Why is wearing cycling shoes important?

Answer 1

The sole is much more stiff than others, allowing you to ride longer distances in comfort. Traditional shoes flex, causing your foot muscles to be stretched and flexed for the entire time on your regular pedals. With clipless pedals and shoes, one's foot stays straight. Furthermore, when you pedal with regular shoes, the shoes absorb some of your power when you pedal. This became apparent to me yesterday when I tried using my dress shoes to ride in. Cycling shoes are also specifically designed to vent more air through, drying up all the sweat that can make your feet ache. All of these benefits are great, especially on longer rides.
So, clipless pedals and shoes equals more power output, greater comfort, and less sweating

Plus the upswing, you can't pedal upwards with wal-mart pedals.
Clipless pedals kick butt on hills, and let you use the other half of muscles you never used before. I think that for mountain biking, on slippery uphills you can get more traction. This is because the pedal stroke is more fluid, so there's force applied throughout the stroke, not just one big surge when you push downwards on your pedals.

Answer 2

In addition to the stiffer sole and better power transfer, having cycling shoes with clipless pedals gives you the ability to transfer power to the pedal through the whole pedaling motion. Rather than just pushing down on the pedals you can engage your hamstrings to pull back and up on the pedal... try this sometime and you'll be shocked at how much more efficient this kind of circular pedaling motion really is.

On a mountain bike having mtb specific shoes/pedals really helps you control the back end of the bike.

Answer 3

you know, i tested the theories on my own about the difference in power transfer through the use of different shoes. I've owned and used cycling shoes on mountain bikes and on road bikes. I've also ridden both types in hiking shoes and sneakers. I've come to this conclusion: for mountain biking, I'll probably never wear cycling shoes again or at least never wear the cleats again. I have found that my Columbia hiking shoes work just as good as my cycling shoes with limited loss in the stroke. On the road bike side though, cycling shoes make a HUGE difference. If you do road bike stuff for fun or health or competition, you need cycling shoes. the stroke is much more efficient with them on. bottom line, mountain bike: hiking shoes work just as good as cycling shoes while road bike stuff you need to use cycling shoes to get the best outcome.

Answer 4

Cycling shoes enable you to pedal more efficiently and with less fatigue, whether you're zipping down the road, cruising over the trails or spinning away in indoor cycling class.

Answer 5

better power transfer
better control
if you want to have cleats & clip in pedals, you have to have the proper shoes (you can't just bolt onto a pair of sneakers)

Answer 6

To protect your feet from injury.

Answer 7

So dogs can't bite your feet as harshly.

Answer 8

go read a book kid, and educate yourself. dumbass

Answer 9

comfortability