[Closed] New shoes time; are they bloody expensive now, or...

Yep.

£100 in 2007 would be £138 today just with 'normal' inflation applied let alone any collapse in the pound shenanigans that's been going on post brexit.

Yep. Tore the bottom out of by beloved Spesh BG Disco Slippers this morning and nearly wept when I saw the prices.

Not helped by the pound taking a thrashing of late I suspect.

For the abuse mine get and the length of time they last I would say £100 is good value.

But duuuuuude think of the R&D that's gone into them ;d

You're not the only one thinking this. When did £200+ become common for shoes!?

Personally, I picked up a virtually unused pair of Shimano XC7s for £60 from Facebook and I'm chuffed with them. Worth having a look on the used market, as plenty of people buy shoes and then sell 'em quickly when they find that they don't fit. Of course, it's a bit of a size lottery, but I find that buying shoes is like this anyway as it's hard to tell if a pair of shoes will fit properly until they've got a couple of hundred miles under them anyway.

But duuuuuude think of the R&D that’s gone into them

True, the technical evolution in the plastic buckles and velcro straps that you see these days, as opposed to the plastic buckles and velcro straps on my ten year old shoes, is just staggering...

Plus, to add to my consternation, there seems to be little in stock in anything in a size 9/10/44ish, which is not exactly an uncommon foot size.

Try gaerrne, can be cheap and are good shoes, only ones I use on road and mtb

I got some Fiziks from CRC ‘cheap’ £60 ish

shoes haven’t developed in the last 20 years but they are stupid money

(carbon exotica) aside

Quite alot of Shimano shoes fall around £60.  I picked up some SPD M089's cheap from Decathlon. Good shoes, fit well.  My Northwaves were getting worn out. PS size up one.   I also bought Shimano MW7 winter boots last year (much more expensive) wore them nearly all last year as it was that boggy, not this last few months though.

Quite happy with them, and on a par with the Carbon Spesh road shoes that cost me loads of wonga.

I'm still in the mindset of Five Tens and the like being around £60, now they're £80 in the sales, otherwise £100+ (not counting the rubbish ones and crap designs, stupid sizes, which might be cheaper).

Brexit of course 😉

About 8 years ago you could buy carbon soled racing shoes for £100, which is what they'd been for about 10 years by that point. Now they're all £200 plus, which does take the piss a bit. I'm baffled by the idea that the most expensive shoes a lot of people will own will be for getting ruined on a bicycle in the woods.

Giro do some for about £60 that are  pretty darned good.

Yes, everything has increased - apparently cost of raw materials, but I suspect it is more due to the fact we are all mugs and willing to pay more is the primary reason. No doubt there are others that are properly justified, but the main reason is because we are all daft enough to pay those prices.

My specialised shoes are about the same now as they were when I bought them about 3 years ago. You CAN spend a lot more on shoes if you want, but you don’t have to.

bike stuff price inflation has nothing to do with Brexit or fluctuations in currency. There are so many people in the supply chain creaming a bit off the top at every step and so many people out there willi to pay the prices, that prices will naturally keep on going up independently of the usual economic factors. They’re premium lifestyle products and people will pay premium lifestyle prices. As consumers we’vo Only got ourselves to blame.

bike stuff price inflation has nothing to do with Brexit or fluctuations in currency.

Er, it does actually.  You think sales managers aren’t looking at currency fluctuation and trying to hedge prices when setting retail prices and sales forecasts?  Of course there’s a degree of “how much can we squeeze them for” too, but most things are imported now so currency fluctuation will always play a part.

but then they are probably ten years old

one hundred quid

sounds like value for money to me if they last that long

these are nice circa £100-130

Get them in sales - my last Shimano shoes were £45 from Go Outdoors.

My Five Tens last a year to two years at most before disintegrating. The way I abuse them and don't clean them probably doesn't help.

I’m still in the mindset of Five Tens and the like being around £60, now they’re £80 in the sales, otherwise £100+ (not counting the rubbish ones and crap designs, stupid sizes, which might be cheaper).

