Cycle Shoes

I teach spin classes...a lot...usually around 12 classes each week. On top of that I'd really like to start competing in triathlons. I'm looking for my first pair of cycle shoes and need advice.

Any advice on one brand vs. another? What about cleats? What hardware will I need to ensure my shoes are SPD compatable?

Any tips would be appreciated!

Before Looking at the shoes you want to decide what pedals you want to get first then get shoes to match.
The pedals are first sorted into 2 clasifications 1) Road and 2) Mountian
For doing a triathlon I would think that a road pedal would be best but I am not that sure
The road pedals come iin four basic models
1) SPD (by Shimano) which uses a cleat shaped somewhat like a arrow
2) LOOK which has a large triangle shaped cleat
3) Speedplay which is a small disc shaped pedal
4) Time
5) There some 3rd party manufactures which are almost always compatible with either the LOOK or the SPD and are much more inexpensive

The Look are probably the most comfortable and the SPD the eaisest to get out of and about 75% of all shoes are compatible with both formats
Once you know the pedal you are going to use you can then select the shoe to go along with the pedal

http://www.performancebike.com and
http://www.nashbar.com

are 2 good places to start looking. The both are solid companies and have a good amount of pictures to see the merchandise