Cycling shoes for leisure cycling & commuter cycling

Hauling, touring, and the rebirth of a chilled-out cycling culture

Cycling culture is wide-ranging and is almost impossible to define. When you consider the tapestry of bikes that now exist and the variety of riding styles across the global cycling community - cycling culture is an infinite concept. Yes, the culture and lifestyle within cycling means exactly what you want it to be. Here at Lake, we design and create some of the very best cycling shoes in the world, for just about every form of cycling, including those leisure and regular utility and touring cyclists who use their bikes for exploration, expeditions, commuting or for simply catching the breeze. Yes, our Lake cycling shoes for leisure and touring are amongst the very best!

Cycling shoes for commuters that also fit the bill as the ideal cycling shoes for bikepacking, have a very specific need – they must be just as comfortable for walking in. Yes, even though you’re going to be riding a bike, we recognise that you’re also likely to be spending lots of time with the sole of the shoe on the ground and not on the pedals. And, because of this growing area of leisure cycling culture, you need a shoe that fits you comfortably and which allows you to walk easily, and which has a stiff enough sole to maximize power transfer, keeping the foot stable and reducing foot pain when riding. That’s a whole lot of requirements, and we’ve spent over 42 years working to achieve this on your behalf!

Stiff soles for efficiency, comfort & safety

One important thing to note with the best leisure cycling shoes is that you can ride unclipped or clipped – and all our Lake cycling shoe leisure range allows you to do so. We currently have our LXSDL cycling sandal; the MX201, which strikes the perfect balance for flat pedal riding and all-day walking comfort; and finally, the MX169 with laces, which is all about utility, durability, foot protection and a sure-footed grip with our ultra-comfortable rubber sole.

The MX169 is a leisure cycling shoe designed for all around mountain biking, commuting, enduro touring, adventure racing or any situation where “heavy use on your feet all day” support is needed. It comes as an SPD touring bike shoe or easy riding mountain bike shoe, as well as being perfect as bikepacking and cargo bike shoe. Lake ambassador, Nol Van Loon used our MX169 on his recent bikepacking adventures in the recent SilkRoad Race, giving it the ultimate test as a bikepacking shoe.

Performance and stability on the pedal are critical for all cyclists, but this has to be balanced with pain free cycling and all-day comfort; especially if you’re cycling on a leisure ride or a simple city commuter ride, or when tackling that tough bike-packing trip across technical terrain where walking will be a necessity – just as Nol!

Cycling shoes for the long haul

As you can see, when we start to talk about the culture of cycling, we start to recognize that more people are taking leisure cycling as a part of their everyday life. For many years, this blending of cycling has been a key part of the lifestyle and cycling culture in places such as the Netherlands and the Benelux region. However, as people everywhere now look for a better balance in life and for new areas to support environmental protection, cycling in everyday life or as part of a general lifestyle requires a specific type of cycling shoe. It requires a multi-faceted cycling shoe that fits into many areas of modern life – both work and leisure.

Yes, whether it's hauling groceries or pushing the pedals on a loaded touring rig or taking to the trails on a modern e-bike; having a comfortable and power transferring cycling shoe that offers the option to walk easily, is more important than you’d immediately think. Cyclists require an uncompromising and tough shoe that is built to last, with a grippy outsole and which also comes with a stiff-or-semi-stiff cycling sole to achieve that magical balance that the best leisure cycling shoes provide. Thankfully, we’ve got over 42 years of innovation in cycling shoe design, creating some of the most comfortable leisure cycling shoes in the world.

Lake MX201 leisure cycling shoe for adventure seekers

Whether you ride flat pedals or clip into 2-bolt SPD-style cleats, shoes such as our MX201 can make your pedaling experience more efficient, more comfortable, and so much safer. The MX201 has a comfortable SPD compatible Real Rubber and EVA Enduro Sole, with a semi-rigid Nylon midsole. We know that there’s often a balance required between biking and hike-a-bike when taking to the trails, or on a long-haul bike expedition; and the MX201 is designed to give you that necessary stability on all types of mixed terrain.

It features Lake’s Legendary Fiberglass Injected Nylon sole formula, with an all-new design that has incredible grip on all surfaces, alongside superb durability for all day cycling. It’ll take the knocks, so you don’t have to, and it’s a great leisure cycling shoe for simply riding in town and cycling down to the boardwalk for a coffee and chillout, too.

Flat out efficiency & comfort for everyday cycling

Using a leisure shoe with a stiff cycling sole will ultimately maximize your energy output. It takes away the loss that occurs when the sole of the shoe is constantly bending with each pedal stroke.  When you’re riding with a heavy utility/cargo setup and for long days touring, this can make a huge difference to the efficiency, comfort and cycling experience, thanks to the firm cycling platform provided by our latest leisure cycling shoe range here at Lake. And, for an open toed and comfortable commuter cycling shoe experience, our new Lake LXSDL cycling sandal is the ultimate in chilled out cycling where the sun still shines in the later months of the year. Yes, if it’s warm enough to wear sandals on the beach and for walking, then it’s perfect for our LXSDL cycling sandals too!

It’s a flat shoe style cycling shoe design, with a semi-stiff sole, that’s allow you to ride and walk in equal comfort. Flat pedals and a stiff or semi-stiff cycling shoe sole is brilliant for those rides which involve a mix of biking and hiking, such as city and utility bikes. And, when fitting in with SPD options, like our LXSDL and the MX201 and MX169, they give you the option to clip in for more security and improved power applications.

Supporting an inclusive leisure cycling culture

Leisure cycling and exploration on 2-wheels is increasingly popular all over the world, and with the continual growth of gravel riding adventures and bikepacking, the need for leisure cycling shoes that fit into your own lifestyle and cycling culture is going to be increasingly critical. Thankfully, Lake continues to stay ahead of the curve, with walkable cycling shoes for commuters that are at home on the long-haul bike-packing trails of the world, such as the Silk Road.

Whatever your own cycling culture and lifestyle involves, here at Lake we’ll continue to innovate and explore new ideas for leisure cycling shoes. Ultimately, we want to ensure that all cyclists can wrap their feet in pain free cycling shoes, and benefit from our legendary cycling shoe comfort – with performance and power maximised in every pedal stroke!