This, my Elements died after about 18months, usual thing for me, too many position corrections without lifting properly and tore the soles, they were very thin by that point anyway.

I found some Impact Lows on CRC for £50! Current ones too (they're on sale for a week if you're still quick) sadly, 9s were out, ordered 8.5s (my feet are technically size 8, but I need a 9 for the width usually) but they were just too tight.

Bought some Shimano GR7s for £75, which I think is the most I've ever paid for riding shoes, I wept a little.

Bought my first Five Tens for £35... didn't want to spend the extra £10 on Sam Hills at the time.

Oh, for everyone saying get in the sales - CRC are having a 1 week sale atm, but for the most part, it's June the sales were a few months ago when they were getting rid of last years stuff and a few months from now when half the riders in the UK seem to pack up till Spring.

bike stuff price inflation has nothing to do with Brexit or fluctuations in currency.

Er, it does actually.  You think sales managers aren’t looking at currency fluctuation and trying to hedge prices when setting retail prices and sales forecasts?  Of course there’s a degree of “how much can we squeeze them for” too, but most things are imported now so currency fluctuation will always play a part.

I stopped working for a certain distributor in 2009. In the weeks before I left trade price lists (and consequential retail prices) changed three times due to fluctuations in the pound / dollar / a certain far eastern currency.

It doesn't just make a difference, it alters everything. Then factor in raw material prices (rubber was going up when I left, high-end tyres increased in cost). Then factor in shops such as CRC cutting margins to the bone due to bulk buying/selling grey and it's a constantly shifting dynamic.

Assuming Brexit hasn't affected imports is naive at best. I know of one company that lost a large order the day after the vote due to the unknowns faced. Since then I can only imagine Brexit 'negotiations' and Trump's trade bungling has made everything even more volatile.

Yes.  Someone seems to have decided the bike buying market had a lot more money than they were spending and prices have increased in general.

Get them in sales

Yes, check CRC, etc for the clearance stuff they are trying to shift. I got some carbon soled XC shoes reduced from £220 to £65. I agree that some of the full retail prices seem a bit daft for the upper end shoes.

carbon soled XC shoes reduced from £220

How much? !!! 😮😮

IHN - "a bit tired" - what's actually wrng with them? A decade+ out of a pair of shoes isn't unusual for me

what’s actually wrng with them? A decade+ out of a pair of shoes isn’t unusual for me

To be honest, not a lot really. They could probably do with some new insoles, and, er, I'd prefer a white pair

*hangs head in shame*

Not what you are looking for ..but there are still some bargains out there ..

Just picked up these ( 2017 version ) from Start Cycles for £65.00 this week ..(rrp £109.00)

Shimano AM900.

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I've had this very same internal conversation in the last couple of weeks. My Specialized MTB shoes are something like 12 years old and needed replacing. I tried the various options from Mavic, Shimano etc, plus shrainer (shoe/trainer) alternatives, and realised I needed some more Speshes for shoe shape, fit etc.

One problem is that Specialized aren't as widely available as other brands, something to do with distribution deals I guess. So it's tougher to find deals on them, they're not in CRC, for example. I got lucky with the sales just last week though, and picked up some Specialized Comp shoes for about a third off (in Canada, so not much use to you I suspect).

edit to add: 10 years' inflation alone means a 20% increase in price from 10 years ago, so what was £80 could now be c£100.

Also, these ones:  https://www.evanscycles.com/specialized-comp-mtb-shoe-EV195667

Oh, btw everyone talking about 'inflation' remember the annual rate of inflation is only a record of how a very broad spectrum of product's pricing has changed and not a 'rule' for how much they should rise.

Quite a few items are a lot cheaper than they were 10 years ago, a lot of items are much more expensive than they would be if they only raised at the rate of inflation.

Bike and bike parts don't generally conform to normal inflation because the names stay the same, but the products themselves improve - for example, the first 'expensive' MTB I ever bought was a 2006 Enduro Pro it cost £2700. If we just used the average inflation rate from 2006 to 2018 the current one should  £3800 - it doesn't, it costs £6500, and maybe there's an element of profiteering from Specialised, but I doubt it, this ain't the 90s, MTBing isn't a boom sport, no the difference is the new one is carbon, the old one Alu, the new one has a dropper, it's got an X0 Eagle drive train, the old one had a 2x9 X9 etc etc.

