Which decent casual SPD shoes? Dzr, Chrome, Quoc Pham, etc

these can get in the sea!

You're a dad now, you know it's only a matter of time..

birkenstocks in the house, flip flops on the beach/summer holiday.
Sandals or variations thereof, never on the bike..

Theres just something about them! Although, could feel completely rubbish.

I actually really like the sandals - could do some great trolling with them on the commute

like the white vibramish sole, but there's something abit clunky/clubfoot about them, and I think I prefer something a bit more casual/sporty, than casual/smart for cycling shoes you can walk in.
Don't know any clothing I could wear with them on a bike that I wouldn't think to myself, I might as well ride the bike with flat pedals if I wanted to look smartish and not arrive sweaty as fuck

Had to retire another pair of quoc phams.
Two pairs split in the same way. Loved them, really nice to walk and ride in. Can’t in good conscience buy another pair, if they haven’t sorted it for their new shoes..

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The Chinese brand Sandugo has some shoes that might be of interest to this thread. With postage and VAT they work out around £40ish from AliExpress. Havent tried myself yet, but reviews seem positive.

Lace up

Boa

High-top style / speed laces

Adidas with a new gravel shoe.

https://www.adidas.co.uk/the-gravel-cycling-shoes/H04007.html

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I've got DZR hi-tops. Hot and heavy. But they look nothing like cycling shoes. https://road.cc/content/review/36728-dzr-strasse-shoe

I'm liking the look of the new Chrome mid cuts.
I loved the old midway pro. Only issue I had was the soles wearing down pretty quickly and grinding the cleats down.
My Five Ten Districts have split on the toe again so I think these will be my replacements.

I've just come across this guy on instagram. https://valckostudios.bigcartel.com/

I think they look decent. I'm almost tempted by a pair

New Chrome SPDs out, a better choice than the velosamba for commuting?!
https://www.chromeindustries.com/chrome-blog/stories/blog-article-7683.html

Famous poloist.

Been underwhelmed by chrome offerings in the past (might have been kursks, I think?). Not great either to walk or pedal in.

I had a pair of the old Chrome Truks (non-spd), didn't even last 1 year. Got a pair of the Truk Pros (spd) and samething with them. The soles separated from the upper pretty quickly. I wouldn't ever recommend them. I am a full-time courier though, so if you are just communting, going to the shops or pub maybe they will last longer.

not sure if they ever solved the issues I had with them, which was the sizing seemed to come up a bit small, so feet were a bit cramped, plus the sole was a bit thin, so the cleat recess was shallow, so as soon as you fitted the cleat, you were clicking on it as you walked.
Might still have them, I think I started using Quoc Pham's or went back to DZR's after the chrome adventure.
My missus couldn't get on with them either, used to get a numb foot with them, think that was down to the sizing coming up a bit small..

I've been using these dzr shoes for about 6 months
https://dzrshoes.com/collections/dzr-bike-shoes/products/s24o

So far I've pulled out one of the top ooen loops & they are covered on chain gunk that im afraid to clean off for fear of making things worse.

But overall they have been really good, reasonably happy with them. Fine for walking around the office or running into shops but wouldn't want to do a lot of street walking in them

Velosambas are in stock, just ordered a pair now

Yeah my experience with the cleat recess on the chrome kursks was that it was way too shallow too. Made it so there was a point of my stride where it was just metal on the ground which made it slippy like walking on ice. And then the clack sound it made was irritating.

Anyone gas thoughts about the Quoc Weekend? Friend has them they look nice and pedal nice. Only problem is buying them from outside UK (France), not sure how much I'd have to pay in addition to 125£ + 12£ shipping (read stories about 60£+ from tax, customs and other extra...)
https://quoc.cc/collections/weekend/products/weekend-black?variant=12944555212823

@Black_Rainbow_Project got hold of a pair of the fizik gravita’s. Display pair off eBay. Was on the way to buying a pair from sigma sports who seem to have them discounted regularly, but counted bring myself to pay a £100 for them.
Anyway look and feel nice out of the box. Not much give when you bend them so not sure how comfortable to walk in they’ll be. And the cleat recess still seems a bit shallow to me.
Going for a pootle tomorrow so will try them out.
If anyone else has them let me know what you think of them..

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interested to hear how you get on with them.🧐

They are nice. Lighter than my DZR h2o’s, and good fit for my slimmish size 9’s.
Bit of a squeeze to get them on with the socklike upper they’ve got, but once on you don’t really notice it. Walk easy enough in them. Not a fan of the semi Velcro “arch” strap though. Feels like a bit of an after thought and just kinda gets in the way when putting on or taking off.
Missus says they look better on the foot than they do out of the box.
No tap of cleat when I walk, but that might be because these cleats are a bit worn.
On the bike, feel fine, not much flex when pushing relatively hard. Sockliner keeps your foot in place, didn’t have much movement of my foot in the shoe when pedalling.

Overall would give them an 7.5/10 score could get higher depending on longevity and how they deal with cold and wet..

Like these much more than the fizik terra ergolace’s I brought, which are a touch big. I’ll probably sell those on..

Done 25 miles in them today and my feet feel good..

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That's good to know!
I've actually been really pleased on the whole with the Chrome Southside 3.0's I bought. The inside of the heels is worn out now, probably thanks to my skinny feet allowing them to move around a bit, but the outsides are in great condition still. No rips or worn through sections. Nothing has come unglued etc
I think I will go with these again when I finally need to replace them.

what is the sizing like on the south side 3.0 pros? order usual regular shoe size? they recommend sizing down half a size on their website. but I usually size up for cycling shoes...

Despite my last two pair of quoc phams having had the sole split on me, and vowing not to buy another pair, couldn’t resist this pair of their Chelsea boots at 60% off.
Will see if their new sole is more durable than the ones that split.
If you’ve got some time tomorrow and always fancied some quoc phams but not at retail prices, they are selling them cheaper at the herne hill velodrome tomorrow (29 jan)

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Sorry, I completely missed this post!
Probably too late now, but I just bought my regular 9 and they seem fine.
I actually just bought another pair as the first ones were getting too worn inside and on the sole.
Outside fabrics were still in great condition though.