Cycling shoes. Does it work to 'cycle' them?

[Machoman]

I've now got about 6 pairs of cycling shoes - my theory is that wearing the same one continously wears it out quicker - so I will 'cycle' my shoes - does this practice hold up in reality? Plus i see nice ones on sale and find it hard to refrain from buying.

I did once have a road cycling shoe barely used (probably 5 times at most) stored for many years in the tropics and when i eventually brought it out found out to my dismay that a lot of the shoe material was peeling off and the sole for both right and left has started to separate. My uncle informs me that shoe glue will fail earlier when there's a lot of heat and humidity.

What's the best way to keep these shoes in good condition as long as possible - any shoe expert here?

[kgt]

IMHO 'cycling' or 'resting' is suggested on high quality leather shoes. On cycling shoes with carbon soles and synthetic materials I cannot see the benefit. Of course they wear less if they are not used often but what is the point of it? Just use them as long as they perform well and buy a new, more advanced pair after a few years.

[L3X]

I know some top level runners who do this, saying it gives the soles more time to form back to their original shapes and not lose it's quality. Honestly don't really see this applying to cycling shoes. Only reason to have multiples it to have matching shoes with different kits

[pedale]

One of the main reason why runners cycle their shoes is that foam compression, height and shape leads to different "micro" injuries in the muscles greatly reducing the risk of a bigger one (on top of maybe prolonging the life of the shoe as l3x hinted but this is hard to test/validate). Conter-intuitively, the least amount of foam the more a shoe keeps its dampening capabilities.

About city/leather shoes, humidity is their worse enemy and rotating them allow them to dry more.

For cycling shoes, only use the one that feels the more adapted/comfortable for the ride and replace sole when necessary. Otherwise, please also consider rotating your sadles

[IchDien]

Honestly it made me laugh when Rapha brought out shoe trees for their cycling shoes...who needs shoe trees for a carbon soled shoe with synthetic lining? Gullible people I guess.

I use shoe trees in all of my dress shoes, however, because they have stitched soles which can slightly deform through wear and obviously the uppers can crease making them look unsightly. Not to mention airing the shoe with a good shoe tree helps the leather dry both on the inside and outside which prevents damage; the same for leather soled shoes. Shoe rotation is also important as it lets the process continue. I've got more dress shoes than days of the week though so I'm covered.

Back when cycling shoes were made of leather with stitched leather soles etc. I imagine there may have been a point.

With modern cycling shoes it is absolutely pointless to 'cycle' them as they have synthetic uppers and glued on carbon soles. The only possible example I could think of is if they got soaked on a wet ride then it might not be ideal to use them again the next day as some synthetic material could deform under stress when wet.

[AJS914]

Because of different stack heights on shoes I wouldn't want to cycle them. If they are all the same model/brand then of course they would have the same stack but then what is the point of owing six pairs of the same shoes? Maybe you like to own a pair of white and a pair of black in the same model? Personally, I don't get the shoe fetish thing with cycling shoes.

[blaugrana]

I find that shoes last long enough to not bother with that. And I would probably guess that regardless of cycling them or not, most modern shoes probably wear at a similar rate, so I don't see the point.

For people riding in a lot of bad weather maybe it could be useful to have a pair of shoes of the same model, ideally in a dark colour, for the bad days (especially if the "main" pair is white).

[Wookski]

I have 3 pairs of Empire slx that I cycle. I like to make sure my shoes are totally dry of sweat before wearing them again (Australian summer = sweaty feet).

[Conza]

I've got a a pair of white Sidi Ergo 3's, that have become my commuter shoes. Tried and true. And a new pair of white Sidi Shots that are basically my non-commuting shoes. Still breaking those in.

Rough historically for Sidi's for awhile, but then mould to my foot real well and never any issues.

[mattr]

I cycle mine, gives them a chance to dry out properly. It's either raining or muddy here for 6 months of the year. And a bit warm for 3 months.

So they regularly finish a ride completely soaked.

Though to be fair, the last time i only owned a single pair of shoes, they still lasted 10 years...............

[jfranci3]

You've got 6 sets, seems you're more interested in wearing them out quickly than saving them. No foam, no leather, not wet, no rest needed.

The glue and foam will fail on their own. Anything leather, with the exception of very high quality leather, will dry out if not used or maintained.

Honestly it made me laugh when Rapha brought out shoe trees for their cycling shoes...who needs shoe trees for a carbon soled shoe with synthetic lining? Gullible people I guess.

Trees are for the upper, not the sole. I think they have a model or two that were actually leather.... here we go - f'in YAK leather - https://www.velonews.com/2014/12/review ... oes_355698 for CX shoes.

[RussellS]

IMHO 'cycling' or 'resting' is suggested on high quality leather shoes.

I agree with this, but... With leather dress shoes, you wear them for 10-12 hours, then don't wear them for 12-14 hours. So just by wearing them each day, you automatically rest them between wearing. I don't think you need to rest them for 2-3 days for them to dry out and return to original shape. 12-14 hours is enough. I expect a similar thing applies to cycling shoes too. Wearing them for 8 hours on a ride and then not wearing them for 16 hours is a good enough rest. Unless you ride in the rain and they get really soaked. Then wait a couple days for them to completely dry. But I have 5-6 cycling shoes so automatically get rest between wears.

[AJS914]

How many people ride for 8 hours? My S-Works shoes have nothing on them that soaks up water. You can ride in the rain and they will be dry soon afterwards.

[kode54]

I have 3 pairs and 1 winter boot. Of the three pairs, one is pretty much a back up when the others get too wet (even with insoles removed) to put on the next day. The other two, one is the most current S-Works 7 and the second is a S-Works 6. When the 8 comes out, I'll move the versions downward but still maintaining 3 regular and 1 winter boot.

[RussellS]

How many people ride for 8 hours?

My apologies. I forgot on the internet everyone is a professional racer. But those of us who are not, a 200 kilometer brevet will require more than 8 hours for most people. The vast majority of people take 8 hours to ride a century from the moment you start to the moment you end. That is 8 hours wearing the same pair of shoes. Or do you take your shoes off at every convenience store stop?