Originally Posted by
Road Fan
I prefer leather straps, too, but I can't say I've ever had any actually wear out. Get ugly, lose the finish, yes, but never unusable. One wonders where all my old ones went to, however!
They do wear out. The back side of the strap eventually gets so chewed up by the teeth on the retaining buckle so much that it could not get a good bite on it. You will then notice that you will have to pull on the strap end more often to keep the clips tight against your cycling shoes.....
At least, that's how Christophe straps (The non-laminated ones) always wore out on me, before I switched over to Look clipless pedals.
Maybe if I ought better quality straps, it won't be the same story....