Budget shoes - Shimano vs Northwave

chatlow

Hi I'm after a 'decent' pair of road shoes that will last me. Not the biggest of budgets hence I am between Shimano R078's and Northwave Jet Pro shoes. Found very deals on both but has anyone got experience or an opinion on which one's are better.

I will be using some rubbish muddyfox for commuting, so these are for training and longer rides. The Northwave's look a lot more vented but the Shimano's seems slightly better built.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/shimano-r078-spd-sl-road-shoes/
http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/northwave-j ... oe-p298570


Thanks

rolf_f

You'll probably fit one or the other. Northwaves tend to be wide fitting and Shimano very narrow.

fatsmoker

Your choice is down to fit. Pointless buying the longer wearing ones of they don't fit right.

chatlow

Thanks, appreciate the replies. I've actually tried both on and they both feel good. I was after an opinion on the better shoe in terms of build etc.

Arnkh

Well, I bought NW Torpedo SRS as my first cycling shoes, and wasn't really impressed with how I had to HACK THROUGH A PLASTIC INSOLE WITH A KNIFE in order to install speedplay adapter thingy. They may be solidly built, but the experience left me annoyed, and the scar on my finger will probably remain forever.
This information may not be relevant to the models you specified, but it sort of tells you what kind of mistakes NW is capable of doing.

dilatory

For just £2 more you can get the R088 on wiggle which have a ratchet on the top buckle over the velcro and come in an optional wide fit (which I have). They are comfy as hell.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/?s=r088

Also using Speedplay and they fit perfectly with the supplied shims. Really love the shoe. Using some cheap SPD ones now for winter and when I come to turbo I forget just how much I don't even feel my feet in them, compared to niggles in other shoes. It's like wearing nothing at all... Nothing at all... Nothing at all!

arlowood

If you want to spend less then check out Wiggle's own brand DHB R1.0 at £33

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/dhb-r10-road-cy ... 1&curr=GBP

I've had a pair for several years and they do the job IMHO at an excellent price. If you're worried about fit then do as I did - order 2 pairs in different sizes and do a free return and refund on the ones that don't fit.

secretsam

It's as much down to your feet shape - I've tried DHBs and they were useless, too narrow

norvernrob

I bought the R078's as my first pair of shoes, I still wear them for training and winter. They're very very comfortable, vented but not massively so. I went out for 3hrs this morning in 3c temperatures and a thin pair of socks topped with a pair of DHB thermolite ones was plenty to keep my feet toasty.

There's nothing else I can really say about them, they've done and still do exactly what I bought them for.

macleod113

I have owned both brands before and would take shimano each time going forward. as previously said if you can get the ro88's for £52 then that's a steal. buy multiple sizes if you can on your credit card then use(abuse) the free return that a lot of online retailers offer now. i have had ro86's and now ro87's. i have 2 pairs and even bought from Germany to get some grey ones as my white ones are trashed after 2 years (still going strong, just some discolouration from overshoes)