I have a pair of Shimano road shoes from at least 7-8 years ago. They were road hard put away wet. I relegated the to only using on the trainer in the basement. So today thought I would change cleats. Well the whole system what corroded out and cleats rusted to the bolts, bolts rusted all the way to the plate under the sole. No more put them in the trash.

Lucky me I only need these as a 2nd spare pair and will use them on the trainer. Guy on facebook up the road has a new pair of Specialized Torch 2 shoes in my size. He did not like clip in shoes so I get them for $60 new. These are not the super expensive stuff but decent CF sole shoe. I normally avoid anything that says Specialized on it, but I guess I have to make a exception.

I tell you the shoes I tossed were stinking mess. How long do you all get on a decent road shoe? I seem to be able to get at least 5 years and lots of miles. Really compared to running shoes that cost almost the same and last for only months..........cycling shoes are a bargain.
Deacon mark

On Friday, March 31, 2023 at 8:19:22 p.m. UTC-4, Mark Cleary wrote:
> I have a pair of Shimano road shoes from at least 7-8 years ago. They were road hard put away wet. I relegated the to only using on the trainer in the basement. So today thought I would change cleats. Well the whole system what corroded out and cleats rusted to the bolts, bolts rusted all the way to the plate under the sole. No more put them in the trash.
>
> Lucky me I only need these as a 2nd spare pair and will use them on the trainer. Guy on facebook up the road has a new pair of Specialized Torch 2 shoes in my size. He did not like clip in shoes so I get them for $60 new. These are not the super expensive stuff but decent CF sole shoe. I normally avoid anything that says Specialized on it, but I guess I have to make a exception.
>
> I tell you the shoes I tossed were stinking mess. How long do you all get on a decent road shoe? I seem to be able to get at least 5 years and lots of miles. Really compared to running shoes that cost almost the same and last for only months..........cycling shoes are a bargain.
> Deacon mark

I've got a pair of Adidas Eddy Merckx that I bought in 1985. They were converted at the bicycle shop to take the Look Delta cleats.

Cheers

Mark Cleary <deaconmjc08@gmail.com> wrote:
> I have a pair of Shimano road shoes from at least 7-8 years ago. They
> were road hard put away wet. I relegated the to only using on the trainer
> in the basement. So today thought I would change cleats. Well the whole
> system what corroded out and cleats rusted to the bolts, bolts rusted all
> the way to the plate under the sole. No more put them in the trash.
>
> Lucky me I only need these as a 2nd spare pair and will use them on the
> trainer. Guy on facebook up the road has a new pair of Specialized Torch
> 2 shoes in my size. He did not like clip in shoes so I get them for $60
> new. These are not the super expensive stuff but decent CF sole shoe. I
> normally avoid anything that says Specialized on it, but I guess I have
> to make a exception.
>
> I tell you the shoes I tossed were stinking mess. How long do you all get
> on a decent road shoe? I seem to be able to get at least 5 years and lots
> of miles. Really compared to running shoes that cost almost the same and
> last for only months..........cycling shoes are a bargain.
> Deacon mark
>
Probably being used on a trainer, which tends to be sweaty salty which
corrodes bars and other bits!

I find mine MTB flats last maybe 5 years

Roger Merriman

On Friday, March 31, 2023 at 8:19:22 PM UTC-4, Mark Cleary wrote:
> I have a pair of Shimano road shoes from at least 7-8 years ago. They were road hard put away wet. I relegated the to only using on the trainer in the basement. So today thought I would change cleats. Well the whole system what corroded out and cleats rusted to the bolts, bolts rusted all the way to the plate under the sole. No more put them in the trash.
>
> Lucky me I only need these as a 2nd spare pair and will use them on the trainer. Guy on facebook up the road has a new pair of Specialized Torch 2 shoes in my size. He did not like clip in shoes so I get them for $60 new. These are not the super expensive stuff but decent CF sole shoe. I normally avoid anything that says Specialized on it, but I guess I have to make a exception.
>
> I tell you the shoes I tossed were stinking mess. How long do you all get on a decent road shoe?

