No – Cycling Shoes Are Not Primarily a Fashion Choice

Cycling enthusiasts are an interesting group of people. We sometimes go to our indoor cycling classes decked out in all the latest athletic fashions. But certain pieces of cycling equipment, while they might be fashionable, are more functional than anything else. Such is the case with cycling shoes.

We generally recommend cycling shoes to people who want to get the most from their workouts. Cycling shoes are specially designed shoes that actually clip to the pedals. Their design offers some benefits you will not get by wearing sneakers. Those benefits will be discussed in this post.

If you are new to indoor cycling and have your own bike at home, there's no need to rush right out and buy cycling shoes – especially if your bike would have to be outfitted with new pedals to make them work. Just keep in mind that cycling shoes make for a better workout as your skill and endurance increase.

Pushing and Pulling the Pedals

One of the common misunderstandings about indoor cycling is that work is only performed when you push down on the pedals. That is not necessarily true. Ideally, you want to be pushing down with one leg while pulling up with the other. This way, you are working in both directions.

Why would you want to do this? For a couple of reasons. First, pulling up with the opposite leg reduces the workload on your quads. They do not have to work as hard pushing down if you are also pulling up at the same time. This leads to the second benefit: getting a more balanced workout for the quads, hamstrings, and glutes.

Cycling shoes facilitate this pulling up motion by taking advantage of the fact that they are physically attached to the pedals. As such, you don't even really have to think about pulling up to get some benefit out of it. Your legs just naturally respond. However, if you do make the effort to intentionally pull up, you can more easily avoid lazy peddling.

Keeping the Feet Flat

Another benefit of cycling shoes is that they help keep the feet flat. Without them, indoor cyclists are more likely to point their toes downward as they push. Doing so prevents the cyclist from enjoying the maximum benefits of this form of exercise.

Peddling with the toes pointed down requires more effort from the quads. We have already discussed why this is not optimal. You just do not get a well-balanced work out this way. But more importantly, cycling with toes pointed down can put unnecessary strain on the hips, knees, and ankles.

By keeping the feet flat and working all of the leg muscles in a more balanced way, you reduce the stress on your joints. This makes indoor cycling even more of a low-impact exercise option.

Stirrups as an Option

Professional bikes at indoor cycling studios tend to have pedals designed to accept cycling shoes. In other words, your cycling shoes clip to them. However, this is not always the case. There are lower-end studio bikes with stirrups instead. And of course, budget bikes for home use may have stirrups as well.

Stirrups are not necessarily a bad thing in that they also facilitate that upward motion as you pull on the pedals. But without a proper fit, your shoes might be too loose inside them. Your pulling up motion will be affected, thereby putting undue stress on the tops of your feet. If used, stirrups should fit snugly over your shoes.

And now you know why indoor cyclists wear cycling shoes. They aren't just for fashion.