George

I've read that stiff soles are good and bad. That is, good for racing but bad for long distance. I'm looking for comfort and was told that a shoe that flexes, is more comfortable than a stiffer carbon sole. I thought a stiffer sole would be more comfortable, because your spreading the load out to most of your foot.

I got a pretty good deal on Giro Factors and I'm this close to ordering them. Any reviews would be appreciated.

StanSeven

For most people, a stiff sole is best for everything. So CF is good. The exception is those people with feet that need to flex a lot - high arches for example.

WhyFi

You're asking about something that involves personal preference and individual anatomy. Either buy from some place that'll let you return them if they don't work out for you or buy from a local store where you can try them on first.

f4rrest

^ Exactly. Many of the local shops will price match internet deals too. Mine did. And my carbon soles saved 220 grams compared to my prior plastic soles.

MikeyBoyAz

I have carbon soles... the only neg is that on El Tour de Tucson you have to walk through the wash... and stiff carbon soles are not as comfortable.

rangerdavid

got me some superfeet yellow insoles, and I've been riding Sidi Genius for about 4 years now. The second I put these insoles in the shoes, I gave up on the idea of buying new shoes. These do have a composite sole though, so it's not as stiff as pure carbon soles, but I like them.

Smokehouse

This...

AND this...


Different strokes for different folks.

Personally...I love a rock hard sole. They have zero flex and I can't feel the cleat through the shoe. Good venting/airflow makes a big difference...as does insole and fit.

In other words...a good, stiff carbon sole is awesome, but won't fix a crappy fitting pair of shoes if everything else is off. For me? Sidi Wires FTW...I love them and I'm lucky enough to have them fit my foot shape (flat arched, narrow feet).

Psimet2001 

+1 to the earlier posts. In general a stiffer sole will be more comfortable.

Nylon soles on Sidi tend to break down over time and end up being rather flexy. They are great when new and seem to get worse after a year or so. After loving mine forever in multiple models I switched to carbon soles and have never looked back.

Again as mentioned above asking for advise on personal contact points is near meaningless for you personally. That's like asking me what bibs I find most comfortable, saddle, handlebars or gloves, etc. You can only take input with a grain of salt.

Jed19

There can be "too stiff", sole-wise.

I wear two kinds of road cycling shoes. They are Sidi carbon soled shoes in the Summer, and Shimanos in the Winter (heavier wool socks). The Sidi soles are more stiffer than the soles on my Shimano shoes. The Shimano shoes are much more comfortable for me on long rides.

Smokehouse

Yeah...my first pair of road shoes were Specialized entry level, plastic sole. They were ok at first but quickly got softer. By 1000 or so miles the were getting softer and I could feel the cleat through them more. I picked up a clearance pair of Specialized comp road shoes last year and put some 1700 or so miles on them this summer...zero flex so far...although they've now been replaced...

George

Thanks everybody, I did order the Giro Factors, as I've read a lot of good reviews on them. They will be replacing my Specialized Comps which have about 15 K on them.
The Giro shoes don't have a replacement heel, but I'll find something to fix them, when they get bad.

Jbusaf

I wear the factors and they have been great. Super comfortable for me so much so that I got a pair of codes for mountain biking.

George

How are the heels holding up. I've read that they wear down pretty fast. That could be from people walking around a lot with them. I've never had any problems with my other shoes, with that kind of wear.

Jbusaf

i have had them for about a year and the heels are holding up. I don't do a lot of walking in them though. Just the normal hanging out after group rides and bathroom/food breaks.

George

Sounds great, thanks for the reply.

coasting 

i had a cheap shoe which was fine as a first clipless shoe. then i got a carbon sole and it was way way better.

Dudelsack

Just switched to carbon soles and so far I like them, but haven't done any super long rides in them yet.

Seattle Forrest

I don't race, and I do long rides. Carbon soles are much more comfortable. Flexy shoes flex around the pedals and at the end of a long ride specific parts of my feet would be sore; stiff shoes made that go away.

George

I like what I'm reading, thanks again everybody.