Distance is a massive factor. Plus with a solid road shoe you can get the fit dialed in much better. Like my road Sidi’s are sized so perfectly, I have problems if my toenails are too long. Anything beyond ~10 miles ridden regularly under one’s own power will benefit from a proper shoe.
I started off commuting long distance with the hybrid mountain shoes with a recessed 2-bolt cleat. Don’t do this. I still have 2 spots on my feet from the cleat causing pressure on the ball of my foot. They don’t have the internal support you need for regular distance. I wanted something I could work in all day at a desk job too. Just buy a second set of shoes and leave them at work all the time. This is by far the best solution. Leave an extra set of clothes at work too just in case, along with meds or anything else you need regularly.
All that said, this is an e-* (bike) com, so real cycling shoes don’t matter. I used to say, “never adjust your (road) bike to fit yourself for pains while riding unless you are past the first 50 miles. Anything that still hurts after that is an actual problem that needs to be addressed.” I never hit my “real ride” benchmark any more after physical disability from a car hit. Still, with a range of like 15 miles out and back as the max of most e-bikes, there is nothing particularly specialized about that. Road stuff, and XC for that matter, is designed for maximum human endurance related activities specifically. Buy what is right for your needs. If you’re doing 10 mile hops, you don’t need shoes made to be comfortable for 200 mile double centuries in a day and last for a decade, or something designed to get thrashed in a race. With proper road shoes, the entire shoe is the pedal and it works in 360° all the time.
Distance is a massive factor. Plus with a solid road shoe you can get the fit dialed in much better. Like my road Sidi’s are sized so perfectly, I have problems if my toenails are too long. Anything beyond ~10 miles ridden regularly under one’s own power will benefit from a proper shoe.
I started off commuting long distance with the hybrid mountain shoes with a recessed 2-bolt cleat. Don’t do this. I still have 2 spots on my feet from the cleat causing pressure on the ball of my foot. They don’t have the internal support you need for regular distance. I wanted something I could work in all day at a desk job too. Just buy a second set of shoes and leave them at work all the time. This is by far the best solution. Leave an extra set of clothes at work too just in case, along with meds or anything else you need regularly.
All that said, this is an e-* (bike) com, so real cycling shoes don’t matter. I used to say, “never adjust your (road) bike to fit yourself for pains while riding unless you are past the first 50 miles. Anything that still hurts after that is an actual problem that needs to be addressed.” I never hit my “real ride” benchmark any more after physical disability from a car hit. Still, with a range of like 15 miles out and back as the max of most e-bikes, there is nothing particularly specialized about that. Road stuff, and XC for that matter, is designed for maximum human endurance related activities specifically. Buy what is right for your needs. If you’re doing 10 mile hops, you don’t need shoes made to be comfortable for 200 mile double centuries in a day and last for a decade, or something designed to get thrashed in a race. With proper road shoes, the entire shoe is the pedal and it works in 360° all the time.