New SPD Compatible Shoes Needed

ayjaycee

I went into my nearest branch of Evans yesterday in the hope of eyeballing a pair of Giro Republic LX shoes - I quite like the style of them from looking on-line and am also attracted by the fact that they are leather rather than the usual shiny plastic. Whilst in the shop, I also noted a couple of other types, namely Louis Garneau Nickel and Shimano RT82 but they didn't have my size in any of them. The former are not dissimilar to the Giros in looks (except that they are some sort of synthetic material) and the latter are made from out and out plastic, albeit not quite as shiny as a lot of them. There is also a wide spread of prices with Shimano being the cheapest at £55 followed by the LGs at £65 and Giros at £130. That said, within reason, budget is not an issue and I might even think about buying two different pairs for wet or dry use.

Has anybody used any of them and what do they reckon? Shoppers reviews of the Shimanos are plentiful and generally good but there are far fewer reviews of the Giros and hardly any of the LGs that I could find with a quick search.

Please, please, please do not turn this into another SPD v SPD SL bitching competition - I am only interested in the former and it would be pointless.

I also know that shoes can be a bit of a personal thing but any comments would be much appreciated.

animal72

To make your job harder, I also use SPDs on my road bike. Didn't like the fit of the Giros, so went for the (new) Specialised Recon shoes. Only a few hundred miles in, but impressed so far.

mrb123

Shimano Rt82s are excellent. Use them with SPDs on my winter bike. Can't fault them. Just make sure you size up.

45 quid here if you're lucky enough that they have your size.

http://www.pedalon.co.uk/acatalog/shima ... -shoe.html

lesfirth

Another vote for RT82s. In my case 2 sizes up on all my other shoes.

6wheels

Been using Shimano XC50n for the last three years, comfortable and quite a warm shoe at a reasonable price.

ayjaycee

6wheels - Thanks for that but I saw the XC50s in the store and thought they looked a bit too 'chunky'. There's nothing wrong with that per se but I've been using Shimano MT44s and similar for quite a while now and just fancied moving away from that look, hence the focus on the models that I mentioned above. Apart from a weird creak, my current MT44s are OK and will probably still get used every now and then, particularly when I know in advance that I might have to walk any distance.

From the comments thus far (and thanks for them), the Shimano RT82 look about favourite for winter use (with overshoes where necessary) but I would still appreciate comments from anybody with direct experience of the other types that I mentioned above (ie. those from Giro and LG).

horizon

Another vote for the RT82 - I have the previous version - RT80? - which is essentially the same but a different colour. Been excellent for several years now and still look pretty good - normally I'm a 46, but had to go up to a 48. The 'T' is for touring, so they are walkable with bumpers either side of the cleats and a heel. The RT82's are being replaced with a new model shortly, hence the half price deals at the moment.

grenw

Moved from Shimano XC61s to Sidi Dragon 4s last year. A bit dearer but not that much when you buy from ebay.

Worlds apart in comfort and fit (for me). Shimanos were just too narrow and the uppers too stiff. Trying them on and going up a size as advised above is a must!

Man Of Lard

Similarly, I gave up on Shimano SPD (MTB) shoes (mostly because there is no way on the planet that my otherwise size 46 narrow feet are a 48/49 depending the Shimano shoe in question) to Specialized MTB shoes which are size 46... More comfy... For me.

So much so that I have 2 pairs of shoes and a pair of winter boots all the same size, almost like they conform to a standard!