mooder

Hey,
Currently have spd shoes. I have feet numbness / hotspot. Look pedals are ~100$. These shoes are on sale at 92$ tax in. I like the fit and they seem quite comfy.
Reg price is 150$. I am quite tempted but the upgrade is going to be ~250$.
Would you make the transition?
Have you done it spd to look & what's your impression?

Edit: I have valgus (feet going inward). I know these shoes won't solve it and I might still get numbness//hotspot but I guess if the shoes are more adapted for road cycling, it's going to be more pleasant to ride.

PepeM

Have you tried using insoles?

WalksOn2Wheels

I had the Apeckx shoes for a while. They were a size too small, but still fit well enough. I now have three other pairs of Giro shoes in a size larger.

The Apeckx is not a carbon sole, but is a glass reinforced sole, so you get a lot for the money compared to a straight up plastic sole. I would say 92 bucks would be a very good buy.

Any road pedal platform is going to have a wider contact patch with the shoe vs. any MTB style cleat. Look and Shimano's SPD-SL are both good. People say the speedplay is small, but in reality the cleat that mounts to the bottom of the shoe is as wide of a base, if not wider, that you get from Look or Shimano.

Lazyass

The "contact patch" everyone always talks about is very minimal. I've measured the "contact patch" between my SPD's and speedplays and in reality there was almost no difference. I've gone from MTB pedals/shoes to road, I've tried them all, I have valgus, and the pedal shoe combo made no difference whatsoever. You should have your feet measured by a professional fitter to determine exactly what size wedge you really need.

Leinster

First off, I don't think there's any guarantee that switching to 3-hole from 2-hole cleats will fix any hotspot issues you may be having. I've had hotspot problems and found that just loosening up the front velcro strap on my shoe made as big a difference as any $100s investment in equipment.

That said, I bought my Apeckx about 18 months ago and they've served me well. Wedges under the cleats solved the varus/valgus problem a lot better than off-the-shelf insoles. I suspect that molded insoles might be the optimum solution, but I'm not in any need for that currently.

Cleat covers are a worthwhile investment. I had Look arc pedals back in the wayback, and my current keo cleats have lasted longer, with more riding, than those ever did, despite being, on the face of them, a more flimsy design. Because every time I'm off the bike for more than a tube-change, I put the covers on. The covers also make walking around at coffee stops a lot easier.