Changing to new road shoes - Advice needed

Kolraz

I have decided the time has come to move on from using a MTB shoe and cleat set up and go for some proper road shoes and pedals. The shoes and pedals will be used for general training rides anywhere up to 100 miles, and some sportive riding next season.

I have decided on the Look keo's for pedals as I know a lot of people recommend them, so the shoes will be used with these pedals.

In terms of shoes, I am looking to spend in the region of £100, although I may be willing to spend more if this will be of great benefit.

How much benefit will carbon soles provide for a rider like me, in terms of training and sportives? Will I notice a big difference if I spend £50 or so more?

Are Northwave shoes really that wide fitting? I have reasonably narrow feet but have seen a few of their shoes around this price that I like. I have also looked at the Specialized BG comp and expert models as well, which are evans cycles so I would be able to try these on.

Can anyone give me some advice on the differences and recommend any other shoes around this price?

Thanks very much!

Wirral_paul

With shoes, there's no real substitute to trying them on. Bear in mind though that your feet will swell slightly when on the bike and you're warmed up so you really dont want them on the tight side when trying them on.

The proper inner soles can make a big difference to comfort also. I went for Specialized Body Geometry shoes and footbeds myself. I dont see why these Specialized inner soles wouldnt fit other shoes though.

sungod

^^^absolutely, try on as many as you can to see which are best for you, the fit/sizing varies a lot between brands/models

when i went to carbon soles, i noticed a massive difference (both shoes were specialized bg ones), i got some s-works ones almost half-price in the sales at cyclesurgery, comfy, light, incredibly stiff

btw i use the blue bg insoles+wedges as i need extra arch support etc., the bg insoles will also fit other shoes, i also use them in a pair of sidi winter shoes, but as they are thicker than many other insoles you need to watch out for sizing if you intend using them

Kolraz

Yeah I will be able to try on a range of the specialized bg in particular as they have these in Evans cycles. I think the footbeds will benefit as I have very narrow feet with high arches.

Thanks for all the advice given

Zoomer37

Kolraz wrote:

Yeah I will be able to try on a range of the specialized bg in particular as they have these in Evans cycles. I think the footbeds will benefit as I have very narrow feet with high arches.

Thanks for all the advice given

Not sure how much Evans are doing them for these day, but Specialized Expert are good shoes.

MarksMintness

I quite like my Shimano R087's, they have a lightweight fibreglass reinforced polyamide sole and are a bargain at £65 as they have a ratchet closure as well, which I think is good to keep your foot from moving up and down in the shoe. Not tried any others but in terms of VFM they're good.

Kolraz

Think the BG expert is £150 in evans Zoomer. I'll try these out definitely.
I think they also have the Shimano's out, see if it is actually worth paying any more

Thanks guys

PhilPub

MarksMintness wrote:

I quite like my Shimano R087's, they have a lightweight fibreglass reinforced polyamide sole and are a bargain at £65 as they have a ratchet closure as well, which I think is good to keep your foot from moving up and down in the shoe. Not tried any others but in terms of VFM they're good.

Yep, me too. I've not had any experience with carbon soles but I've ridden up to 70 miles in the R087 with no discomfort whatsoever and if there is any flex it's not detectable as such. In fact the only comparison I can make is with my old-school Adidas shoes inside Alfredo Binda toe-straps, which definitely caused minor cramp on long rides, but I think things have moved on since then...

So I wouldn't discount non-carbon sole, if the fit turns out to be your favourite.