Decades - literally. My shoes of choice are Mavic, of which I have three pair of road shoes and two pair of MTB. I had a pair of Northwave for a long while - probably 15 years or so. One of the soles started to detach, so I experimented with various glues - nothing worked for more than a few rides until on a whim I tried JB weld. That actually gave me a couple more years until One of the velcro fasteners finally became unusable. MY commuter shoes are lower-end Mavics with full velcro fasters, still going strong after 12 years, though I have had to do the JB weld trick on the soles a couple of times.

Shoes that didn't last so well:
- A pair of DMT road shoes: very comfortable, but after two years the soles started to detach. I did the JB weld repair which gave me a couple more years, but during a hill ride one hot summer day one of the soles detached so badly by the time I got home there was only about three inches from the toe where it was still connected.
- A pair of Bontrager Rhythm MTB shoes. To be fair I'm pretty rough on MTB shoes (parts in general, actually), but these fell apart in one year. I have two pair of Mavic MTB shoes - one of which is nearly 15 years old, still rideable but one of the velcros doesn't stay put any more. The other pair was the replacement for the Rhythm and has no issues (three years old now). I also have a pair of Specialized Epic that are going on ten years with no issues. On the very first ride I destroyed one of the buckles on the rhythms. I mail ordered a replacement, but the design of them is such that any hit on a rock can deform the metal frame of the buckle which either allows it to completely release or require a pair of pliers to open it so it _can_ release. Over the ensuing summer bits of the soles started to break off. As of now I switch back and forth between the specialized and the mavic - both of which are holding up to the abuse I shell out rather well.

FYI New England is well-known for having rocky technical terrain (so much that Cannondale created a line in the 90's called The Beast of the East, which they revived in 2017), and my area is no exception. This is what happens when you don't quite clear on of the many stone walls https://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2Q3LE-kHT5Y/SQt2l6Vfa6I/AAAAAAAAAjw/ZA9b37vQlQ4/s1600/bad+der2.jpg. Note the dent in the chain stay - this is no budget bike - it's an Independent Fabrications Custom Deluxe Ti. We also have a race here called The Landmine Classic - so called because of the long technical rocky sections of trail. I've never seen so many broken bikes - and riders - at the end of a race. Then we have a section of trails lovingly referred to as Vietnam - so called because the vast expanse of rocks looks like a war zone.

I seem to be able to get at least 5 years and lots of miles. Really compared to running shoes that cost almost the same and last for only months...........cycling shoes are a bargain.
> Deacon mark

On 3/31/2023 7:19 PM, Mark Cleary wrote:
> I have a pair of Shimano road shoes from at least 7-8 years ago. They were road hard put away wet. I relegated the to only using on the trainer in the basement. So today thought I would change cleats. Well the whole system what corroded out and cleats rusted to the bolts, bolts rusted all the way to the plate under the sole. No more put them in the trash.
>
> Lucky me I only need these as a 2nd spare pair and will use them on the trainer. Guy on facebook up the road has a new pair of Specialized Torch 2 shoes in my size. He did not like clip in shoes so I get them for $60 new. These are not the super expensive stuff but decent CF sole shoe. I normally avoid anything that says Specialized on it, but I guess I have to make a exception.
>
> I tell you the shoes I tossed were stinking mess. How long do you all get on a decent road shoe? I seem to be able to get at least 5 years and lots of miles. Really compared to running shoes that cost almost the same and last for only months..........cycling shoes are a bargain.
> Deacon mark
>

After some unremarkable Adidas Eddy Merckx, I bought my
first SiDis in 1976. Replaced those (wet and moldy when
traveling) in 1994. No complaints.

