the great shoe debate

[iLuvTechnical]

bringing this thread back to life one more time.......

i decided on the shimano m161's and have had them for about half the year now. I HATE THEM,...

dru_b,
What pedals do you have?
The pedals sometimes make ALL the difference! I had a cheap pair of SPD's and they contributed to me not liking my shoes for awhile. Once I got a pair of XT pedals, my shoes felt great and I liked how both performed. I like my SPD pedals coupled with my Shimano M086 better than my Crank Brothers pedals. (review...http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/catego...shoes-10-39646 I agree w/ this review.)
I went through 2 sets of Crank Brothers (broke the weld on the beater) in two seasons and they pretty much ruined my old shoes b/c my fat butt put so much weight on the 2 "beater contact areas" causing grooves in the bottom of my shoes. Eventually, I couldn't stay clipped-in.
I bought the new Shimano's and cheap SPD pedals, discovered I needed XT pedals, and have been happy ever since.

My 2 cents.

[Gunchie]

dru_b,
I went through 2 sets of Crank Brothers (broke the weld on the beater) in two seasons and they pretty much ruined my old shoes b/c my fat butt put so much weight on the 2 "beater contact areas" causing grooves in the bottom of my shoes. Eventually, I couldn't stay clipped-in.

They do tend to leave grooves, but if you use the shims and replace them before it gets to the sole they work fine. I just got sick of going for an attack on a hill, standing to hit it hard, and the damn SPD would pop out. That's a big deal breaker in a race. It's never happened with my eggbeaters which is reason enough for me to not ever use SPD's again. To each there own though. Never used Specialized or Shimano shoes. Seen a lot of racers with Specialized shoes though and they look like good quality shows. I had some Lake shoes. I loved how comfortable they where, but I broke the sole on them (guess I was too powerful for them). I broke the soles on a few other shows before I finally got frustrated and bought my Sidi's. After thousands of miles my Sidi's are still going strong, and are very comfortable as well.