Loobes

Hello all,

I've recently broken (yet another pair) of cheaper cycling shoes so I'm looking to invest in something as a longer term prospect.

So far I've been looking at:

Wiggle | Sidi Genius 5-Fit Carbon Road Shoe | Road Shoes Right at the top of my budget

Wiggle | Northwave Sonic 3S Road Shoes | Road Shoes

Wiggle | Northwave Evolution SBS Road Shoes 2013 | Road Shoes

Wiggle | Fizik R5 Road Cycling Shoes | Road Shoes

I've also heard lots of good things about Mavic shoes. If anyone has any further suggestions or has used any of the above shoes I'd really love to hear your views.

Kind Regards

chil2makefun

Not sure where you're from so this might not be the best deal out there (because of taxes and stuff) but you might want to take a look at these:
Northwave Nerowhite Road Shoes - Shoes
or if you'd like to keep it a bit more classic:
Northwave Extreme Tech SBS Road Shoes - Shoes

As fot the ones you've been looking at, the sidis will be fairly narrow so keep that in mind. Also I've never tried them on myself but I've been told that the arches in the fiziks are quite high.

achoo

Wiggle | Sidi Genius 5-Fit Carbon Road Shoe | Road Shoes

FWIW, I wasn't impressed with the Sidi Genius 5. Plastic uppers don't breathe at all and are barely vented, making them hotboxes from hell in the summer (yes, that can be great in the winter when you want to keep your feet warm...). And the sole isn't very stiff at all.

For the cost of a pair of plastic Sidis with nylon soles you can probably find something like a good pair of Lake shoes with leather uppers and CF soles.

Homebrew01

It's all about fit. If you buy online without knowing exactly what you want, be prepared to return until you get it right.

Loobes

What are your thoughts on the Lake CX236 shoes? Would you say that it general Leather uppers are more breathable/comfortable than an artificial one?[h=1][/h]
This is a particular worry of mine, given my wide feet., however my two LBS' only stock Shimano and Specialized.

Regards

fietsbob

Wiggle is in England , it that were you Live?

wide feet ?, consider Sidi's Mega Sizes another , parallel versions, offering. a wide last is used . it's offered in a few price-points..

https://www.sidiamerica.com/sidi/fit.html

note: SiDi is still made in Italy, not China.

WalksOn2Wheels

Where do you live? You mentioned only two shops in your area. It would be worth it to call around and find a shop that stocks some of these shoes. The only thing worse than cheap shoes that break are expensive shoes that don't fit. A good shop that stocks nice shoes should also be a wealth of information and experience with the specific brands to help better inform a decision.

I understand saving bucks on things like tires and chains via the internet, but for something as important as shoes, it's a worthwhile investment to try and keep our independent shops in business (disclosure: I work at an independent shop).

Loobes

I live in England, I do appreciate the shoe fitting is crucial. The local shop I normally use is normally more than happy to order things in for me, however doing that I feel some obligation to buy - particularly with a fairly personal item such as shoes.

In close proximity are several larger towns, I may look round to see if there are any Northwave/Sidi stockists etc.

Regards

achoo

Does the CX236 have a full CF sole? If so, great shoes. The leather does breathe a helluva lot better than Sidi plastic. They're about the same fit as Sidi Megas, so they should do fine on your wide feet.

FWIW, I have two pair of Lake CX330s that I wear in the summer, plus a pair of the Lake triathlon shoes that I use on the trainer and sometimes on recovery rides. In the winter I wear my plastic Sidi 6.6s unless it's really nasty out, then I wear a pair of winter MTB boots and switch pedals.

I used to commute by bike so I got me enough shoes so that if my shoes got so wet I wouldn't want to wear them for a few days I had options...

halfspeed

As difficult as shoes are for me, my LBS is the last place I'll go for shoes. IME, I can't know if a shoe is going to work for me until I've mounted cleats and ridden with it. It's much easier to do that with an internet dealer with a liberal return policy than it is to keep buying and returning lightly used shoes to my LBS.

halfspeed

I used to love Lakes, but they changed the fit recently and they're the most painful thing I've ever put on my feet now.

HiFiGuy1

At my LBS, I tried on several different pair, and found a great match with the Specialized Expert Road shoe.



It has a great lacing system, with a nice quick release. I do think it's important to try them on before you settle on a shoe, and it's a good reason to visit the LBS.

It's not like buying a cassette or derailleurs, where you pretty much know what you want and they don't have to be sized to you. My time is too valuable to order and return a bunch of shoes from the Internet. If you already had a great shoe, I guess you could replace it with the same model from the Internet and save the money, but it's really important to fit them properly at some point.