In article <
[email protected]>,
[email protected] wrote:
> Ryan Cousineau writes:
>
> >> You didn't say what pedals you use but I think you ought to consider a better shoe. The Shimano
> >> SH-TO92 has smooth soles, looks more lie a regular sport shoe and doesn't have a pressure point
> >> over the pedal, the sole bing practically inflexible. I've worn these to work for years with a
> >> hilly 25 mile round trip daily.
>
>
http://tinyurl.com/a822
>
> > Jobst, what's the sole thickness like on those? I used to wear a pair of Shimano shoes which
> > were obviously the precursors to the MO-38:
>
>
http://tinyurl.com/2ch3a
>
> I've been using these since they were called SH-TO90 and never measured sole thickness, being
> satisfied with their strength. I don't feel the cleat and haven't had a sole break. My failure
> mode is the sole wearing out at the toe since I use them as walking shoes at work and on tours
> where I don't want to carry dirt into the house with waffle stomper tread that dirt riders prefer.
>
> > But then I broke the relatively thin and flexible plastic soles. The cleat was too much for
> > them. My Dad, no monster rider, did in his identical pair the same way.
>
> I put on plenty of high pedal pressure miles and have had no problem.
>
> > These days I'm alternating between Axo Vertigo and Blackball shoes, which are a downhill high-
> > ankle design and and something similar to the TO92, respectively, but seem to have the same very
> > thick plastic sole. I'm also trying to reduce the stress on the sole by running cleat washers
> > between the sole and the cleat (these are meant to go between the nut-plate and the sole, inside
> > the shoe).
>
> Unless you need knobby tread on your shoes, I recommend the SH-TO92 that is designed for tri-
> athletes who run in them. The smooth light weight sole is a major point for me.
It sounds like it might be quite a different shoe from the MO-38 series. Then again, maybe the MOs
have been upgraded from my orange/brown/blue shoes.
We'll see how the soles on the Axos (Axoen?) last. A pic of the Blackball:
http://www.cambriabike.com/SALE/shoes/axo_blackball_mtb_shoe.htm
I do enough MTBing that it's reasonable to have a dirt option on both shoes. I do a little walking
in these shoes, but any SPD shoe is better than trying to skate along on Look cleats.
The Blackball has grippy soft-rubber lugged tread, but I was first attracted to its roadie-style
looks and reasonable weight. It's a very well-ventilated shoe; I can barely wear it in the 0-15 C
temperatures we get these days. It's tight to slip into, but feels nice on the foot so far.
The Vertigos have a much harder tread, maybe plastic. They were downright dangerous on smooth
surfaces before a few days of riding scuffed the tread a bit. I prize their high-ankle support and
heavy-duty protection for cooler rides (they're a disappointment there; I have to tape up a lot of
the venting surfaces), and will do most of my MTBriding in them this year.
The Axo shoes were extremely competitively priced when I bought them (I paid about US$30 for both
pairs) so buying them was an easy choice.
If I break these shoes, I'll probably look into Look-cleated racing shoes, and find a new home for
the SPD cleats on the bottom of another pair of shoes.
--
Ryan Cousineau,
[email protected] http://www.sfu.ca/~rcousine President, Fabrizio Mazzoleni Fan Club