Are White Cycling Shoes a Bad Idea?

You finally found those Fizik R5’s or tomasso’s that you were looking for after the pandemic bike frenzy cooled down and stock for bicycle gear once again became a reality. Are white cycling shoes a bad idea? Right now you may think so.

Now you are imagining yourself dropping that guy who decided to ride your wheel during your Sunday solo ride. When they look up they’ll simply see a blur of white kicks speeding off in the distance.

But wait, you also are seeing an unavoidable puddle ahead of you as get your turns in and boom – water, dirt, leaves and something else we don’t want to talk about just messed up your brand new carbons.

You’re left wondering, were my white cycling shoes such a good idea? Will I look good in public when I’m walking into the grocery store for my mid-ride snack?

Though as long as you’re able to take care of them before an issue like this comes up, we don’t think white cycling shoes are such a bad idea.

In this post we’ll cover all things white cycling shoes. We’ll answer how to keep them from getting dirty and show you what they’ll look like if you don’t give your shoes the service they deserve. 

Invest in your Knowledge:

Before moving forward, consider reading these guides we wrote to keep yourself in the know.

• Best Cycling Shoes for Numb Toes
• Best Cycling Insoles for Numb Toes
• The Warm Toes Cyclist Guide – All Accessories for Under 50 Degree Riding

How to Keep White Cycling Shoes Clean

Years ago I had this teacher that wore the most pristine white sneakers to lecture. He wore them every single day. Every student in the class noticed and he his shiny white shoes were the talk of the town.

One day I was walking with him across campus talking about a problem set in class earlier when I began crossing the quad into the grass.

While mid-sentence, my teacher turned at a right angle and continued along the concrete path where we reconnected 60 seconds later to finish our chat that the grass so rudely interrupted.

This is the decision making of a man that keeps his shoes clean.

We are not here to say that you need to go to the extent of our teacher to keep your white shoes clean, but you do need to give the idea a bit of forethought. I’m a sneakerhead myself so this applies as much to my cycling shoes and my tennis shoes.

The key to keeping your white cycling shoes clean is making the right investment before. Here are some things I have in my closet and you should to if you’re planning on white cycling shoes.

I use Crep shoe products because DJ Khaled, but the reality is that you can go to any Wal-Mart, any Big Box Brand store or CVS and find the same generic products that are equally as useful.

• Try a shoe-specific waterproof sealant.
• Try a shoe cleaning brush.
• Try a sneaker cleaner.
• Try a magic eraser.

Before Your Ride

Make sure that you treat your shoes well before your ride to make them last longest. It is always important to do pre-treatment to shoes so that it is able to wick away dirt and make the cycling shoes easy to maintain.

Continue with working with shoes this way to prevent the need to clean alarming amounts of dirt off of them afterwards. You will be happy that you pre-treated them before dirt became a problem.

Above all else, make sure that your cycling shoes fit correctly and your toes have enough room in your cycling shoes so that you are able to ride correctly in them.

Spray on Sealant

You want to spray on a sealant. Sealants form a layer in between the skin of the shoe and the air. When riding through a puddle, the mud will wick off of the shoe rather than soak into the body. Water seeping into the skin of the shoe even at high humidity can have damaging effects.

Shoe Cleaning Brush

Before each ride, look at your shoes. Brush off any dust or accumulation that may have collected from your closet, your cat, and other shoes crowding them. This will give them the post clean shine that you are looking for.

After Your Ride

If you make it a point to make sure your shoes are clean right after a ride, you won’t have much of a problem with dirt, grime and debris settling into the shoe. It is always far more difficult to get a stain out of a shoe after the issue has had some hours (or days) to set, collect and bond with the shoe. Get the grime out as soon as possible.

Sneaker Cleaner

Always give a detailed look over your shoes. It’s always easier to clean shoes before a stain has set in and dried days earlier. Spray any stains with your shoe cleaner and wipe them off with a cotton towel.

Magic Eraser

Use your magic eraser to make them good as new. You may have missed the small piece of grease that came off of the chain and dried onto the side of the sole. Give your shoe the final attention it needs.

Make sure there is no extra grime in your clips and underneath your shoe after clipping out of the cycling shoe.

Can I clean my cycling shoes in the washing machine?

Putting shoes in a washing machine regardless of how they’re built is not a good idea. The glues holding the shoe together and the stitching can be jostled heavily causing the construction, integrity and stiffness to decline over time.

Can I wash my cycling shoes in a dishwasher?

The chemicals that are used to wash dishes left over from the washing cycle are not meant to enter into a cycling shoe’s integrity. This will cause the shoe to break down over time. We do not recommend that you wash your cycling shoes in a dishwasher.

Do white cycling shoes get dirty?

Your white cycling shoes will get dirty if you do not take care of them. Make sure to treat them better than any other cycling shoes that you have owned because dirt and grime will be attracted to them.

The good news is that because you are cycling, unless you are a mountain biker, or intentionally riding in the rain, your foot is not coming in contact with the ground as often as white tennis shoes. For that reason, you aren’t dealing with as many stain opportunities as your White Air Force 1’s.

Your white cycling shoes will get dirty over time, and the best way to keep them white and clean is by making sure to give them routine maintenance.

What is routine maintenance?

Routine maintenance is when you see that there is a piece of debris or grime on the shoe, make it a point to take care of it when you have time permitting. That could be immediately, or the next day, but the sooner that you get the scuff off of the shoe, the easier it will be to restore your shoe to what it was before.

What Will White Cycling Shoes Look Like If They are Not Clean?

We highly recommend taking the time to care for your white shoes. Here is a pair of older runners that I stopped taking care of. They got past their mileage some months ago so I began using them for biking around for errands.

There is much gear grease soaked into the shoe from rubbing against the chain and gearset. If you look closer you’ll see yellowing of what we’re not sure of from the shoe.

Don’t do what I did from time to time with these and make sure to always wear socks in your white cycling shoes if your goal is to keep them clean.

Dirt seems to be a magnet to these shoes and they will be to your white cycling shoes as well if you don’t make the small monetary and time investment.

Do white shoes look better dirty?

I own a pair of shoes that have lived past their halflife-to-go-on-long-runs-in-without-attracting-overuse-injuries-like-white-on-rice date. Now they’re get around shoes that I own that are still very comfortable. Do they look better?

I personally don’t think that they look better or worse. I simply am happy that they are comfortable and protect my back from impact when I am walking. But if you want to answer that for yourself, you can scroll down to see an image of them.

If you were to ask a family member (who has already openly shared their feelings of the shoes) they would say that it’s time for replacement. Though we don’t think so, so they’ll keep being worn until the shoes padding begin to fall apart further from walking and start to get uncomfortable.

Will I get more white shoes? These were the only color left in this model, so perhaps not.

Do white shoes turn yellow?

When you look down the shoes do turn yellow in some places. The yellowing may be a mixture of the grime that collects on the shoe as it begins to age.

I don’t want to think very hard on if it has anything to do with what comes from my body, though I do not believe this to be the case because they are always worn with clean socks.

The shoes have turned yellow, and some mixture of brown, black and I see some green in there (I am currently typing while wearing the shoes pictured).

Conclusion

So you want to buy white shoes? Are white cycling shoes a good idea? We think so as long as you tend to them as well as you should be tending to your bike. Follow these four steps and you (and your shoes) will be in good shape.