Road Cycling - Any experience with new Shimano road shoes?

I'm looking to get a pair of the new Shimano R215 road shoes. They seem to fit fine, comfy and all, but the soles are slicker than snot on a doorknob. Does anyone own a pair, and how are they on the road. They're a bit too expensive to experiment with, so any advice, info, experience is appreciated.

I don't have a pair of the shimanos you mention, but just about all road shoes have a really slick bottom. they are not meant for walking, instead they are made for riding, becase, honestly, how often do you go walking during your road rides?

I don't have a pair of the shimanos you mention, but just about all road shoes have a really slick bottom. they are not meant for walking, instead they are made for riding, becase, honestly, how often do you go walking during your road rides?
Maybe I should have clarified what I meant..
They don't have any rubber on the bottom to protect the carbon sole when you stop a light, etc...

yea. a lot of road shoes have this. again, its becuase they figure that you will just be riding, not walking. its not unusual, and it also shows off the pretty CF sole.

I have a pair of Shimano Carbon soled road shoes. The gloss carbon is quite slick but no more so than a plastic sole. The carbon sole will get very scuffed up, it doesn't stay nice and shiny for very long, but then no road shoe does. They are fine to walk in as the (Look) cleat takes most of the weight.

CHEERS.

Mark

I just purchased a pair of Shimano R073 from Performance for $11. I got them so cheap because they claimed the shoes were used. They made a mistake because there wasn't one stratch on them and you could tell that no cleats were ever attached.

They're not carbon soles, but are made of stiff fiberglass-reinforced nylon which are incredibly slick and prone to deep surface scuffs. I purchased a pair of cleat pontoons that attach underneath the cleats (I have Eggbeater pedals). These help protect the soles, but since I purchased the plastic pontoons, I still slide a bit at stop signs/lights. So if you decide to go this route make sure you get the rubber pontoons.

Dan

Maybe I should have clarified what I meant..
They don't have any rubber on the bottom to protect the carbon sole when you stop a light, etc...

Nike does the same. The heel counter is also carbon. I had a pair of Nike Hautacams. Got a flat to find that my frame pump had broken. It was in the fall and there was a lot of junk in the road and it was a bit wet, so I walked two and a half miles in my Hautacams back to my car. The soles were so hard, so you barely tell I had walked in them.

I wouldn't worry about the longevity of the sole.

I have the previous version of the R215 shoes and there's a small piece of rubber at each heel for stepping and walking. I use Time Impact pedals and the cleats have what they call a "stabilizer platform" (i.e., plastic knobs or protrusions) -- unless I'm on a wet and smooth slippery surface, I haven't had any problems walking around in the shoes with the Time cleats. The carbon sole does get scratched up, but more from contact with the pedal and not from stepping on the pavement. The Shimano shoes are very nice and stiff. They require a little bit of breaking in but once they soften up they're very comfortable. I prefer the thicker uppers on Shimano shoes than the thin ones on many of the European brands (like Sidi) because I feel they hold my feet more securely.

-Kevin

I am on my thrid pair of different road shoes in the last nine months! For the life of me I could not get rid of "hot spots" in the balls of my feet. My latest pair of shoes are the R215's I took out the Shimano in-soles and added some in-soles from "Just for Feet" (the blue ones), and my hot spot issue is gone.

I am using the R215's with Speedplay X plays, and they work great. I would highly recomed the shoes.

I just picked up my first pair of Shimano Road shoes. They are the "Comp Road" with the slick plastic bottom. I tried on a pair of the Carbon/Kevlar mix...twice as much, but not near as comfortable. I was surprised.