I’m wearing a pair of carbon-soled Northwave Evolutions, circa 2001. They have around 33,000 miles in them. How long do you all wear your shoes? Is it possible for the carbon sole to weaken? What about the straps/upper? Will they “loosen” over time? I’ve got my eye on a pair of Shimano TR-02s, and the Northwaves do feel a little loose to me.
Thoughts?
-Colin
My Nike Poggios are circa 2002 and still going strong. The leather on the inside of the heel is starting to tear though and I finally got a new, well 2003 cheap off ebay, pair of Nike Hautacams for my road shoes. There is nothing really wrong with the Poggios though. Unless the carbon delaminates there should be no loss of stiffness. And unless you can tell the straps have stretched to much I don’t think you need to worry. I’d guess most shoes go by way of a)upper and sole peeling apart, b)strap velcro failing/peeling off c) upper stretching too much or tearing, or d) cleat getting rusted into the shoe, this may not be a real problem but has happened to me and almost been the end of my shoes.
I think somebody’s looking for an excuse to break the piggy bank…
If you don’t need permission from your boss, just buy the dang things.
That is a very good point, my friend.
-C
I’m glad to hear that your Northwaves have 33,000 miles on them. Mine only have about 3,000, that means with the number of miles I ride I’ll never need to buy another pair of shoes again or at least not for 5 to 7 years.
If I like the way they fit and feel, I normally wear mine until they fall apart, my old Sidi Genius had 45,000 miles on them before I replaced them when the heel cup split. If that didn’t happen I would still be using them.
I let someone talk me into the idea of “just go while you’re on the bike.” In other words, don’t stop at a porta-john during a race, just let it flow. That 30 seconds really made a difference in my 12 hour Ironman…by the time the shoes got home, they needed replacing…even after leaving them in the sun. Maybe I’m just toxic.