Matching Shoes and Pedals for Your Cycling

A great way to make your cycling experience as comfortable and enjoyable as possible is by matching your shoes and pedals.
Shoes and pedals are your connection with your bike, when you push down on the pedals your shoe and pedal together provide a stable platform to transfer your power and aid control. Shoes need to offer support for foot comfort and a secure grip on the pedals so that you are confident that your feet won’t slip as you apply power to the pedal. the right combination can help with comfort, and bike control and ensure none of your leg power is wasted as you push down on the pedals.
The pedals you buy will depend on the style of shoes you have, and your shoes will depend on the kind of riding you do. There are three main types of pedals, and with some exceptions, specific shoes that are worn with each.

Flat pedals provide a grippy platform that you can use with any shoe, including your own office shoes if you work in a formal environment. They’re great for a quicker bike-to-run transition because, without changing shoes, you eliminate the need to spend any more time in transition.

Platform pedals with toe clips and straps are used for city riding, casual riding, and road riding. The clips hold your feet in the proper position on the pedal, while the straps ensure that your feet stay in place. They’re convenient because they work with whatever shoes you have on at the moment, including sneakers. If you’re not ready to make the switch to clipless pedals, toe clips are a simple and inexpensive alternative, though they can be hard to use at first and aren’t the most efficient option.

The other option is clipless pedals(clipless means clipped in). They function by clipping the cleat on the bottom of your shoe into a compatible pedal. This allows you to take full advantage of your pedal stroke, which in turn allows you to ride faster once you have mastered the push and pull of it. They are great for bike control and pedaling efficiency, so ideal for longer rides and more challenging terrain.

If you have clipless pedals, you need cycling shoes, which accommodate cleats that attach to the pedals. Cycling shoes come with one of the three-bolt patterns in the sole, usually either three-bolt or two-bolt. Some cycling shoes have a four-hole pattern, though these are far less common. The bolt pattern in the shoe sole corresponds to the different cleat styles used by the different types of clipless pedals.
Once you’ve decided which pedal best suits your needs, finding a shoe should be easy—just find the most comfortable model with a bolt pattern compatible with your new cleats.