Proper leather shoes

New boots time. Shiny or not so shiny?
http://www.pediwear.co.uk/sanders/products/538.php
http://www.pediwear.co.uk/sanders/products/309.php
The less shiny ones are a bit more expensive, but better quality I'm told, with a better lining and a thicker grade leather sole.

yeah, newmarket for around town, newbury for country pleasures!

I bought the more expensive ones. I had a discount code in their system from a previous order, so they were actually £225.
I figured that you should always buy quality. If I want them shiny, I am more than capable of getting them so myself.

I've just had a pair of Clarkes shoes ground and a vibram sole glued on, because I liked them too much to bin them.
I'd recommend giving that a go.

I've acquired a pair of Barkers for free in size 7. Does anyone have need for them before I take them to a charity shop? I'm based in Brixton, so a pick up nearby would be preferable.

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Did you decide what you're going to do? These shoes have been on my wish list for some time. The only worry was the sole not being replaceable.

Not one for the purists, but I wanted to get new work shoes and I also want to book flights to go to the Euros.

Anyway, nice black brogues for the office from Jones. Reduced to £97 in their sale. Goodyear welted and leather soled.

https://www.jonesbootmaker.com/mens/summer-sale/brogues/jones-bootmaker-shoes-fashion-laced-formal-2725426511

I found a pair of Jones Bootmaker oxfords in the charity shop alongside some nice Russell & Bromley suede loafers. The loafers are a lovely pale brown but some marks so I'll probably dye them a darker colour.

The Jones oxfords aren't great. Hopefully you're happy with your spend but I'd have said to try find a pair from TK Maxx for less, they have some old stock Chapman & Moore among others, at a lower price than what you paid at Jones.

If you can look about, definitely have a check in TK Maxx or elsewhere before wearing those Jones outside.

Could you somehow retrofit a set of these?

http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/SHCATOK/carnac-touring-replacement-sole-kit

You've never been to the TK maxx on Argyle street, Glasgow, have you?

That bad, eh?

Spent hours yesterday and today stripping the Jones' Oxfords back with isopropyl alcohol, then applying gratuitous layers of dubbin and cobbler's cream inside and out. Difficult to reach a consistent matte shine. May give in and high polish them again.

That was what I was going to suggest @Muppetteer. I was going to buy loads of those when they were an extra 55% off the £1.99 price, to experiment with converting "proper leather shoes" to take cleats... but I missed the cutoff, and decided it might not look very good...

Mmm yea I also forgot to add some to the three or four terrible orders I made for junk during that sale.

Was thinking a lot about proper leathers with a cleat, it's not impossible but you'd need the right shoe, and the right cleat, position, depth and support, etc etc. Probably by the time two or more pairs are ruined, it would have been cheaper to buy Quoc Phams.

@bluebikerider alas haven't managed to get to my local Cobblers yet to ask their advice. Ideally, I'd like to go down the route of grinding off the tread and completely replacing the sole. Below is a photo, its not the prettiest solution, but it is functional.

The shoes are nice, but not amazing for their price. Imagine basic Sidi's with very nice leather uppers. They aren't anywhere near as stiff as my carbon sole'd shoes. But on the plus side, I can walk into a meeting and nobody has even noticed yet that they're cycling shoes. Oh, and they're quite padded. In fact very comfy.

Like you've said the soles was an issue for me too. I got mine used, for not too much, so, it wouldn't be the end of the world if the solution isn't amazing. Its a real shame Maressi don't use a sole system like the Sidi SRS shoes for the price. I've even contacted Dromarti about this, (the UK importer and licencee for Maressi shoes) and they just said the soles are unrepairable.

@pdlouche I'll have a look inside the shoes and see if the sole section separates internally. There's an insole but behind that is the standard fibre board (as it is on Sidi shoes) to cover the inner working and the cleat mechanism. If it separates easily, that also might be worth a try, although there might not be enough material to bolt too. It might be a glue job.

And its definitely possible to convert a pair of proper leather shoes for cleats. The main issue as far as I can see is that the sole would need a layer of strengthening as it wouldn't have been designed to taking the forces needed.

I tried doing the same to a pair of sidi's whilst working at a cobblers, so I had access to everything, unfortunately the plastic sole is hard to get anything to stick to....and the sole is the rigid part of the shoe. Nothing will permanently stick to it.

Not leather shoes but I converted a pair of Adidas trainers to SPD https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/134357/?offset=950#comment10150444
The main part was getting a donor sole with the cleat holes from another pair of cycling trainers. I imagine the issue with shoes would be the soles would be thinner.

There was that £££ kit somewhere with the spd on a plate, so you cut a hole in each trainer and dump it under the insole.

Problem with full leather construction is the insole rarely separates, and there should be a layer of cork between sock and outsole.

You could fix a spd plate inside under an extra insole, or put it under the cork during sole replacement but that's damaging to the shoe once wet gets in. Sandwiched between sole and extra leather sole with hole cut, that could work. Depends if you want touring tread like mtb shoes, or proper leather soles.

Dainite/commando soles could be much better.

Great info guys, thanks. It's saved me ££££ and I'll stick with Quoc phams.

Is it dead animal skin spd's ?

Nothing will permanently stick to it.

This leaves the glue gun approach. I've seen some good results on forums of drilling a support hole into each tread area, masking it off and building up the area with the glue from the support hole. Not sure how good it will be or, if they'll be any longevity, but it could be worth a go.

@bluebikerider I don't think Quoc's have a replaceable sole either, but they're far more reasonable in price. The only other office friendly / leather cycling shoes I've seen with replaceable sole/tread bits are the Giro Republic's. However, these wear really quickly. Expect to buy lots of replacements if you walk lots.

I've been using Quoc Pham's Fixie's for a couple of years now. They're extremely comfy and nobody's mentioned anything about me wearing them to work. Not SPD but I can live with clips n straps and my B has flat pedals.

I'd like to convert to SPD in summer as I do in winter for my Northwaves. I was hoping the Dromartis would do, but they confirmed my suspicions of the sole when I rang them. Too expensive for a non replaceable sole in my opinion.

try find a pair from TK Maxx for less

Been years since I saw a shoe worth buying in TKM

Really? Maybe it's down to luck. My shoes have come from there, or charity shops.

I found a pair of Tommy Hilfiger single monk straps in a German TK Maxx store recently, at €25 I wasn't going to argue - full leather sock and sole, super supple and comfortable.

The Charing X has had loads of Barkers, Loakes and some other brands whenever I checked it, for £80 or less per pair. My pair of Loake calf skin were less than £30 in the Swindon branch, and the Chapman and Moore brogues were reduced to around £30 in Leyton - all their detailing is like the Grenson equivalent.

Course, the as-new Barker Oxfords were in Brixton Barnardo's, and my mate got the pair of Moreschi from a few pages back, and a pair of Church's Oxfords, both from local charity shops (but a half size too tight for me even after stretching).

Fair enough you will bemoan these aren't high end custom grade shoes, but they are all less expensive and the same/better quality than the Jones.

Must be luck then!

The website often has a reasonable variety. Normally a selection of Barkers and Loakes on there (although some are quite "interesting" looking).