Take away branding and the original £2700 today gets you a near the top of the range Bird Aeris, it's got an Alu frame, but also a dropper and Eagle, the inflation corrected £3800 would get you a Capra Carbon Comp, another dropper post, XTR gearing, X2 shock etc. In reality, to match the actual spec of my old Enduro, not the badges, just the spec, you wouldn't need to spend that - the new Calibre BBB has more controls, and more functionality than it did back then, even forgetting the fact that it's 12 years worth of R&D better, it's a better bike, for less money.

We're talking about shoes not bikes though?

So 'shoe inflation' is probably inline with general inflation plus a bit to account for the currently weak pound?

I looked at the price of some new spesh comp shoes had a sharp intake of breath and bought some superglue, the sole is still in place 2 months later!!

We’re talking about shoes not bikes though?

So ‘shoe inflation’ is probably inline with general inflation plus a bit to account for the currently weak pound?

It really depends, current Five Tens (for exmaple) are way better than the old ones, if they didn't own a patent to the only thing that makes them good (the Stealth Rubber) then other manufactures would make cheaper ones and you'd be able to buy shoes as good, or better than the original Five Tens, probably for less than they cost back then.

Also when it comes to inflation  "general inflation plus a bit to account for the currently weak pound?" aren't two separate things - if they cost more now than they did 5 years ago, that increase is the rate of inflation for that item, it doesn't matter how the increase came about. Inflation isn't some normal tide-like effect that just makes everything more expensive than it was last year.

If you want something cheaper. I just got a set of DHB Dorica MTB shoes from Wiggle, £43 and pretty nice for the money although you need to be careful with sizing. They come in white too  http://www.wiggle.co.uk/dhb-dorica-mtb-shoe/

But decent shoes are an investment considering they might last another ten years, could be worth spending more and getting the ones you like best!

Try having odd shaped feet, where the range selection is minuscule and only things that will fit are well North of £200... 😭

The last pair of road shoes I bought were a veritable bargain, reduced to a mere £180. I balked at spending £339 on the top of the range heat mouldable ones, even though they actually fitted like a glove.

it’s got an X0 Eagle drive train, the old one had a 2×9 X9

But surely you've got 2 more rings and 1 less derailleur and shifter, I would've thought that would make it cheaper not more expensive... (Just sayin)

I suspect the cost increase is very much "because they can" and "because people will think it's better if it costs more" across the board for bike stuff.

DHB Dorica are currently £42 in white (£37 in black).

You can still get shoes that are good vfm.

How much? !!!

I wouldn't have paid full price for them, but £65 seemed a good deal. Looking at CRC, the most expensive MTB shoes are currently £350!

But surely you’ve got 2 more rings and 1 less derailleur and shifter, I would’ve thought that would make it cheaper not more expensive… (Just sayin)

I suspect the cost increase is very much “because they can” and “because people will think it’s better

The conspiracy is real, man.

Shoes are silly price at the moment, particularly if you want anything at the "performance" end of the spectrum. I just picked up a pair of Spec S-Works road shoes that were 1/3 off retail and were still over £200. Look pimp though!

+1 for large, oddly shaped feet here.  Finding shoes that fit and don't cost a chuffing mint is a challenge, partially resolved when an exasperated MrsPJM asked me what I wanted for my birthday - a brand new pair of Five Ten Falcons.

It's not just shoes, everything is more expensive of late including components (mechs, cassettes, chains, cranks etc), I would argue that geopolitical instability hasn't been great for currency exchanges.

I'll just echo the previous mention of DHB, I've a pair of DHB road and MTB shoes and both were bloody good VFM ~3 years ago when I bought them, the current lot look similarly good VFM when compared with the likes of Specialized/Shimano/Giro/etc...

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/dhb/cycling-shoes/

Fit seems to be about right, wide enough in the toe for someone like me with broadish feet... give them a whirl?