Mountain Biking - Daddy needs of a new pair of shoes!

Is it seriously justifiable to spend 150 bucks on a pair of shoes? Granted I'll spend alot of time in them, but damn! I was looking at the SIDI Bullets... I found them for 150 bucks on Pricepoint. Looks like a good shoe, and from a reputable name. But 150 bucks?! That's quite a wad to be dropping on a pair of shoes. What do you guys use? I also found a pair of 661 Attack shoes for like 65.. it's their top of the line race shoe. But 661 isn't exactly well known for shoes, so I'm skeptical, especially because of the price. Is this a scenario where you get what you pay for? I really like the way the shoe looks, and I've heard good things about SIDI..

http://pricepoint.com/media/Sidi_Bullet.jpg

If you got the money then why not?

I would prefer to spend 1/2 that or less and spend the rest on components. But hey, if you can afford the shoes and not miss the money go for it.

I have a pair of Sidi Bullets and been riding on them for a year. No complaints, and they fit better than my bro's Shimanos

Shop around if you have the time. I got a pair of sidi dominator 4's from a member here in perfect shape for $100 shipped - they retail for 189 right now. Also, check ebay, can always find a good score if your patient.

Yeah, I have a pair of Shimano's now.. I don't really like the way they fit. They look casual, though... which I do like. I already have a top of the line bike I built myself.. so the components are all the ones I want anyway. I have the cash, but I'm just not used to dropping so much cash on a pair of shoes!

The bullet is a racing shoe so it's main focus is lightweight / super stiff sole. Personally, I don't like racing shoes. For the money I want something thats going to last. So for my money (thats a pretty low number) I would rather buy a dual purpose shoe that is going to last.

who says they dont last?

Ahh, I spent $55.00 on my pair of Shimano SPD's. :D

I have worn Sidi's for years, they fit, hold up great and are light. But, I recently tried Specialized new shoe (shop promo to show how great they are) and they are very comfortable and less expensive than the Sidi. Have not been able to test durability, they are only two months old, but I haven't seen any returns on their shoes in a long time.

Originally posted by PeterG1185
who says they dont last?

Surely not me! :p

It just seems to me that a shoe built with focus on weight will suffer from durability problems. If thats isn't the case, well I gladly take it all back and still buy my cheaper, heavier, do-anything shoes :D

I own both the Sidi Energy road shoe and the Sidi Action MTB shoe. They are the most comfortable shoes (cycling and otherwise) I have ever owned. However, I probably would not have gotten them if I had to pay full US prices. I had looked at them before but then it just so happened that I found myself in Bologna, Italy on a business trip and found them there for the equivalent of US$120 each. I had been looking for just the road shoe but couldn't help myself and picked up the MTB version as well. One other nice thing was that I was able to pick them up in colours not available in the US.

http://www.neebu.net/~khuon/cycling/bikes/Aegis/2001-Aro_Svelte/images/PICT0028.JPG
http://www.neebu.net/~khuon/cycling/bikes/K2/1999-OzM/images/10620620/PICT0046.JPG

I wear Specialized Comps. These are my first bike shoes ever and so far I'm very pleased with them. It's weird riding in shoes and clip pedals after riding with toe clips for 10 years. lol. I fell already too ... just toppled over because of a damn caravan of horses.

Originally posted by jtown
I fell already too ... just toppled over because of a damn caravan of horses.

Ummm... I didn't want to ask but I hope the horses didn't cause you to fall over due to slippery trail litter and if so, I hope you managed to avoid falling into said litter.

I once was trying to clear a jump and was just past the "commit-point" when I noticed my landing point was mined with horse-deposits. I closed my mouth and hoped for the best. Luckily my impact was at a high enough speed that I did not catch any splatter and my wheels were moving fast enough to clean themselves rather quickly. I did manage to duck low enough to have the stuff that did clean itself from my rear tyre go flying over my head and not onto my back.

lol ... no, they were coming in the opposite direction while I was going uphill really slow. The last horse started to freak out at the sight of me and one of the riders said I should probably get off my bike so I stopped peadalling and came to an immediate stop (cause I was going uphill). I wasn't used to getting out so quick and I just tipped over ... LOL. I would have laughed at myself.

The look on people's face when that happens is absolutely classic. Huge eyes, mostly stiff body, very little movement are the hallmarks. Then gravity does its thing and *PLOP* like a mailbox with its base cut out from under it.

I too have a pair of Specialized Mountain Comp's. Last years verson at least.
I like them just fine, they fit well and they stay put when hikabiking.

As far as the Sidi's,MEC have them for a slightly better price, but they can only ship to Canada, otherwise you could nail a good deal there.

I figure 150.00 bucks is a bargain when you consider runners and basketball players pay nearly the same amount for a top of the line shoe and they last how many months? (And I don't mean professionals either)

$150 a bargain... I don't think I can make my mouth say those words. :p

$150 is $150 no matter how you look at it.

Originally posted by DiL
$150 a bargain... I don't think I can make my mouth say those words. :p

$150 is $150 no matter how you look at it.

It's true that $150 is $150 but if you think about the amortization over the years, it doesn't really work out to that much. I have had my Sidis for over two years now and they're still quite comfortable and show no signs of giving up the ghost. They'll probably last me another 5 years at least. I had my last pair of cycling shoes for over 6 years and to be honest, I can still use them although the soles are a little worn.

I have a pair of hiking boots that I got from an outlet store for about $65... they originally retailed for twice that much and to be honest, I would have paid that price. I have worn these things every day for the past 4 years and do go hiking with them. They're just about to give out and will be looking for a similar model. My wife insists on buying cheaper shoes (~$25) and goes through them at the rate of two pairs per year. So in the long run, who's getting the better bargain? Even if it worked out on par, I know that I'd be willing to pay a little extra to not have to break in a new pair of shoes/boots every few months.

Comfortable well fitting cycling shoes may mean the difference between returning from a ride pedalling when you're 80 miles from home or having to call the wife to come pick you up because your feet are sore or your shoes have blown apart.

I think it's rather silly for people to spend $200 on Nike basketball shoes just so they can look like "they got game" while trolling through the malls but for us who actually have to rely on our footwear to be functional for hours and possibly days on end, $150 shoes may not be all that unreasonable.

I'll definately agree, the shoes I see with hiking in mind are rarely enough to handle biking over time. Everyone I see the cleet spot is torn to shreds. I was thinking more of the low profile lace-ups with velcro over. Something along the lines of the picture below. They're usually among the cheapeset shoes. I suppose they aren't really do-anything though.

http://www.nashbar.com/productimages/medium/YS-MX176M.gif

I had a nasty wreck today, and bent the hell out of one of my XTR levers... I'm thinking I'll just buy a new set of levers and just use the shoes I have. XTR levers are 80 bucks a pair