Are all 'recreational' cycling shoes worthless?

If you do Evilmonkey did and remove and velcro strap be careful to tuck your shoe laces in.

Why in the hell do trainer manufacturers make the laces so damn long? the last pair I bought had about 18 inches of spare lace!

Oh yes, good spot... That said the laces are not long on these, the tongue is REALLY fat and you have to tighten it a fair bit to get the laces done at all. Sounds bad, but it actually gives a tight yet comfy shoe.