Buying my first pair of road shoes! Please help

[RolliePollie]

I love my Sidis. But I could never afford to pay full price for them...I found a close-out online and paid under $100. I have super narrow feet with very narrow heels and Sidis are the only cycling shoes I've found that hug my feet. And they're very comfy!

[Seal]

I have the floral "ridiculous looking" Sidis. http://www.sierratradingpost.com/i/2...For-Women.html

Someone must have been smoking something in Italy when they made these shoes; white with royal blue flowers and iridescent blue and pink glaze! They're crazy! And they were $274 although the add above has them for significantly less.

I was terrified of buying shoes that wouldn't fit because I have very high arches and a very high instep and blister easily. My friend's mom said they were "like butter". She was correct. They are really comfortable and the owner of one of our LBS's daughter who's like 5 years old saw them and said "Those are the prettiest bike shoes ever!!!" Apparently they'll last a long time too.

Also I have a pair of crazy hot pink Oakleys which are cool but somewhat ridiculous (they look better on my husband!). As they guy at the bike store said if you're already wearing a helmet don't you look pretty silly anyway? I figured why not just have fun? I would never in a million years buy actual shoes like that but for the bike it seemed kinda funny.

Incidentally apparently Sidi has consolidated their North American distributors and prices will go up next year. I was told to expect not to be able to find them for under $300 so if you can get some on sale probably ought to.

[nikkoblu2]

So if I'm not ready to go clipless with my new bike, but would like to find shoes to wear now and plan on going clipless in the Spring...should I find shoes I like and then worry about the cleats later?

Will the type of shoes I buy drastically limit the different styles of clips I can choose from?

[Owlie]

DBF's advice was to find shoes that fit well first and worry about the pedals second. Yes, it will limit your cleat choices (unless you find a universally compatible model).

Re Sidi prices: Seriously?!