Carbon fiber vs. fiberglass/plastic shoe sole

[NYer in MTL]

Hi all- I am buying my first pair of road shoes because a) I plan to start riding longer distance/multi-day tours, and b) I just found out that I have arthritis in one of the joints in my foot (kind of a bummer for someone in her 20s), so I need more support in the soles.

I see that higher end shoes are made with a carbon fiber sole, versus the lower end plastic or fiberglass soles. First of all, is carbon fiber significantly better than both of the alternatives? I know it is stiffer, which equals more support, but is it that noticeable? Also, is fiberglass significantly better than plastic?

I have tried Shimano R099, which fit pretty well, and Shimano R085 which also fit well. I have a somewhat wide foot, so Sidi was way too narrow. Pearl Izumi Vagabond R4 also felt good.

Any response/ suggestion on shoes would be much appreciated!

[Becky]

I'm probably not the best person to ask on this subject, as I keep buying nylon-soled Sidis and never try anything else. They fit me well, and if it ain't broke, don't fix it, right?

But one thought did occur to me: if you're looking for more support, perhaps you might consider aftermarket insoles? I have high arches and one is higher than the other (enough that I can feel the difference). I use Superfeet in all of my cycling shoes- blue for mountain, gray for road- and they make a huge difference with arch cramping, hot spots and toe numbness.

[VeloVT]

Carbon soles are stiffer. This is different than being more supportive. If you seriously need more support than you currently have, carbon soles are not going to be an improvement -- you would probably be better served by insoles. Stiffness aids power transfer. I have a pair of carbon sole Sidis (though not the most expensive model) and a pair of standard sole Sidis (nylon probably?). The carbon soles are a bit stiffer. It IS *slightly* noticeable to me. If I were 190 lbs and putting out 500 watts on a regular basis, it might be a bigger deal, but I would say for the purposes of most primarily recreational riders (and maybe I am making an assumption about you here that I shouldn't, so say so if I am) once you are looking at a dedicated road shoe, the sole material is not hugely important, it's more gravy. It's not a revelatory difference for me.

But, that said, fit is pretty important, and all of my Sidis are much better fitting than my old, low-end Shimano road shoes. (Haven't tried the higher-end Shimanos though...).

If you have $$$ burning a hole in your pocket, by all means buy the most expensive, lightest, stiffest shoes you can justify. But I am of the opinion that the bling road shoe thing is more about style and having expensive gear than it is about power -- not to say that more expensive shoes don't have some nice features (I really like the BOA closure that Specialized puts on its top of the line shoes, for instance), but the performance difference gets smaller and smaller the higher you go up the line.

[NYer in MTL]

Thanks- that's what I needed to know. I think I'm gonna go with a less expensive shoe for now. If I find that I want something more I can always upgrade, but for now I think a lower end shoe should be sufficient.
Getting insoles is also a great idea. I will look into that.

[Grog]

I've had Specialized shoes with Carbon Fiber soles. I now have Sidis (with nylon soles, I hear) and I don't see a noticeable difference. I haven't taken them on 20+km climbs though, but even at the end of long rides (over 100 km with hard hills) they're doing well.

[Aggie_Ama]

I have Sidis non-carbon soles but I use Aline Insoles in my shoes. These insoles are stiff and really helped me with foot pain. They work to correct alignment issues which I had due to really high arches.