I always have my feet out of my shoes coming into T2 - swing over and hit the ground running.
Now, one time the shoe rotated funny and actually popped out of the pedal when it hit the ground - so I had to go back for it.
However, every other time not a problem - and not really concerned if the shoe gets scuffed up a bit.

My shoes are always on my bike for races. I wear 47's, so you can see that my shoes would drag a little, and they did at first.

When you first get off your bike, and are running, pick the back end of the bike up a bit, this will level out the crank arms and likely prevent the shoe from catching.

I use Shimano SPD-SL pedals, and for races, I crank the tension most of the way up. The shoes do NOT come out of the pedals unless you want em to. The only time I have seen shoes pop of pedals while transitioning have both been with Speedplay pedals. Nice pedals, just bad for transitions.

Actually, I use Speedplay Zero pedals. The one hit pretty hard and didn't pop out. Picking the bike up to balance the pedals seems like a good idea - I'll give it a shot.

If you don't do everything in your power to save seconds from your race you will never be in contention to win one. ;)

I definitely understand what you're saying about enjoying the race, but it is a race after all. I hope to never recognize a flower that I pass during a race, let alone stop to smell it.

When I enter a race to "race it" (relative, I know) I don't think that the top 100 is necessarily why I'm pushing in a race. I'm going for a PR. I might be last in my age group, but I want to do my best time and see if and how much I've improved. When I enter a race for fun, that's when I take those extra bits of time for the experience and flowers :)

(although I haven't tried leaving my shoes on my bike yet)

I always leave my shoes on the bike and never cared where the crank arms are. No cuffs on my shoes (at least from T2).

In a mass start swim you know where you are in you AG, but when you go in sets of two based on swim time; you have to push ever steap and grab seconds wherever you can. You have no idea where your nearest compitition is.

Consider the scuffs a badge of honor, that way others setting up in transition will see the scuffed heels and say, this aint no poser, this is a racer!

Seriously though, I think I went 2-3 months this summer where my tri shoes never came off my bike as I practice mounting and dismounting every ride. When dismounting, I give a little push off with my left foot as my right foot is hitting the ground. This seems to rotate the crankarm back enough so that the shoe is higher off the ground and the heel rarely hits. I'm not worried about my heel getting scuffed, but am worried about the shoe popping off and losing time that way.

Oh, and watch out how used to doing that you get if you have a road bike. Took the road bike out 2 weeks ago for only the second or third ride on it all year. Used my road shoes that have lots of straps and buckles and are not made to easily be unstrapped like my tri-shoes. Coasted to the driveway, unclipped the right foot and swung it over the bike then coasted down the driveway to garage and went to step off. Right foot still in right shoe with right leg trailing left. Left foot still in left shoe which is still clipped to pedal. Slick cleat on right foot hits pavement, left foot still clipped in, down I went! Luckily no one was around!

Yep, it absolutely depends on the type of race you're doing. In IM seconds don't matter much but in a sprint they might be everything to you.

And actually, the main reason I began clipping my shoes into the pedals this year is because I couldn't see any practical way to run in shoes that have road cleats. In my first year I wore mountain biking shoes with recessed cleats and I didn't clip them in because running in them was not difficult. Then again they were lace up shoes instead of velcro so I wasted enough transition time already!

I agree with everyone on racing and doing the best you can and saving seconds where you can as well. I was merely suggesting that if you are the type of person who will fret and regret about the scuffs on your shoes (which is perfectly fine considering the cost of these things) then you probably shouldn't utilize this technique for your tranistion.

The Duct type idea sounds like a good one, although Duct tape tends to leave glue behind when you scrape it off especially if it has been sitting in the sun.

Race on!

I read his entry, caught the scuff thing, but focused on the bike getting jacked in the air thing. That's what bother me about my shoes catching. The scuffs are secondary. I think everyone just ran with the scuff thing. The bike getting jacked throws off the flow as youre running through transition, and can results in a dropped bike. Screw the shoes :D

It doesnt bounce at all anymore since i pick the seat up to rotate the pedals. And i always run holding the seat, its so much smoother.