Best shoes for Peloton 2024 to improve performance on the saddle

Choose the best shoes for Peloton for your home exercise bike sesh

Best shoes for Peloton: Pictured here, person riding a Peloton bike wearing Peloton Shoes
(Image credit: Peloton)

You'll need the best shoes for Peloton if you're a proud owner of a Peloton bike (you lucky thing). You should be so lucky as we have tested many top cycling shoes to find the best pair possible for your Peloton (or any other indoor cycling bike, for that matter). Unlike your bog-standard workout trainers, proper cycling shoes are designed to power your Peloton Bike+ session while being as comfortable and aerodynamic as possible so you can smash your goals with zero pain or soreness.

Most - but not all - cycling shoes on the market utilise a clip-in (or cleat) design that slides in and fixes to a bike's pedals. This makes them more secure and allows the wearer to put more power into spinning those exercise bike pedals like there's no tomorrow. For running on a Peloton Tread, we recommend using one of the best running shoes.

Best shoes for Peloton to buy right now

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How to choose the best Peloton shoes for you

Peloton’s very own branded cycling shoes are an obvious choice for those who’ve just purchased a Peloton exercise bike. However, they’re not the only option out there. And seeing as though they cost a substantial £119 (and aren’t shipped with the bike, as we mentioned earlier), there’s even more reason to look around and consider some other alternatives.

Equally, before splurging on just any old cycling shoes, there are a few fundamental things you’ll need to look out for. Be sure to read our suggestions below before committing to a purchase.

FAQ

Which shoe type is better for Peloton: Clip-in and clipless?

There are two main types of cycling shoe available: clip-in and clipless. While the names are pretty self explanatory, we should note that either can be used with Peloton bikes but it will depend on the type of pedal you have.

The Peloton bikes are shipped with Delta-compatible clip-in pedals by default (we’ll explain what this means later on) but if you’d prefer to use clipless cycling shoes, you can discuss your options with the Peloton customer experience team before purchasing and it’s likely that the company will install caged pedals on the bike.

If you’ve already purchased your bike with clip-in pedals and you want to go clipless, don’t fret! You can still swap out the pedals you have for the caged version, you’ll just have to purchase and install them yourself. If clipless shoes are what you’re going for, we still recommend investing in a pair of cycling-specific shoes, two of which you’ll find in this very buying guide.

Which cleat type is best for Peloton?

If clip-in shoes are more your vibe and you want to take advantage of the performance benefits they bring (a more secure fit thus better control and power transfer) you should know that there are different types available on the market and you can’t just buy whichever takes your fancy without doing a bit of research first. 

Most clip-in shoes will consist of two main components: the shoe itself and the cleat. The cleat is the part which attaches via screws to the sole of the shoe and locks into the pedal. However, please note that there are two main types of cleat systems and only one is compatible with your Peloton bike.

The two types are SPD and Delta (also known as DELTA LOOK or SPD-SL). Peloton uses the latter. However, not all exercise bikes use this format. The UK-based Peloton rival Apex, for example, ships with SPD pedals. These are smaller in shape than Delta and won’t fit in a Peloton bike even if you try really hard.

Lee Bell

Lee Bell is a freelance journalist & copywriter specialising in technology, health, grooming and how the latest innovations are shaking up the lifestyle space. From national newspapers to specialist-interest magazines and digital titles, Lee has written for some of the world’s most respected publications during his 11 years as a journalist.