Cycling Shoes / Helmet

jrby

Got a road bike for christmas.....first in about 20 years and I have two questions. Its got toe clips......what are the best shoes to use....or will runners do in the short term. what sort of helmet should i get. Is there a difference between road and mountain bike (apart from the ones that look obviously different). What else do i need....going for a cycle with a few friends over next weekend....they are trying to convince me to do Wicklow 100 this year.

petethedrummer

You'd be better off with cycling shoes, plus thick socks and shoe covers. Your feet don't heat up at all during cycling. Runners tend to have way too much ventilation for cycling and you're feet can get cold very quickly.

MTB shoes are more versatile than road shoes but road shoes feel slightly better to cycle in. I'd go for MTB shoes unless you plan to do road racing.

Wicklow 100 is very dooable by anyone with a bit of training. Unless the weather is absolutely appallingly miserable, which I heard it was last year.

seamus

MTB helmets tend to be a bit beefier than road helmets and also incoporate a peak. But strictly speaking there's no difference between them.

On shoes, as petethedrummer says.

The Wicklow 100 is doable by someone with no or very little cycling fitness but you have to start now. It is quite literally like doing a half marathon, so you can't start training a month beforehand and hope to get around without collapsing. Weather was atrocious last year, but I'm reassuringly informed that it was the worst weather in the event's 30-year history, so it's unlikely to be the same this year.

jrby

thats helpful.

Thanks

James