Reddit mentions: The best cycling shoes for women

Few things. I think that most of the people here pointed out the biggies - rules, regulations, legal necessity stuff, maps, etc. I'm still newish to the city and just got a bike a few months ago. What really really helped me was joining some cycling groups. People are typically very friendly and they know their bike stuff and can help you if you have a flat, etc.

I first joined bicycling groups on www.meetup.com. The only one I've ever rode with was Social Cycling NYC though, really great folks. I also joined the 5 Borough Bike Club (5BBC); I've only been on one ride so far but, again, great people.

There are lots of rides to participate in too. The first Friday of every month, Time's up does a Moonlight Central Park ride. Really cool, I did the last one. There is also one of these for Prospect Park and I hear that one is nice too. Time's up also does a ride called Critical Mass, but I haven't personally went, just heard about it. These are free rides. Some (all? I don't know) of the 5BBC rides are free but there is a yearly membership ($20 and if you join in October, I think, you essentially are buying the 2013 membership and have the rest of 2012 free). However, I'm not sure how much free time you'll have to gallivant around!

Joining an organization like 5BBC or Transportation Alternatives also gets you discounts at bike shops as an FYI. Each organization has a list of participating shops.

Anytime I've ridden in Brooklyn, I've really enjoyed it. There are many more bike lanes than up my way in Queens. Take advantage of that and explore! A ride to Rockaway beach is nice too.

Some gear you might be interested in that I thought was helpful:

26 in one multi tool

On frame pump


Also, I don't know what sort of pedals you have or prefer. However IF you decide to get clips or clipless pedals, some of the bike folks I've met told me a few things. (I have clipless pedals btw) If you've never had clips/clipless pedals, get a pedal that has the the cleat thing on one side and a pedal platform on the other. This way, you don't have to be clipped in if you don't want to be.
I got these.

Also, for the shoes that go with said pedal: I was told for predominantly city riding that you can wear out the cleat on the bottom of the shoe faster if you have the treadless road bike shoe. Also, if you do any walking on hard surfaces with this shoe I guess it wears out quicker. If you buy a mountain bike shoe it has a perimeter of tread that goes around the sole. Keeps the cleat more protected from grinding on the pavement. It will still grind on certain types of ground or flooring though.

Since I already have Amazon open:

This Versus this

I have Pearl Izumi shoes and I really like them.

Pearl Izumi is a good brand, but the Quest line are a mountain bike shoe, right? We have Pearl's road shoe on our recommended list in the Shoes and Pedals section of wiki/FAQ. Overwhelmingly Shimano's road and tri shoes seem to be pretty popular w/ both men and women, albeit there's a ton of good brands out there. Within each good brand some have better road vs mountain styles.

Shoes are a super personal decision around comfort, fit, stiffness, power transfer, and style. You can read reviews ad nausea. Personally, I wouldn't wear a mountain bike shoe for indoor or road cycling, but that's a personal decision to sacrifice marginal comfort for gains in power transfer.

If my wife asked me to choose one pair for her today, I'd prob go with the Shimano SH-TR9, which DCRainmaker's wife included in her "Gear I use" list with a pretty damn positive endorsement

>Cycling Shoes- These girls are OAF!!! But what an investment! I officially purchased these Shimano triathlon shoes on the same day I bought my original TT Bike. I believe that was 10 years ago now. Admittedly, I need new shoes. But I’ll be sticking to this same brand/style if it still exists! Maybe Santa can make a note of it!

What kind of socks do you wear?

• I have to use compression socks that help with bloodflow, which can cause numbness in toes. These worked well for me: Swiftwick
  
  
  Also, you may want to go back to your normal size in the spin shoe. Making your shoe longer is not really going to help with swelling. And I've always been told that cycling shoes need to fit snugly - I think because you don't want your feet moving around in them.
  
  
• You might want to look into shoes that can be easily loosened to accomdate swelling, like ones with a dial. I have Fizik's like these.
  
  

For your first pedals, I recommend Shimano PD-M520. They're cheap and very easy to snap your cleat in and out of them. I first tried Crank Brothers Candy II and found them very difficult to snap the cleat into, but easy to get them out. The Shimano ones are mountain bike pedals, not road, but it's very common for road cyclists to use this setup. Road cycling shoes are difficult to walk in, and I imagine the exposed cleat will scratch up some types of flooring. Mountain bike shoes are much easier to walk around in.

The first shoes I bought are Northwave Striker. That's obviously the men's version, but they do make a women's version. Mine are quite comfortable and work very well on my road bike. Plus, for cycling shoes, they aren't very expensive.

I wear Pearl Izumi X-ALP for commuting. I love them. I saw this or a very similar shoe on sale everywhere since Thanksgiving.