carbon sholed shoes?

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by hwttdz
Are carbon soles a good idea? bad idea? Looking for a new pair of shoes, shimano 151 look really slick (not visually, well they look good too, well you get the idea), wondering about durability. I've had my current pair for forever, got some sort of plastic (at least it looks like that) sole. Wondering if carbon could cause trouble.

Holds up for me. I've used Pearl Izumi Vapers and I've got a pair of the new Shimano 215s; the 215s don't have too many miles on them, but they seem sturdy. The Vapers took a great beating, but the carbon is all in one piece.

The stuff is laminated to the bottom of a shoe, where it's not bearing weight in a substantial way, holding pieces together, or anything else -- it's supported by the overall construction and not really doing much more than adding stiffness.

I don't think there's a way for even a powerful rider to stress it to a breaking point, even after lots and lots of riding. You'd have to rest the toe and the heel on a pair of cinder blocks and put a sledgehammer through the shoe to bust the carbon, seems to me.

That's my take. Anyone else?

lokstah said:

Holds up for me. I've used Pearl Izumi Vapers and I've got a pair of the new Shimano 215s; the 215s don't have too many miles on them, but they seem sturdy. The Vapers took a great beating, but the carbon is all in one piece.

The stuff is laminated to the bottom of a shoe, where it's not bearing weight in a substantial way, holding pieces together, or anything else -- it's supported by the overall construction and not really doing much more than adding stiffness.

I don't think there's a way for even a powerful rider to stress it to a breaking point, even after lots and lots of riding. You'd have to rest the toe and the heel on a pair of cinder blocks and put a sledgehammer through the shoe to bust the carbon, seems to me.

That's my take. Anyone else?

My experience with my DMT Ultimax shoe is that they make my feet numb. I was warned of this by my LBS. I don't think this is a rule of thumb, but rather that everyone will have a different result. For me, the result was true. A padded insert may help for some.

-Wm.

Carbon sole = only way to go