--
Andrew Muzi
<www.yellowjersey.org/>
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

On Saturday, April 1, 2023 at 2:19:22 AM UTC+2, Mark Cleary wrote:
> I have a pair of Shimano road shoes from at least 7-8 years ago. They were road hard put away wet. I relegated the to only using on the trainer in the basement. So today thought I would change cleats. Well the whole system what corroded out and cleats rusted to the bolts, bolts rusted all the way to the plate under the sole. No more put them in the trash.
>
> Lucky me I only need these as a 2nd spare pair and will use them on the trainer. Guy on facebook up the road has a new pair of Specialized Torch 2 shoes in my size. He did not like clip in shoes so I get them for $60 new. These are not the super expensive stuff but decent CF sole shoe. I normally avoid anything that says Specialized on it, but I guess I have to make a exception.
>
> I tell you the shoes I tossed were stinking mess. How long do you all get on a decent road shoe? I seem to be able to get at least 5 years and lots of miles. Really compared to running shoes that cost almost the same and last for only months..........cycling shoes are a bargain.
> Deacon mark

My road shoes last forever. I am not hard on any shoes.

Lou

On Fri, 31 Mar 2023 17:19:20 -0700 (PDT), Mark Cleary
<deaconmjc08@gmail.com> wrote:

>I have a pair of Shimano road shoes from at least 7-8 years ago. They were road hard put away wet. I relegated the to only using on the trainer in the basement. So today thought I would change cleats. Well the whole system what corroded out and cleats rusted to the bolts, bolts rusted all the way to the plate under the sole. No more put them in the trash.
>
>Lucky me I only need these as a 2nd spare pair and will use them on the trainer. Guy on facebook up the road has a new pair of Specialized Torch 2 shoes in my size. He did not like clip in shoes so I get them for $60 new. These are not the super expensive stuff but decent CF sole shoe. I normally avoid anything that says Specialized on it, but I guess I have to make a exception.
>
>I tell you the shoes I tossed were stinking mess. How long do you all get on a decent road shoe? I seem to be able to get at least 5 years and lots of miles. Really compared to running shoes that cost almost the same and last for only months..........cycling shoes are a bargain.
>Deacon mark

Somewhere, perhaps in one of my bike equipment stashes, there lies a 7
or 8 year old pair of road shoes. OTOH, I might have thrown them away.

At any rate, they have less than 200 miles on them, which is because
of how long it took for the new pair of MTB shoes to get here from
Nashbar. I ordered the MTBs right after my first ride with the road
shoes.

On Friday, March 31, 2023 at 5:19:22 PM UTC-7, Mark Cleary wrote:
> I have a pair of Shimano road shoes from at least 7-8 years ago. They were road hard put away wet. I relegated the to only using on the trainer in the basement. So today thought I would change cleats. Well the whole system what corroded out and cleats rusted to the bolts, bolts rusted all the way to the plate under the sole. No more put them in the trash.
>
> Lucky me I only need these as a 2nd spare pair and will use them on the trainer. Guy on facebook up the road has a new pair of Specialized Torch 2 shoes in my size. He did not like clip in shoes so I get them for $60 new. These are not the super expensive stuff but decent CF sole shoe. I normally avoid anything that says Specialized on it, but I guess I have to make a exception.
>
> I tell you the shoes I tossed were stinking mess. How long do you all get on a decent road shoe? I seem to be able to get at least 5 years and lots of miles. Really compared to running shoes that cost almost the same and last for only months..........cycling shoes are a bargain.
> Deacon mark
Beware of Specialized shoes which do not appear to be sized the same as Shimano or others so TRY them on before buying,

