Road Cycling - Road Shoes?

Looking to get some feedback on road shoes, how much do you really need to spend, what are the basics to look for in material etc, and does any one brand stand out over the others for comfort or fit. After looking around for some reason I feel like the Specialized Comp Road shoe has a lot to offer for $100. New and looking for help. Thanks.

I just got those.I like them and seems like a good price for a good shoe.

I have an older pair of Nike road shoes that I got off of ebay for $35... they were about 4 years old, but never worn... and I like them a lot... of course they are my first pair of biking shoes, so I don;t have much to compare to.. but they are comfy on long rides... the only thing i would change on them is a 3rd velcro strap, as mine only have two, and I think that with 3, I could dial in the shoe a bit more

Jeff

Shoes are totally personal.

I get tons of peole calling me asking me what shoe they would like. How would any stranger know?

I do reccomend you try on forst the higher quality brands like DMT, Sidi, Carnac, etc...

Why? Because they make their own shoes and sizes and fit stay identical for years. So once you find a pair it is very easy to later find the same brand to be the same fit.

Shoes like Specialized and such really change quite often and almost impossible to later in a few years get the same fit.

Either way it all depends on the use they wil get. Daily or not.

many shoe manufacturers seem to think that the general public has narrow feet. that is a major problem for me. the widest, and therefore most comfortable pair i've come across is shimano. just a personal preference.

I have the specilaized comp shoes and found them to be really comfortable and perform pretty well. I am not to crazy about the foam heel they have on them. The foam is wearing down and coming apart a little quicker than i had liked but for the price i cant complain.

Originally posted by RiPHRaPH
many shoe manufacturers seem to think that the general public has narrow feet. that is a major problem for me. the widest, and therefore most comfortable pair i've come across is shimano. just a personal preference.

My opinion exactly! I have had two pairs of Shimano shoes: the bottom-of-the-line R072Y and the higher-quality R-150. They both are incredibly comfortable. They're actually more comfortable than just about all the regular street shoes I've had in my life.

The R-150s are just dream shoes for me. That stiff carbon sole takes all the energy from your foot and puts it right in the pedal.

I liked the R072Ys also, but I wrecked the sole by using SPD cleats with the SPD pedals which came with the bike. The contact area is very small and allows too much side motion of the foot. That caused some bending and cracking of the sole by the cleat. SPD cleats will do that to even stiffer road shoes.

So when I bought the R-150s, I switched to LOOK pedals to have a larger contact area. BTW, a lot of LOOK pedals are on sale these days. The ones I bought can be had for $50 (half price) at Colorado cyclist.

There is a good carbon soled Shimano shoe for about $125.

Rich

As I had posted in a similar thread some time ago, some shoes will stretch, (My Sedi Gen. 4 did by almost ½ a size!) others won't... (Carnac's Quartz road shoe does not stretch at all). By the way, the Sedi's (Mega - Wide Width) are the most comfortable shoes I have ever owned!!!

Just find the ones that fit you the best. I wore Diadora exclusively for about 10 years and then "something happened" with their sizing or perhaps the size/shape of my foot. Regardless, I ended up selling off 2pr of nearly new Kava MTB & 1 pr of Ergo Road shoes and ended up switching to Sidi Dominators and Genius 4's. These have proven to be excellent shoes. However, that's not my point. Try on as many shoes as you can and find the ones that feel comfortable and fit snuggly -- never mind who's name is on them so long as it's one you recognize as being in it for the long haul.

Finding good shoes and a comfortable saddle is perhaps as difficult (and as rewarding) as finding a good life mate: it just feels right.

in terms of quality i can't fault Time or Carnac (time is made by Carnac).
I have a pair of Time Carbon Racing shoes from 1990 and they are stll going strong. They're training shoes now with a apir of Carnac Quartz having taken over other duties.

Lok for best fit, then go for a shoe with ;

1) moulded heel cup
2) some sort of built in strap running from the arch of the foot around the heel to the outside of the foot.
3) at least 3 velcro or 2 velcro and a ratchett closure mechanism.

Find a brand that fits yout today. Whoknows how your physiology willchange over the next 2-3 yrs. Deal with that when the Time comes. (pun intended) :-)