• How fast can you get out of your ski boots into your bike shoes? Sometimes this can take a bunch of time. I crewed for a few individuals last year and one of them made the ski boot to bike shoes transition seem more like a lunch break.
• What kind of toe clip are you using? The friend that swears by toe clips uses a flat platform pedal for better pedaling efficiency.
• What's your support at the end of the bike leg. If you don't have a pit crew there for whatever reason to deliver your running shoes, you need to be in your running shoes before you get there. In that case you need a toeclip.

The key part of this and every transition is preparation. Plan out what you are doing. Practice the various steps. Know how you're going to take off your ski boots, prepare your bike shoes properly on the bike, make sure your pit crew knows your plan and their role.

There have been a couple examples of ski boots on the bike leg. Some have used their skate boots with tow clips and a couple times some of us have created other ways to attach the ski boot do the pedal. I'm not aware of anyone doing this the last couple years, but the year I did it, it felt pretty cool to just blow through the ski to bike transition in my xc boots.