On Saturday, April 1, 2023 at 5:16:26 AM UTC-7, AMuzi wrote:
> On 3/31/2023 7:19 PM, Mark Cleary wrote:
> > I have a pair of Shimano road shoes from at least 7-8 years ago. They were road hard put away wet. I relegated the to only using on the trainer in the basement. So today thought I would change cleats. Well the whole system what corroded out and cleats rusted to the bolts, bolts rusted all the way to the plate under the sole. No more put them in the trash.
> >
> > Lucky me I only need these as a 2nd spare pair and will use them on the trainer. Guy on facebook up the road has a new pair of Specialized Torch 2 shoes in my size. He did not like clip in shoes so I get them for $60 new. These are not the super expensive stuff but decent CF sole shoe. I normally avoid anything that says Specialized on it, but I guess I have to make a exception.
> >
> > I tell you the shoes I tossed were stinking mess. How long do you all get on a decent road shoe? I seem to be able to get at least 5 years and lots of miles. Really compared to running shoes that cost almost the same and last for only months..........cycling shoes are a bargain.
> > Deacon mark
> >
> After some unremarkable Adidas Eddy Merckx, I bought my
> first SiDis in 1976. Replaced those (wet and moldy when
> traveling) in 1994. No complaints.

I use Sidi's as the basis of fit. Lake fits the same. Shimano appears to be a little large but not a whole lot but the fit chart for Specialized is WAY off of Sidi's

On Saturday, April 1, 2023 at 6:12:08 AM UTC-7, Lou Holtman wrote:
> On Saturday, April 1, 2023 at 2:19:22 AM UTC+2, Mark Cleary wrote:
> > I have a pair of Shimano road shoes from at least 7-8 years ago. They were road hard put away wet. I relegated the to only using on the trainer in the basement. So today thought I would change cleats. Well the whole system what corroded out and cleats rusted to the bolts, bolts rusted all the way to the plate under the sole. No more put them in the trash.
> >
> > Lucky me I only need these as a 2nd spare pair and will use them on the trainer. Guy on facebook up the road has a new pair of Specialized Torch 2 shoes in my size. He did not like clip in shoes so I get them for $60 new. These are not the super expensive stuff but decent CF sole shoe. I normally avoid anything that says Specialized on it, but I guess I have to make a exception.
> >
> > I tell you the shoes I tossed were stinking mess. How long do you all get on a decent road shoe? I seem to be able to get at least 5 years and lots of miles. Really compared to running shoes that cost almost the same and last for only months..........cycling shoes are a bargain.
> > Deacon mark
> My road shoes last forever. I am not hard on any shoes.
>
> Lou

I pulled the carbon sole off of my Bontrager then glued it back on using two part epoxy and haven't had any trouble since. But with all of the hard climbs knocked out it is hard to tell.

On Sat, 1 Apr 2023 07:51:49 -0700 (PDT), Tom Kunich
<cyclintom@gmail.com> wrote:

>On Friday, March 31, 2023 at 5:19:22?PM UTC-7, Mark Cleary wrote:
>> I have a pair of Shimano road shoes from at least 7-8 years ago. They were road hard put away wet. I relegated the to only using on the trainer in the basement. So today thought I would change cleats. Well the whole system what corroded out and cleats rusted to the bolts, bolts rusted all the way to the plate under the sole. No more put them in the trash.
>>
>> Lucky me I only need these as a 2nd spare pair and will use them on the trainer. Guy on facebook up the road has a new pair of Specialized Torch 2 shoes in my size. He did not like clip in shoes so I get them for $60 new. These are not the super expensive stuff but decent CF sole shoe. I normally avoid anything that says Specialized on it, but I guess I have to make a exception.
>>
>> I tell you the shoes I tossed were stinking mess. How long do you all get on a decent road shoe? I seem to be able to get at least 5 years and lots of miles. Really compared to running shoes that cost almost the same and last for only months..........cycling shoes are a bargain.
>> Deacon mark
>Beware of Specialized shoes which do not appear to be sized the same as Shimano or others so TRY them on before buying,

But you complain about paying with Paypall.... If you pay by paypall
how do you try the shoes on before buying?
--
Cheers,

John B.

