I’m really tickled when people see a photo and ask me about my velcro (hook and loop) shoes as if I’m elderly and cannot bend over to tie my shoes! So I thought I would write a review of my Pearl iZUMi cycling shoes

At some point in the day, I can be seen wearing two different pairs of shoes as I change out of my gym shoes and into my cycling shoes. Unless it is an early, snowy morning and then I might show up in my boots and switch to my cycling shoes.

I was six months into indoor cycling (spinning) about 3 or 4 times a week when I decided to invest in cycling shoes because I was told I would get a better ride and workout in my hamstrings as I pulled up on the pedal stroke instead of just pushing down going forward.

I shopped some local bike stores to get an idea of what was out there, I didn’t anticipate spending $100 on shoes that I might only wear 4 hours a week. After seeing two stores only offered white shoes, I gave up for a while. I did learn my true shoe sizes are 8 (R) and 8.25 (L).

While making the most of my Amazon Prime account, I picked up these Pearl iZUMi All-Road Cycling Shoe.. The price was decent, they were black, and the clips are inset to the sole (others are on the sole so they look like taps and the people walk tilted backward). I figured if the European size I picked didn’t fit, I’d have to return them. Luckily, the size I chose worked.

Keep in mind when you buy cycling shoes, the clips or cleats are sold separately so if ordering online pick up a set. Since I didn’t buy my shoes from a local bike shop, I wasn’t about to ask them to install my clips. Instead, I watched a video on YouTube and did it myself with a wrench leftover from an IKEA purchase. Simple.

The first couple of times clipping into the bikes was tricky, but I soon enough learned where the clips are on my shoe. Plus, I didn’t positioned the clips in a comfortable place, but luckily I had that wrench in my bike and could fix them.

After a couple of months of using them, I do think I have better workouts because I know my feet are secured to the pedals so I just go for it! I used to have annoyance with the cages because they pinched the top of my feet since I would strap them on so tight so that when pulling back and up, my foot would slip out. I don’t worry about that anymore.

I have no clue what it would be like to be on a real bike with my shoes clipped in since I have only used them for indoor cycling, but I imagine my first couple of times stopping I would knock myself over because I would not get a foot un-clipped fast enough. Ha!

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