I tried to get ahold of the new Lake tri shoes, they were "not yet available"

More out of curiosity, why not the Sidi T-1,or Shimano's TR-01?

If you have not tried the Shimano TR-01 on your foot you are missing out. The sole is the stiffest out there (same as the R-214 road version). It has one strap that is plenty wide to distribute the load and also has a very dense tongue pad that makes it very comfy. We sell this shoe to roadies because it is so comfortable and efficient. We dropped the Sidi and Carnac tri shoes becuase it outsold them 10-1.

Shad, I have the lake cx210 (white/yellow ones), I like em'. They are pretty stiff though not as stiff as the shimano tri shoes. I don't pull the velcro strap very tight so I can slip in and out of the shoe easily. The biggest benefit to me is no more foot pain, I had some nike shoes before these and after 30min of pedaling the outside of my feet were killing me! With the Lakes my foot pain vanished!

I forgot our secret weapon..... put a set of Carnac Comforable insoles ($35) in the Shimano Tr-01 shoes if you have high arches. We put them in our Sidi shoes as well. Our customers typically notice a huge different in support and comfort level. We have also been doing a number of Rocket 7 custom shoes. Almost 40% lighter than anything on the market and you can get them in either production,semi-custom, and full blown custom. Still one of the stiffest shoes available. Any serious tri-guy or gal who has not been satisifed with what is out there should check these out.

My riding buddy has the Sidi. He loves them. The two straps (which open away from the cranks) and all of the air holes seem to be great for him. He leaves the bottom straps unchanged, and he just pulls the shoe on and tightens the top straps. The lack of a tongue makes them easy to pull on in a hurry. He's done several IM's in them and they are comfortable to the end. I've been jealous.

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Dick

Take everything I say with a grain of salt. I know nothing.

Those two choices were mostly based on me being a cheap bastard. Since I raced last year in my MTB shoes I figure it time to upgrade. Try to do a quick transition in a pair of Specialized Body Comp shoes with the full sock liner I dare ya.

Shad,

I am in the process of buying new tri shoes as well. And i think I am in your price zone as well. I had the 200 series lake tri shoes mentioned above. They were great shoes, comfortable, wide and a nice balance between stiff and comfortable. Bad news is they shrank like a mofo from getting wet. They dropped more then one size. If you get the lakes you may want to cut the velco strap as it extends to far and rubs against your crank.

Two friends have the 100 series blue model and are pleased with them. The blue/100's are made of man made material and are less likely to shrink. The bad news is your feet will breath less and the shoes could stink. The yellow-black/200's are leather and shrunk. I wish I did not buy the 200 series shoes and went with the 100's. Lake also make's a 300 series (red) that is made of a high end leather like the carnac's and do not shrink. I ordered a pair of carnacs but had to return them. The plates were not correct and overall I was not happy with the quality of the shoe, especially the seams.

The PI shoes look interesting. Good luck with your decision.

Rockfish

I've got to put in another good word for the Shimano TR-01's. They're pricey, but they're by far the most comfortable tri shoes I've ever tried. When it comes to things comfort-related I think trying to save a little money comes back to haunt you in the end. If you can get comfy in the Lakes and save some money that's great, but if you're not getting a great fit you should try in the Shimano's to see if they're better for you.

Shad,

I tried the Lake 110's and really didn't like them. The tongue was sewn to both sides of the shoe at the top of the tongue. This left me very little room for me to get my foot in. I really had to sit down and stretch the tongue material to get my foot in and at that point I was sweatting. I sent them back and am saving up for the Sidi tri shoes. Hope I'm descibing this well enough.I was looking to save some $$ too, but this shoe wasn't it for me.

Barry

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Great things never come from comfort zones.

Shad -

I picked up a pair of Pearl Izumi SLRs from "Steve Larsen Wheelworks" nonetheless over the winter and absolutely love them. I've put ~400mi on them so far and haven't had any issues.

They are plenty stiff when I get up to sprint or climb, but soft and loose enough that my feet don't go numb when in the aero position for hours on end, as I have a pretty wide forefoot and high arch.

Keep in mind I came from the cheapo Shimano $60 on sale special shoe from REI (don't remember the model #) and after that these are like heaven.

One complaint is that with my high arch the strap runs right over it and if I tighten it down too tight (my own fault) my feet can go numb pretty easily.

That's my take on them so far - I'm doing some major hill work in them this weekend and a race in early April. I'll post more then if you haven't made up your mind.

The Lake tri shoe works great has a sockliner which I like (no pinching). Cost $85

Is there any reason for a MOP who only does 1/2 IM or longer to get a tri specific shoe over a roadie shoe? I'm looking to cut 15' off my 1/2 IM time this year, the extra 15" I can save in transition isn't going to help any.

I have the Pearl Izumi SLR shoes and have put about 400 miles on them. Stiff yet comfortable. I really like them except during a brick I found that they got caught ..you are right the straps open toward the bike.

I also have the PI SLR shoes and i love them
I used them first only for competition (Olympic distance)
but now i use them also for my trainings (8000km) and they still are in great shape!!
I also love the design
They rock! price /quality the best you can find[reply]

where did you get your carnac insoles? i have a pair of carnacs and my puppy ate one of the insoles and i have yet to find a replacement. can you point me in the right direction? also did you get the yellow or blue ones?

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f/k/a mclamb6