In terms of speed rather than comfort/warmth… What do you think?

My shoes are bog standard and a bit tired.

I’ve started getting into racing, given that I’ve trained to the very very best of my ability and the bike is top spec, will expensive super fandango carbon sole shoes make that much difference and why?

stiff soles will allow more power transfer. whether that difference is noticeable or negligible is up for debate…

Without a doubt. Theyll compensate slightly for poor set up as well. Im running rubbish shoes at the moment.

I’ve never actually looked at weight differences, but someone did point out that your shoes are ‘rotating weight’ and as we all know, rotating weight counts double etc. etc.

You might as well spend a bit, my carbon specialized shoes have lasted about three or four years now, with a lot of off-road and on-road miles, so they’ve paid for themselves many times over.

Expensive-no.Stiff soled-definately yes (all other things being equal).

Ok thanks for the replies

Any recommendations or deals that have caught your eye recently?

Oh, and spend some money on insoles. I was really surprised at the difference a proper insole adjusted to the vagaries of my knees made.

I genuinely felt a difference in how hard I could pedal (and how sore I wasn’t after).

In fact I’d say £30 on insoles and maybe a £30 session with a physio/podiatrist to get the right fit would be very worthwhile.

I take it you’re using clipless pedals ?
If so, stiffer is better for soles. I don’t know if the uppers make all that much difference as long as you’re comfortable in them.

Measurably faster? NO WAY!

More comfortable, nicer to ride, less tiring, “feel faster” – yes.

With the last shoes i just purchased i asked the same question, so i went to the shop and checked each shoe for stiffness, there seemed to be 3 levels. “Leisure Type shoes” not stiff at all, “Glass Fiber Reinforced” (Most proper SPD shoes) Very stiff, quite difficult to bend, but you could bend them. “Carbon Soled” Almost solid.
So Carbon shoes were the stiffest, but only by a small amount. The next thing was weight. All the shoes with buckles and velcro were heavier than the all velco ones. ie the top end carbon buckled shoes in some instances were heavier than the Velco entry glass fiber shoes. So expensive doesn’t mean the lighest. I ended up with M123’s as they were cheap and were almost as stiff as the carbon ones and lighter. The M161’s for example are no stiffer and are heavier.

I always went for the non CF soled shoes for years, then a pair came up on the classifieds at a bargain price in MY size (12!). Basically the same upper shoe as I was using with a CF Sole. (Spesh BG Sport to Spesh BG Expert).
Tell you what, i DID notice the weight difference, although the stiffness was similar.
Not sure I’d have lashed out for them new, but I do prefer them without a doubt.

spesh bg’s or sidi are a pleasure to wear.
shimano are like foot torture implements.

Bont?

In the interest of fairness. Shimano are a pleasure to wear. 🙂

spesh bg’s or sidi are a pleasure to wear.
shimano are like foot torture implements.

i agree.. had some shimano’s for years.. fell apart and weren’t that comfortable.

Then bought some carbon spesh bg’s and they were a revelation

paul, i have big wide ugly knobbly hobbit feet………. 😆

Actually, slight hijack, can the Specialized/SIDI weares compare sizes? I’m a 44 in Speciazed, any idea what that is in SIDI?

I had some lovely shimanos from thebikechain but I just couldn’t make them fit, 45 too long, 44 too narrow. Gutted.

Not sure about shoes but removing your toenails can save up to 10g of rotating mass for no outlay. Got to be worth a go at least ?

They probably wont make you faster due to more power transfer but if you are more comfortable on the bike you will be faster. Trying to race with hotspots due to your shoes will slow you down. Unfortunately going from good shoes back to ordinary ones is a bit of a pain, I had visions of only using my good pair for dry rides and races but I struggle leave them and pick up the old pair when it’s wet out and end up using the good ones anyway.

Iain

13thmonk…………sidi mega are very similar to spesh bg size wise.

Not sure about shoes but removing your toenails can save up to 10g of rotating mass for no outlay. Got to be worth a go at least ?

Not sure if that one was aimed at me but I wasn’t being entirely serious with the rotating mass thing.

White ones are faster.

Are you sure it’s white coloured shoes that make you faster ?

I thought red!…. Or is that red bikes??

Anyway look good, feel good…. ride good !!!

That takes the pee out off my genuine question… I apologise to those who have taken the time to reply.

The conclusion I’ve taken is that….. I’m not sure super shoes do make a great difference and to be honest I think money spent on “even” lighter wheels will make more of a difference.

Thanks for your help gents

Not so bothered about stifness but MW80’s definitely keep my feet warmer and dryer than cheap shoes, most important thing at this time of year, they certainly aint light or pretty though.

My Sidis were utter toss for pedalling, flexy, nasty insoles, very uncomfy. Spesh S-Works all the way!

I have spesh bg both in the mtb and road flavours. They are excellent. Have tried mavic (pants and narrow) and Nike (very good but hard to find).