On Friday, March 31, 2023 at 7:19:22 PM UTC-5, Mark Cleary wrote:
> I have a pair of Shimano road shoes from at least 7-8 years ago. They were road hard put away wet. I relegated the to only using on the trainer in the basement. So today thought I would change cleats. Well the whole system what corroded out and cleats rusted to the bolts, bolts rusted all the way to the plate under the sole. No more put them in the trash.
>
> Lucky me I only need these as a 2nd spare pair and will use them on the trainer. Guy on facebook up the road has a new pair of Specialized Torch 2 shoes in my size. He did not like clip in shoes so I get them for $60 new. These are not the super expensive stuff but decent CF sole shoe. I normally avoid anything that says Specialized on it, but I guess I have to make a exception.
>
> I tell you the shoes I tossed were stinking mess. How long do you all get on a decent road shoe? I seem to be able to get at least 5 years and lots of miles. Really compared to running shoes that cost almost the same and last for only months..........cycling shoes are a bargain.
> Deacon mark

Are you kidding? Nothing lasts forever.

Andy

On Sunday, April 2, 2023 at 5:50:20 AM UTC-7, AK wrote:
> On Friday, March 31, 2023 at 7:19:22 PM UTC-5, Mark Cleary wrote:
> > I have a pair of Shimano road shoes from at least 7-8 years ago. They were road hard put away wet. I relegated the to only using on the trainer in the basement. So today thought I would change cleats. Well the whole system what corroded out and cleats rusted to the bolts, bolts rusted all the way to the plate under the sole. No more put them in the trash.
> >
> > Lucky me I only need these as a 2nd spare pair and will use them on the trainer. Guy on facebook up the road has a new pair of Specialized Torch 2 shoes in my size. He did not like clip in shoes so I get them for $60 new. These are not the super expensive stuff but decent CF sole shoe. I normally avoid anything that says Specialized on it, but I guess I have to make a exception.
> >
> > I tell you the shoes I tossed were stinking mess. How long do you all get on a decent road shoe? I seem to be able to get at least 5 years and lots of miles. Really compared to running shoes that cost almost the same and last for only months..........cycling shoes are a bargain.
> > Deacon mark
> Are you kidding? Nothing lasts forever.
>
> Andy
In particular, the soft sole shoes with laces wear out very rapidly.

On 4/2/2023 7:50 AM, AK wrote:
> On Friday, March 31, 2023 at 7:19:22 PM UTC-5, Mark Cleary wrote:
>> I have a pair of Shimano road shoes from at least 7-8 years ago. They were road hard put away wet. I relegated the to only using on the trainer in the basement. So today thought I would change cleats. Well the whole system what corroded out and cleats rusted to the bolts, bolts rusted all the way to the plate under the sole. No more put them in the trash.
>>
>> Lucky me I only need these as a 2nd spare pair and will use them on the trainer. Guy on facebook up the road has a new pair of Specialized Torch 2 shoes in my size. He did not like clip in shoes so I get them for $60 new. These are not the super expensive stuff but decent CF sole shoe. I normally avoid anything that says Specialized on it, but I guess I have to make a exception.
>>
>> I tell you the shoes I tossed were stinking mess. How long do you all get on a decent road shoe? I seem to be able to get at least 5 years and lots of miles. Really compared to running shoes that cost almost the same and last for only months..........cycling shoes are a bargain.
>> Deacon mark
>
> Are you kidding? Nothing lasts forever.
>
> Andy
>

Except temporary government programs.

