Unless you're feeling noticeable deflection of the sole at the ball of your foot I'd bet that there really isn't a measurable gain to be found by switching. If your current shows are comfy I'd stick with them. More expensive shoes with carbon soles are likely to be lighter but it sounds as if you might be able to lose shed a kilo of two for free;)

Hugh

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Genetics load the gun, lifestyle pulls the trigger.

I don't know about free watts but I much prefer a stiffer carbon sole. It reduces foot fatigue as it holds the foot better, I ride Bont's and love the bathtub construction of them, really secure and solid basis for power transfer. A stiffer sole does transfer the maximum amount of rider effort into pedalling force. This benefit of increased power transfer has been described as significant by publications but I have yet to see any really good study on it.

There is also a benefit in a reduced stack height as a carbon sole doesn't have to be as thick for the required stiffness.

To me the benefits outweigh the expense but your mileage may vary.

Appreciate the feedback.

I'm confused as to what the question is.
Carbon fiber shoe sole ARE composite.

A material consisting of two or more separate constituents like resin and fiber amongst others, is what composite means. So "Composite vs carbon sole" doesn't mean much. It's like saying "Dinner vs a meal", one is a subset of the other. It's meaningless without more info.

Carbon fiber means just carbon fibers and a resin.
Composite could mean the same thing, or could mean fiber-glass, kevlar, any combination of the three or there's other materials that could be used.

Ai_1 sorry I didn't realize I left it that grey.

When I look I feel like I see 2 types of shoes. Those with a complete carbon outsole, and those without. Those without, mainly referes to theirs as a composite, I'm not sure what that means, except something that creates a hard outsole, but isn't complete carbon.

so was just looking to understand the difference and the value.

Ah right. I'm not surprised, a lot of terminaology in cycling is far from accurate!
Apologies if I came over as pedantic... but I am! ;p

No worries, so any thoughts or recommendations?

I don't think there's much in it between a very stiff sole and a slightly stiffer sole.
Probably not worth it in my opinion unless there's some other factor like the shoes happen to be a better fit, have a better closure mechanism or come in a nicer colour scheme.

Carbon actively kills bacteria.

I believe there's not any real difference, except carbon ones are usually lighter. I'd go for fit and comfort first, then if you have two shoes left to choose from, pic the carbon one over the composite if it's an option.

My most comfortable and therefore best cycling shoes have been a low-end Specialized nylon sole based on their Body Geometry fit. So you can tell it's pretty individual.

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Zen and the Art of Triathlon. Strava Workout Log
Interviews with Chris McCormack, Helle Frederikson, Angela Naeth, and many more.
http://www.zentriathlon.com

Pardon?

Do you mean to say a carbon fiber shoe sole kills bacteria within the shoe?
That's a new one on me (are you sure you don't mean silver or maybe carbon in the linings, but even if it's true, are you suggesting a fully carbon fiber sole has this property and a mixed fiber sole, including carbon, does not? That I would certainly not believe in a hurry.

There is also a benefit in a reduced stack height as a carbon sole doesn't have to be as thick for the required stiffness.

FWIW - This is one of the advantages. Not sure of the bio-mechanical advantages of this, but when you ride in shoes with a thinner sole and lower stack, you feel more connected to the cleat/pedal interface.

Also shoes with true, full carbon fiber soles, tend to run a lot lighter

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

Hmmm, yeah. I hadn't thought it through fully before posting the above. While I don't think stiffness is that critical, if there's a significant difference in weight or stack height due to use of a full carbon sole that will make some difference as the last two posters said. Again not huge but possibly worth considering.

Appreciate the feedback.
Really enjoy the podcast by the way.

Oh wow, thanks! Next show will be out soon with a review of Apple Airpods and how to keep them from falling out of your ears while running and biking. I mountain biked 1.5 hours with them yesterday and they stayed in using a couple of cheap add-ons. Thanks again!

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Zen and the Art of Triathlon. Strava Workout Log
Interviews with Chris McCormack, Helle Frederikson, Angela Naeth, and many more.
http://www.zentriathlon.com

It's very unlikely that you'd find any free watts from a stiffer shoe. Comfort should come first. Ease and speed of entry if you want to do flying starts.
Knowing you have carbon on your feet will make you feel faster 😂
Try on a few at a shop rather than buy online.