[Stitcher]

OK....<br><br>
I've decided to jump in and do my first tri in April. BUT, I don't have a road bike or tri bike, only a mtn bike. I have toe cages, not pedals that require clipping or unclipping.<br><br>
So, does it make sense to do the race in my running shoes on the bike?<br>
I've biked in sneakers ever since I got the bike, no special shoes.<br>
Or, should I try to find some lower cost mtn bike shoes that are stiffer soled but don't need the cleats on the bottom?<br><br>
Yikes!

 

[MBannon]

Yes!!! I did that in my first two races, it works great. Very fast T2. In fact, I hear some of the elite duathletes are going back to this technique and replacing their fancy clipless pedals with the old toe cages.

 

[jroden]

You can go pretty good in a pair of sneakers or even work boots, remember people used to do the tour de france in toe clips until the mid 1980's so they can't be so bad...

 

[bikergirl]

I have cages on my bike. I've tried clipless, but apparently I don't have sense enough to get out of them! Would like to try it again, maybe buy some speedplays. I've heard a lot of good reviews about them.

 

[Stitcher]

See....<br>
I don't even know the difference between the different types.<br><br>
I need a vocab lesson. :S

 

[RunningForT3]

Stitch, if you use the toe cage, I don't see any reason for not using the running shoes on the bike. That's what I did in my first multi-sport race (not a Tri, but had bike & run).<br><br>
If you plan to graduate to a road bike, you can put clipless on the mountain bike... you'll transfer them to the road bike afterwards. And this was what I did at my first Tri, on the hybrid.

 

[Stitcher]

I need to get out on the roads again, that's for sure.<br>
I've been reading about the falls that take place on clipping in/out learning....and it's a bit intimidating.<br>
I mean, I fall off of the bench that I'm SITTING on when I'm at the gym with my trainer. Adding motion to things, that's just asking for trouble.<br><br>
I think getting through the first race as cheaply as possible is a good idea....then I can see where things go.