Mmm, new shoes



M

Michael Warner

Guest
I finally caved in and bought my first pair of serious road
shoes today, Specialized Pro Carbon in beautiful black,
with that sensuous carbon weave on the sole. It's the
most I've ever paid for a piece of clothing in my life, and
I feel like Imelda Marcos :)

A couple of interesting things came up, though:

- They list here for $399, and I got them for $340 thanks to
the BikeSA discount. The usual UK sites were hardly any
cheaper, and even though they sell for $200 (about AUD$265)
in the US I couldn't find a source there (including Specialized itself)
that would ship them here. Maybe their distribution licence prevents
it.

- Specialized sells them in half sizes (44.5, 45, 45.5 etc), but
none of the online shops or the local distributors carries them.
Strange. Luckily 45 was a good fit.

--
Home page: http://members.westnet.com.au/mvw
 
Michael Warner said:
I finally caved in and bought my first pair of serious road
shoes today, Specialized Pro Carbon in beautiful black,
with that sensuous carbon weave on the sole. It's the
most I've ever paid for a piece of clothing in my life, and
I feel like Imelda Marcos :)

A couple of interesting things came up, though:

- They list here for $399, and I got them for $340 thanks to
the BikeSA discount. The usual UK sites were hardly any
cheaper, and even though they sell for $200 (about AUD$265)
in the US I couldn't find a source there (including Specialized itself)
that would ship them here. Maybe their distribution licence prevents
it.

- Specialized sells them in half sizes (44.5, 45, 45.5 etc), but
none of the online shops or the local distributors carries them.
Strange. Luckily 45 was a good fit.

--
Home page: http://members.westnet.com.au/mvw
yep kind of how I felt when I bought my Shimano Tri carbon shoes, couple of months ago..... the carbon soles are awesome, feels much harder and you really feel like you are cranking the pedals
 

Look out for numb feet syndrome, pins and needles and hot spots in the first couple of weeks if you've never worn carbon soles before. Even though you thought your old shoes were stiff, they are absolutely nothing like carbon. If it becomes a real problem, alternate with your old shoes (cleat availability allowing:D ) for a while. If its unbearable on longer rides, loosen the straps and wriggle that metatarsus around!!
 
monsterman said:

Look out for numb feet syndrome, pins and needles and hot spots in the first couple of weeks

Agree with this as well..... I still get it a little bit towards the end of longer rides.... but a wiggle around and its soon ok....
 
On Thu, 12 Jan 2006 08:32:21 +1100, monsterman wrote:

> Look out for numb feet syndrome, pins and needles and hot spots in the
> first couple of weeks if you've never worn carbon soles before.


I went on my first real ride in them tonight - a couple of hours, mostly
climbing, so plenty of pressure applied. The extra stiffness is very
noticeable, but not unpleasant, and my feet were fine at the end. However,
I could have tightened them up more, and I'll try that next time - it may
reveal these problems.

Unfortunately those sexy carbon soles are scratching up already - I bet
these shoes depreciate even faster than new cars :)

--
Home page: http://members.westnet.com.au/mvw