{"id":255367,"date":"2026-07-30T12:15:29","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T12:15:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/30\/fancy-footwork\/"},"modified":"2026-07-30T12:15:29","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T12:15:29","slug":"fancy-footwork","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/30\/fancy-footwork\/","title":{"rendered":"Fancy Footwork"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\n

An oenophile may have an entire wine cellar, but they can only drink one bottle at a time.* Similarly, I have the bicycle equivalent of a wine cellar, but I can only ride one bike at a time.** And the one I\u2019ve been riding lately is this<\/a>:<\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n

[Getting some use out of that triple!]<\/p>\n

*[I\u2019m sure oenophiles do in fact drink more than one bottle at a time, but just go with it.]<\/em><\/p>\n

**[Actually, like any cyclist parent, I have often ridden my own bike whilst wheeling a child\u2019s bike alongside, but just go with it.]<\/em><\/p>\n

As I\u2019ve probably mentioned, while of course I rotate them in and out, I do try to keep only one bicycle inside my actual living quarters at a time.*** In practice I\u2019m not always successful at this, and will often wind up allowing two or even three to live inside with me.**** But lately I\u2019ve been making a concerted effort to keep it down to a single bike, and most recently it\u2019s been this one, since it doesn\u2019t take up a lot of space, plus I find skinny-tired road bikes particularly well-suited to the sweating season.<\/p>\n

Just throw on a jersey and go:<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

***[I\u2019m only counting my own bikes here. We\u2019ve also started keeping my wife\u2019s bike and my younger son\u2019s bike in the house, too.]<\/em><\/p>\n

****[JESUS CHRIST WOULD YOU STOP WITH THE GODDAMN FOOTNOTES???]<\/em><\/p>\n

And yes, I also throw on shorts, but I wanted to spare you another footnote.<\/p>\n

Also, further to the recent shoe discussion<\/a>, while I have come to embrace flat pedals and use them often (flat pedals and sandals are really<\/em> good for summer riding), I do still prefer clipless pedals when riding sporty road bikes\u2013not because I think it nets me any gains in performance, but just because it feels right for reasons that don\u2019t really matter. But I am down to only one (1) bicycle with traditional single-sided road pedals, and I do find myself wondering if I\u2019m maybe done with them altogether:<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Pearl Izumi sent me those fancy shoes last year<\/a>, and in something stiff and racy like this I doubt very much I could tell the difference between a road pedal and a mountain bike pedal. Yes, theoretically the road pedal would have more cornering clearance, but at this point in my life I\u2019m as likely to enter a criterium as I am to join the rodeo circuit. So I think I may finally commit to two-sided pedals for everything and just put on the fancy shoes when I\u2019m looking for the sensation of Maximum Fredness.<\/p>\n

Otherwise, at a fraction of the price, these things<\/a> have the advantage of sneaker-like walkability:<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

[How badly do you want to pick that large piece of gravel out of there?]<\/p>\n

For some reason I can only find the women\u2019s version on the Pearl Izumi site now, though I\u2019d be surprised if the men\u2019s version and the women\u2019s versions weren\u2019t identical. Or maybe they aren\u2019t. Or maybe there\u2019s only ever been one version and I\u2019ve just been wearing women\u2019s shoes.<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Either way it seems like maybe they\u2019ve been discontinued, and I suppose I could just ask Pearl Izumi, but that sounds dangerously adjacent to \u201cwork.\u201d<\/p>\n

The point is I like the shoes regardless of genderway.<\/p>\n

Oh, and if you\u2019re wondering how much heavier the cheap, walkable shoe is than the stiffer, \u201cpro\u201d shoe, here\u2019s how much the cheap shoe weighs:<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Sorry, let\u2019s try that again:<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Now here\u2019s how much the pro model weighs:<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

And here\u2019s an old road shoe with a Delta cleat just because:<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

So basically the difference between the heaviest shoe and the lightest shoe is around 50 grams. So if you want superior walkability at a road shoe weight, simply do one or more of the following:<\/p>\n