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This one’s for Dave – Shimano SPD Sandals!

Posted by Matt | July 2, 2020 | 7 comments so far

Only one Mole has ever had the right amount of special to rock SPD sandals…

Yes, Dave, we are talking about you. A man who was so far ~~behind~~ ahead of his time that he was rocking the hipster bikepacker SPD sandal over a decade before everyone else. Wow! Prescient…

To be honest, the socks ‘n’ sandals look has always had a following, especially amongst British men (imagine an Italian with socks and you see my point). I guess it’s practical and sandals make sense with the bikepacking and touring crowd on hot multi-day rides, but these are very much a niche product. So niche that Dave was running them with 29 inch wheels and less than a full compliment of toenails at times.

That was way ahead of all of us.

Now, Shimano have launched an anniversary version 25 years after the original SPD sandal. Sporting a non-standard navy blue upper and classic Shimano logos, with the SD-501A sandal it’s clear they have gone for evolution rather than revolution. You won’t get an overly stiff footbed, but you do get a walkable shoe that just happens to fit 2-bolt SPD cleats and a design that majors on ‘cool’ comfort.

A special shoe for special people, it makes a change not to have the word ‘gravel’ in the marketing somewhere.

Of course, if you really want to be different, try looking for SPD Birkenstock sandals!

Filed under 2020, News in July 2020

About the author

Matt is one of the founding Molefathers of the Muddymoles, and is the designer and main administrator of the website.

Having ridden a 2007 Orange Five for many years then a 2016 YT Industries Jeffsy 29er, he now rocks a Bird Aether 9 and a Pace RC-627.

An early On-One Inbred still lurks in the back of the stable as a reminder of how things have moved on. You can even find him on road bikes - currently a 2019 Cannondale Topstone 105 SE, a much-used 2011 Specialized Secteur and very niche belt drive Trek District 1.

If you've ever wondered how we got into mountain biking and how the MuddyMoles started, well wonder no more.