Weight Weenies

Hi Guys .... I need some recomendations as regards road shoes ....

I will be buying a new pair of shoes (SPD cleats) and I don't have a clue whats good and what's bad ....

Budget is £250 max but it would be good if it works out cheaper .... I have a wide foot (UK 8 1/2-9) and am looking for a pair of shoes for long distance rides but which is good quality

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Lake CX237

benzebub wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 17, 2019 6:08 pm

Lake CX237

Thanks!

I will have a close look at these

Sidi wire wide. There are a few on sale online. The best made shoe you can find.
Gaerne shoes are also excellent but they are narrower.

kgt wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 17, 2019 7:32 pm

Sidi wire wide. There are a few on sale online. The best made shoe you can find.
Gaerne shoes are also excellent but they are narrower.

thanks

I have the same size foot, wide to and the Lake CX237 were bloody awful. Sold them after one ride. Moved to the S-Phyre 901s which fit so much better. Now have two pairs.

I second Sidi Wire..........fantastically made shoes. A bit over 250.00 though.

I have a mixed bag experience with lake 237.
Yes it's wide.. And lots of volume.. Once fully broke in.. Was very comfortable.

But

Had some major hit spots inside toe box.. The leather joints isn't good construction... Needed tape to smooth it out until it broke in.

The other nitpick is the leather of the heel box. It rubs against the crank.. Making an infernal squeak and leaving paint on the cranks.. Against electrical tape to to rescue.

I'm on Sidi shots now.. All around terrific shoe.. Slightly heavier and with more stack. But damn they do know how to make a good shoe. Sized up 1 to fit my widish foot.. Slightly long but no issues at all on a bike.

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Giro factor techlace.

I would recommend going to a store that sells various shoe brands and try some. Shoe fit is very personnal and one's favorite shoe might be someone else's worst and they're probably both right. For exemple, some here love Sidis, I find them awful, the most uncomfortable shoes I have tried, we just have different foot shapes (I also hate their 90's look but that's personal too).

What I would say though, having tried Sidis, Mavics, Specializeds, Giros, Northwaves and Shimanos, is that Northwaves were not as durable as others (threads rubber blocks falling off for exemple) and have the worst dials (not as intuitive, not as smooth, can get stuck sometimes). I can't say I liked Sidi dials either but the Sidi shoes are durable-ish (mine lost some hardware at some point but Sidi spare parts are easily found at least). Boa dials work great and are featured on many brands, the gold standard of dials. Mavic dials are pretty good too, durable, never stick. I personally hate laced shoes, it's light, holds well, easy to get the right pressure across the whole foot, but everytime I came back from a rainy ride with my Giro laced shoes and went to get them off, I was tempted to just cut the wet laces off instead of fighting with a wet tight knot!

For comfort, for me, Mavics are the best, stiff enough soles, good foot hold and they fit the shape of my feet very well, they usually have softer feeling uppers than most brands, thicker, softer padding, it's a good or bad thing depending who you ask, I like it, they feel like well worn slippers even after 8+ hours in the saddle, so good shoes for very long rides but if you prefer a stiffer, racier feel, a 'feet directly connected to the pedals' feel, they might not be the best. I just wish they had a bit more rubber protection at the front where the upper meets the sole. I live in the city and I tend to stay in the saddle and just rest on the tip of my shoe when I wait for traffic lights so the bare material gets worn a bit quickly as the toe rubber bads dont stick far enough towards the edge (I put a bit of Shoe-Goo on there now to stop that).

My latest pair are Shimano S-Phyre RC901, not much milage yet but so far so good. Excellent Boa dials, one of the lowest stack height I know of, I like that the sole is flatter from the cleats to the toes as opposed to the usual curved up, pedalling feels very efficient for some reason and the front tip, well, the whole sole too is well protected for durability... The stock sizes are a bit narrower than most brands which is good for me but they are available in a wide model.

But yeah, you need to try shoes first, comfort and fit is by far what's most important.

Last gen s-phyre rc 9

Same as new gen but not fully perforated which I prefer.

thanks guys .... I really appreciate all the recomendations

I've narrowed the choice down to the Sidi Wire and the Shimano S-Phyre RC901 .... a bit more that what I initially budgeted, but I don't mind

Sidi wire are my favourite at the moment .... there are a few different models .... which do you recomend?

Dan Gerous wrote: ↑

Mon Mar 18, 2019 12:28 am

I would recommend going to a store that sells various shoe brands and try some.

Absolutely this. As things stand, you'll probably have to visit several shops (at least here each LBS seems to be affiliated with a single brand).

PokojniToza wrote: ↑

Mon Mar 18, 2019 10:30 pm

Dan Gerous wrote: ↑

Mon Mar 18, 2019 12:28 am

I would recommend going to a store that sells various shoe brands and try some.

Absolutely this. As things stand, you'll probably have to visit several shops (at least here each LBS seems to be affiliated with a single brand).

Problem is ..... you can fit them in a shop, but you cannot 'try' them (you cannot ride with them... and that's the main criteria thats important for me)

That's why I decided to post on this forum and ask for opinions from people .... If I decide on a shoe, I'm sure that they will have my size, and I will fit in in the shop before buying either from the shop, or online if they cannot price match

Giro Techlace

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