Hi,
I need to change my Triathlon shoes. Been riding with non carbon shoes for about 2 years.
What is the main difference between a carbon shoe “vs” regular shoe? (aside from being more expensive + lighter)
Will I see a substantial difference while riding and are they really worth the extra money?
Thanks
As long as we’re talking shoes, I want to know if most people train in non-tri (non-race) shoes for the bike?
They are stiffer, which results in more power output and efficiency in the long run. (little to no flexing)
Carbon shoes tend to weight less and have sitffer soles. As most carbons shoes tend to the higher end models they often have better quality uppers. As carbon can be made thinner the sole will also be fthinner so you get more feel for the pedal
Andy
'They are stiffer, which results in more power output and efficiency in the long run. (little to no flexing) ’
this is slowtwitch, we need data…
Seriously, i tried and tried to find something to back this up. I’ve heard it so many times. (I’m looking for a new pair of shoes and trying to decide on a model) Do you get more efficiency? Why? The ball of my foot is directly over the pedal spindle, what is flexing and how am i loosing power? And if it is flexing are you sure i’m loosing power. Look at the threads on flexing bikes. The experts seem to say that the flex just gives back the energy on the rebound. Will shoes do that?
A long time ago the pro that won St Anthony’s (international distance race in florida), i think he was from down under, forgot his bike shoes. i don’t know if he rode barefoot or with running shoes, and i don’t recall if he put on regular pedals or not. but i seem to recall he went barefoot with his clip in pedals (i’m sure some one will remember), anyway, he desimated the field. Won the race without clip in, carbon sole, light weight, super stiff, one strap velcro (with an outside closure) bike shoes. OMG
Please, someone, bring data…
Thanks in advance
Personally I like the “Feel” of my Carbon Sidi Tri Shoes. I do notice a difference between the regular road shoe and Carbon shoe. Also, I train in the same style of race shoe.
Are they worth the money? Who knows. Stiffness is debatable, in that decent non-carbon shoes are stiff enough. And it’s possible for shoes to be too stiff.
One thing, carbon soles are thinner than most non-carbon soles. This is generally a good thing. Also, most of the ‘better’ shoes have carbon soles, so if you want a higher quality shoe you will likely get the carbon sole by default.
If your current shoes are the bee’s knees, and only two years, why change? Unless you are a beast, two year old riding shoes should be in fine shape. I wouldn’t change just to get carbon soles, I think you will be dissapointed … assuming of course your current shoes fit well and are setup right.
That rings a distant bell. I think that was Craig Walton and he just put his running shoes on and stepped on the clipless pedal so he had no upward pull (which I think data previously elaborated on different Slowtwitch threads shows is much less important that the mashing down force) and his feet had to have hurt. I suppose that this shows it’s the engine, not the equipment.
I only ride in tri shoes. I’m in the habit of leaving the shoes on the bike when I get off the bike, just as I would do in a triathlon. This came in handy last year when I had to dismount at T2 quicker than I had anticipated–it was second nature.
I’ve used Sidi shoes for years, and recently went from the nylon/fiberglass soles to the CF. Much stiffer!
The only reason I need to change… HYGIENE!
That’s why I was wondering if I should “upgrade” to a better/carbon shoe or just stick with the regular ones.
I did not see one of the main reasons for carbon.
All shoes (but for some of the new Sidi) are made to be stiff stiff stiff. The stiffer, typically the less you are prone to get hot spots. What you will see most often is that you cant tell one shoe from another in how stiff they are, but the carbon sole will be far thinner than the sole of the less costly shoes. The lower the “stack height” the better off you are in the end with power transfer (see SmP pedals for case in point).
So…are non carbon soles less stiff? Not typically. Do all shoes get less stiff with age? Sure. I can even feel the classic TBT soles getting more flexy on my wet weather shoes (TBT was used by Carnac, Time and a few others). But, at the end of the day the only real gain is stack height.
If you want to think about it in the bigger picture…if you have a lower end shoe with a 12mm thick sole, add a Look style pedal (10 mm) stack height - that just changed 2cm on your bike. So, if you got a shoe pedal with a 6mm stack height (Time with Time shoe - Equipe model) you could get a bike that is 2cm smaller - thus lighter and stiffer. Or, even get a 0mm stack height from a SmP and get a bike 3cm smaller.