10 of the best cheap cycling shoes — get SPD and road shoes for under £60

Looking for cheap cycling shoes? Welcome to our guide to the best SPD and road cycling shoes for under £60.

• Shoes with stiff soles and soles that accommodate clipless pedals start around £30

• Choose between mountain bike-style ('SPD') walkable shoes with a recessed pocket for the cleat and racier shoes that put the cleat on the outside of the sole

• Race-style shoes are stiffer for better power-transmission, mountain bike-style shoes have more flexible shoes for walking

• Most cheap cycling shoes use laces or Velcro straps to close them

10 of the best cheap cycling shoes for 2020

• Triban RC 100 road shoes — £29.99
• Muddyfox Tour 100 Low Cycling Shoes — £34.99
• Shimano ME2 — £47.50 (size 47 only)
• Triban RC 500 — £44.99
• Merlin RC1 road shoes — £35
• Shimano RP2 — £32.50 - £44.99 (limited sizes)
• Mavic Aksium Elite II — £54.89
• Shimano RP1 — £49.99
• Muddyfox RBS100 shoes — £34.99
• Van Rysel 500 road shoes — £49.99

Cycling shoes have stiffer soles than, say, trainers or running shoes, which makes them more comfortable to pedal in. You can pay hundreds of pounds for high-tech shoes with carbon fibre soles, but you can get perfectly usable shoes for under £60.

As Mat Brett discusses at length in our article covering everything you need to know about cycling shoes, there are broadly two types of cycling shoes: road racing style and SPD/mountain bike style.

SPD/mountain bike style shoes have a small cleat (a special stud) recessed into the sole. They're easier to walk in than road racing shoes and because the pedals are usually double-sided they're easier to get into. They're the way to go if you want to get started with clipless pedals.

Road racing shoes have stiff, smooth soles with threaded holes for a cleat that stands proud from the shoe and fits into the attachment mechanism on a matching pedal. They're efficient and secure, but there's a learning curve to getting in to the usually single-sided pedals and the shoes are hard to walk in.

Let's see what we can find by way of shoe bargains.

Cheap SPD shoes

Triban RC 100 road shoes — £29.99

These from French-based sport store chain Decathlon look like a bargain entry point when it comes cheap cycling shoes. They're billed as road shoes, but have a two-bolt mounting for mountain bike-style cleats, so you'll be able to walk in them easily.

Muddyfox Tour 100 Low Cycling Shoes — £34.99

Thirty quid or thereabouts is the starting price for cycling shoes and these from Sports Direct brand Muddyfox are typical of what you'll find. You get a padded mesh fabric body, with laces and Velcro strap to cover the knot and lace ends and a cushioned heel outsole for walking.

Shimano ME2 — £47.50 (size 47 only)

The sole of these mountain bike shoes has a deeper tread than the MT34s, for grip on dirt, but there's a continuous raised section around the cleat for easy walking. The sole is reinforced with glass fibre for stiffness.

Find a Shimano dealer.

Triban RC 500 — £44.99

The latest shoes from Decathlon, these have a two-bolt sole for mountain bike style cleats so you can walk in them easily. They look just the job for touring, commuting and even club runs. They're also available in all black, or with blue or red in place of orange.

Cheap road shoes

Merlin RC1 road shoes — £35

The Nylon soles of these entry-level road shoes from Merlin will take either two-bolt or three-bolt cleats and there are blocks on the heel and toe for easier walking. The three-strap upper is made from synthetic leather and is padded for comfort around the heel and ankle. Unlike many of the cheap cycling shoes listed here, they're available in a full range of sizes from 41 to 47, which makes them an accessible bargain unless you have very large or small feet.

If you've got a bit more to spend, the Merlin RC2 shoes are very similar, but with a dial closure, for £49.99.

Shimano RP2 — £32.50 - £44.99 (limited sizes)

These three-strap shoes from Shimano are compatible with both two-bolt and three-bolt cleats. The sole is glass fibre reinforced nylon and is designed for indoor cycling as well as riding outdoors. The upper is made from mesh and synthetic leather and has extra cushioning for comfort.

Mavic Aksium Elite II — £54.89

Built on a fibreglass-reinforced sole for stiffness, these three-strap shoes have reflective highlights for visibility. Mavic's shoes are known for their comfy fit and durability, so this is a decent deal for entry-level Mavic kicks, though we have seen them for under £50. They're compatible with two-bolt SPD and three-bolt Look-style cleats.

Shimano RP1 — £49.99

Owners seem very happy with their RP1 shoes, praising the fit, comfort, sole stiffness and faff-free two-strap closure. The sole gets its stiffness from fibreglass reinforcement and there's a reflective patch on the back for visibility. They're compatible with two-bolt SPD and three-bolt Look-style cleats.

Muddyfox RBS100 shoes — £34.99

My eyes! It's okay, these budget road shoes from Muddyfox are also available in a snazzy white and black colour scheme for those who aren't sufficiently extrovert for screaming neon.

They have a three-strap closure, with a very broad strap across the top to spread the tension over your foot, and Amazon reviewers say the sole is plenty stiff. For just £35, they do the job.

Van Rysel 500 road shoes — £49.99

With a fibreglass-reinforced nylon sole and classic trio of Velcro straps, these road shoes from Decathlon look to be very good value. They'll take either three-bolt cleats or two-bolt SPD cleats.

Explore the complete archive of reviews of shoes on road.cc