Difference Between Road Bike Shoes And Mountain Bike Shoes

Mountain biking shoes are generally much beefier than road shoes and include a rugged somewhat flexible sole that looks a bit like the sole of a hiking boot.

Difference between road bike shoes and mountain bike shoes. It depends on what mountain bike shoe. If you are using say the s works mtn shoe on your road bike you would be hard pressed to notice any difference in performance over the road shoe. There is no real advantage ergonomically speaking between road and mountain bike pedal systems. Here is an answer geared towards the high dollar persnickety end of the gear spectrum.

One thing people forget to mention is the use of a top of the line mtn shoe on your road bike. Mountain bike racing shoes are slightly more flexible at the toe to allow for walking but this is not an area in the shoe that affects power transmission. The advantages of mtn shoes are many walking not having multiple shoes etc. Cheaper shoes or fashion oriented shoes might even have laces which take a long time to tie and untie.

At the higher end both will offer stiff soles for excellent power transfer. Road shoes optimize going straight as efficiently as possible and thus tend towards being stiff light and aerodynam. In road cycling your body remains in the same position for a long time but in mountain biking you use the movement of your entire body to control the bike on rough terrain.