First season. Used to road, where stiff is better.
But I’m thinking that running in an uber-stiff carbon sole might not be great.
Is nylon fine, or perhaps better, for this application?
I think you can not go wrong if you get a good pair of non carbon soled MTB/CX shoes. I used Sidi Bullets for many many years and never felt that were letting me down in any way. David K.
I’ve never had CF soles on a single pair of cycling shoes. Doesn’t seem to be slowing me down any.
Given that cx generally has run-ups on most every course, I’d imagine a more flexible (ok - slightly less rigid) shoe would be beneficial.
I used to do adventure racing, and often had to go fairly long distances on foot, in bike shoes.
Sidi Dominators (2’s - haha) worked ok for that.
Currently (for mtb’ing), I use Specialized Rime mtb shoes, which have vibram soles.
They aren’t the lightest things, but off the bike they are SOOO much better than the Sidi’s.
In dry or frozen flex in the toe of the shoe can help, here I use sidi spider srs with short spikes up front…
In the slop if matters less I’ve found as the forefoot digs in, and here having the stiffer tip of the foot dig in may actually be a lite better… With longer spikes…
Aside from this the ease and reliability of pedal clip in I have found to be a far bigger issue (ie can loose more time) so consider which show tread clears mud best for wet conditions… Again not much of a problem in dry and frozen…
all in all if your not seconds from winning just go with best fitting shoe with good tread reviews…
Have fun
Second year for me. I suck at keeping the rubber side down, so I think I may run more than most. But these are the ones I want:
I have some cheapo Mavics that don’t have a carbon sole and they suck to run in. I haven’t been able to get a clear answer on this same issue, but I figure that just like triathlon stuff, without meaningful data the best option is to just pick what you think looks good.
Yeah, those are rad. I love my Empires for road, and will be getting those when they come in stock. Still need something for the interim though.
there is not much running in most races, so a shoe that works well for MTB is a good choice for cross. You do want to be able to install toe spikes, you want them to be light and have a reliable closure system. I’m not crazy about this new “Boa” closure, the Sidi is a decent bet. Having a rubber sole is helpful because you have to pedal unclipped sometimes and shoes like Sidi can be a tad slipperty. I have the Specialized this year and like them, except for the Boa, which has already broken once and proved to be a pain to find spare parts.
With some shoes you have to trim the rubber away a little to get them to engage quickly with your pedal system.
The eggbeater pedals can be rough on the carbon soles
you can order boa parts at http://boatechnology.com/repair-center/ , the last time i did it was under warranty
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you can order boa parts at http://boatechnology.com/repair-center/ , the last time i did it was under warranty
i had a devil of a time figuring out which was the correct part, Specialized was zero help
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Yeah, depending on the course, you should be on the bike ~95% of the time (give or take 5%). IMHO, the soles don’t matter much.