Shoes: Specialized Carbon Pro's (Women's)

[Starfish]

JanB, thanks. I've only had one pair of biking shoes ever. I read stuff about stiffness of soles vs. comfort for all day, but don't have experience!

Those Specialized shoes were SOOOoooo comfortable in the store, though!!

[juliejewels]

Just bought them today...I LOVE them I had to buy a size larger, though.
I have had great success over the years with Specialized shoes. I cannot wait to ride this weekend and sport my new shoes.

[Starfish]

Hi all, it's me again! In the thread below, I asked a follow-up question about how it is to use shoes and cleats like this when you're OFF the bike on a long ride, like a century or longer. Wondering how it is to negotiate bathroom & food breaks on these types of shoes, etc. Thanks for any follow-up. I am close to getting these shoes and some new pedals!

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=16578

[Bike Goddess]

For what it's worth here's my 2 cents- I've had Specialized Carobn shoes for about 3+ years now. I put in Superfeet (the blue one) to help with arch support (took out Specialized insole first).

I cycle with Look imitation cleats - from Performance bike. You can get cleat covers for them which I have and use whenever I have to get off the bike for a break (as in walk) and when I've forgotten something in the house (we have hardwood floors so the covers work great). If you are diligent about putting the covers on as soon as you are off the bike, you will save your cleats and it will be much easier for you to walk around. I've had to walk some good distances in them- no harm done.

I also wear wool socks in my shoes. These won't sweat when your feet get hot. Yes, I've done many a century in these shoes and wouldn't wear any other brand!

[ladyicon]

Hi Starfish. I have had Specialized carbon shoes for about 8 months. The pair that I have are 2006 shoes. They have a sock liner inside of them, which i would not get again. Back to your question.....these are great shoes and walking in them is a breeze, wearing them for a century you never even know that they are there. I wear SPD cleats. Hope this helps.

[VeloVT]

My boyfriend has Specialized S-Works shoes (carbon sole and a cool BOA closure) and likes them a lot. It was horrendously difficult to find a shoe that he didn't find uncomfortable for some reason -- we spent hours and hours looking.

In general, I think the difficulty of walking in road shoes/cleats is greatly exaggerated. It's really not that bad, even without cleat covers. (I don't have them actually -- though every time I walk over muddy ground and have to clean my shoes before I can clip in I think I should get a pair ). The comfort factor -- at least on the bike -- is more related to fit than stiffness, I think, and making sure you don't fasten them too tightly if you are prone to numbness.

[GLC1968]

Hey Starfish -

I mentioned earlier that I'd bought the carbon pro shoes but hadn't worn them on my century. Since then, I have. I've worn them for centuries, for two day events, and for moutain climbing when it was just TOO steep and I had to push my bike up about a 1/4 mile... No problems!

I have the look-type cleats (shimano pedals) and I don't have cleat covers. I haven't wiped out yet! I do find them to be a tad slippery on wet surfaces, but I just try to avoid those. I also have to knock mud off them after pee-breaks in the woods, but it hasn't been an issue yet. Oh, and the walk up the mountain...not comfortable, but doable. It just motivated me to get my fat butt back on the bike as soon as humanly possible!

For me, there are no better options. I find that I cannot wear my mountain type shoes (even though they are super comfy for all day mountain biking) for long days on the road bike. I don't know if it's the cleat/pedal combination or the shoe stiffness, but they make my feet ache. I've got foot trouble (its the reason I started biking), and only the stiff road shoes will allow me to be comfy for long days in the saddle. Walking around comfort was secondary importance to me, so I didn't give it much thought. Now I'm used to it and I wouldn't wear any other type shoe.

I have worn my mountain-type shoes on 'touring' type rides where we planned to get off the bike, tour a site (like an old plantation or a farmers market), and then ride again. In those situations, I didn't want to intentionally wear out my cleats...and since the riding part of the day wasn't that long, it didn't matter which shoes I wore.

I hope this all makes sense and helps you in your decision a bit.