Cycling shoes- Are carbon soles worth it?

I ride SPD mountain bike cleats with the Shimano MTB carbon shoe.  I feel that I have more coverage and dispursment into the cleat then I did riding with my buddies non carbon road shoes with SPD road pedals and cleats.  I think they were totally worth it, and they have lasted me 3 years of commuting and pleasure riding.   I think they probably have another 10 left in them. 

Good shoes are worth it if they fit well.  I think getting comfortable shoes is the second most important part of the bike, after the saddle. 

I have a pair with carbon soles and I'm not a big fan, but not because of the sole.  The shoe just doen's work well for my foot.  My old pair of Sidi's were much cheaper but fit well and therefore were the better shoe for me.  My new pair will definitely be carbon but I'm taking my time to find a pair that I know will be comfortable as I put in the miles leading up to IMTX. 

I have two pair, one (road shoes) with carbon soles (not what I was looking for, but what fit) and one (tri shoes) plastic (or nylon or whatever it is).  I can barely tell the difference between them.

I may have just had a really crappy pair of nylon soled shoes, but I noticed a pretty big difference when I swithced to a full carbon sole.

Is DuraAce worth it to you over Ultegra?

I don't think most of us can really justify the high cost of some of the technology we use- which only contributes to seconds of time in races that we're not all that competitive.  That said- I got a stellar deal on a great pair of carbon road shoes that fit well- so I'm carbon equipped.


Shoes are rotating weight tho'.  It's probably as good a place as any to save weight and add stiffness.

Edited by morey000 2010-10-19 2:13 PM

Yes.  My first pair of road shoes were Specialized BG pro with a non-carbon sole.  They worked great for the first year or two until I started riding longer distances more often.  I have foot trouble, so when I got to 50+ mile rides multiple times in a week, I started noticing issues (hot spots, aches, etc).  My shoes were also starting to wear out, so when I found a smashing deal on the identical shoe but with the carbon sole, I jumped on it.  I've been wearing that same shoe for 4 years now and they are as good as new.  The stiffer sole translates to greater comfort on long rides which means less foot issues.

I even upgraded my MTB shoes in the exact same way when I got the chance because it was such a drastic difference on the road shoe. 

Did they make me faster or lighter?  Doubt it.  Did they give me comfort, you betcha.

There are some many different shoes out there that it's tough to generalize... but I'll do it anyway...
There's not much (if any) performance difference between a high-quality nylon shoe  and a carbon shoe. Plastic can be just as stiff, it just takes more material and therefore more weight. 
So the real difference is weight. A carbon sole can achieve a desirable stiffness with less weight.

Lower-end shoes are generally nylon and flex some, but that is more a product of their design... to facilitate walking and comfort... not necessarily a product of the sole material.

^^^^^

It's all about shoe construction/design/fit, not material.
Most carbon sole shoes are well-made (& $$$), but I've seen some cheap carbon soles that aren't as stiff as a popsicle stick.  And if that stiff carbon sole does not fit YOUR feet it can turn long rides into torture.

I'm a pretty big boy (6'4" 205) and I found I would flex my plastic soled shoes.  Once I got a pair of carbon shoes I could not feel the flex (which is just wasted energy not going into the pedal).

I have Shiman Tr31's, which are their entry level tri shoe. This past weekend I rode the 3rd fastest bike split in my race. Did the top two riders have carbon-soled shoes? Maybe, but in my mind it doesn't seem to make a big difference - I'd rather put that extra money towards race fees.

The difference is in fatigue life.  The fiberglass based shoe will give out sooner than the carbon fiber (and the carbon fiber is stiffer, but I don't necessarily see that as a huge advantage).  The marketing line is that it the fiberglass shoe will decrease in stiffness after a year or two.  Now the fiberglass will fatigue more readily, but I don't know if I believe the marketing timeline.

Last year I bougt a pair of carbon sole road shoes.  the most money I have ever spent on cycling shoes.  they seemed to fit well and were comfortable when I tried them on but riding they kill my feet!  The longer the ride the more pain in my feet!  They SUCK!!  Fortunately I kept my old pair and that's what I am riding with now.  I'll keep the carbon for when I ride the trainer or spin class. 

I don't know if this is true, but at the time I was purchasing my carbon soles tri shoe the local bike guy stated that the carbon soles would "absorb more of the road/biking vibration".
Take it for whatever it's worth.

Edited by 1stTimeTri 2010-10-20 12:32 PM