Light approach shoes for biking

Rather than purchase separate pairs of dedicated bike touring and approach shoes, I was continuing purchasing the Sportiva TX2 as a shoe I could wear on biking/climbing trips.  I was hoping to stay on the lighter side of the approach shoe spectrum because I wear them more for descents/rapels as opposed to scrambling.  My concern is that they'll not be quite as stiff as I'd like for longer periods of cycling with flats.  Anyone have any experiences or opinions on this?

Bike shoes are best when they are stiff.  The TX Guide is quite stiff, the TX2 vastly less so.

Gunkiemike wrote:

Bike shoes are best when they are stiff.  The TX Guide is quite stiff, the TX2 vastly less so.

which is why the Ganda is a great option but if you are using those for bike packing..I would be happy to buy them off you if you had a 47 

I wore the TX Guides on a 400 mile bike tour and they felt great - much better than the Tevas I also brought.

To add stiffness to any shoe, you can replace the footbed with an aftermarket pair. Another solution is to get bigger pedals. Cheaper than 2 pairs of shoes.

I put carbon fiber insoles into guide tennies.  It worked well.

Tree Soloist wrote:

I wore the TX Guides on a 400 mile bike tour and they felt great - much better than the Tevas I also brought.

To add stiffness to any shoe, you can replace the footbed with an aftermarket pair. Another solution is to get bigger pedals. Cheaper than 2 pairs of shoes.

Alas, I found the TX Guides' narrow toes insufferably uncomfortable for my foot shape.  Perhaps the Dead Bird Konseal FL or BD Mission or Sportiva TX3?  Definitely tradeoffs between the 3, the Konseal is expensive, the BD Mission doesn't climb as well, and the TX3 is the heaviest of the 3...

Did a two month tour in Europe with the lightest pair of Puma indoor soccer shoes you could find - they make the TX2's look like a boot - and did most of the major mountain passes you'd see in the Tour de France, include Alp d'Huez.

Did a month tour in New Zealand wearing Vans skateboard shoes. My go to MTB shoe for flat pedals are just TX3's. I rode 100 miles on flat pedals bought from Walmart and hiking Hokas - certainly not my preference, but it certainly worked.

I've never thought about wanting a stiff shoe for flat pedals - the pedal itself is plenty stiff.

Are you now experiencing hot spots?