--
Andrew Muzi
<www.yellowjersey.org/>
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

Tom Kunich <cyclintom@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Sunday, April 2, 2023 at 5:50:20 AM UTC-7, AK wrote:
>> On Friday, March 31, 2023 at 7:19:22 PM UTC-5, Mark Cleary wrote:
>>> I have a pair of Shimano road shoes from at least 7-8 years ago. They
>>> were road hard put away wet. I relegated the to only using on the
>>> trainer in the basement. So today thought I would change cleats. Well
>>> the whole system what corroded out and cleats rusted to the bolts,
>>> bolts rusted all the way to the plate under the sole. No more put them in the trash.
>>>
>>> Lucky me I only need these as a 2nd spare pair and will use them on the
>>> trainer. Guy on facebook up the road has a new pair of Specialized
>>> Torch 2 shoes in my size. He did not like clip in shoes so I get them
>>> for $60 new. These are not the super expensive stuff but decent CF sole
>>> shoe. I normally avoid anything that says Specialized on it, but I
>>> guess I have to make a exception.
>>>
>>> I tell you the shoes I tossed were stinking mess. How long do you all
>>> get on a decent road shoe? I seem to be able to get at least 5 years
>>> and lots of miles. Really compared to running shoes that cost almost
>>> the same and last for only months..........cycling shoes are a bargain.
>>> Deacon mark
>> Are you kidding? Nothing lasts forever.
>>
>> Andy
> In particular, the soft sole shoes with laces wear out very rapidly.
>
Road shoes? 99.9% are clipless and while some will have chunky tread see
CX/Gravel shoes. Not particularly soft soles.

For that need stuff like FiveTens MTB shoes like I use ie soft sticky
rubber skate style shoes, originally the rubber was designed for rock
climbing which is FiveTens history.

Even so they last a good few years before they start to disintegrate.

Roger Merriman

On Sun, 02 Apr 2023 09:28:40 -0500, AMuzi <am@yellowjersey.org> wrote:

>On 4/2/2023 7:50 AM, AK wrote:
>> Are you kidding? Nothing lasts forever.
>> Andy

>Except temporary government programs.

Very true:
"The income tax started as a conservative political stunt"
<https://www.businessinsider.com/the-income-tax-started-as-a-conservative-political-stunt-2015-2>

Incidentally, the old common law definition of forever was more than
99 years:
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/99-year_lease>

That soon proved insufficient, so the 999 year forever lease was
contrived:
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/999-year_lease>

When it appeared that even 999 years was insufficient, the "permanent
grant" was contrived, probably to avoid a 9999 year forever lease:
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permanent_Grant>

This information is 99.999% (5 nines) reliable:
<https://www.nobl9.com/resources/do-you-really-need-five-nines>

--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
PO Box 272 http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Ben Lomond CA 95005-0272
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

On Sunday, April 2, 2023 at 12:14:44 PM UTC-5, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
> On Sun, 02 Apr 2023 09:28:40 -0500, AMuzi <a...@yellowjersey.org> wrote:
>
> >On 4/2/2023 7:50 AM, AK wrote:
> >> Are you kidding? Nothing lasts forever.
> >> Andy
>
> >Except temporary government programs.
> Very true:
> "The income tax started as a conservative political stunt"
> <https://www.businessinsider.com/the-income-tax-started-as-a-conservative-political-stunt-2015-2>
>
> Incidentally, the old common law definition of forever was more than
> 99 years:
> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/99-year_lease>
>
> That soon proved insufficient, so the 999 year forever lease was
> contrived:
> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/999-year_lease>
>
> When it appeared that even 999 years was insufficient, the "permanent
> grant" was contrived, probably to avoid a 9999 year forever lease:
> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permanent_Grant>
>
> This information is 99.999% (5 nines) reliable:
> <https://www.nobl9.com/resources/do-you-really-need-five-nines>
>
>
> --
> Jeff Liebermann je...@cruzio.com
> PO Box 272 http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
> Ben Lomond CA 95005-0272
> Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

So I met the guy and bought this perfectly new pair of Torch 2 road shoes for $65. They are $126 the cheapest I see. The fellow told me that he did some bike work and road gravel did not like clip ins. These fit perfect. The interesting thing he said things were not selling on facebook ore craigslist for bikes. I was surprised because seems like at the height of COVID you could not find bikes or parts. I still think parts are a bit of an issue.

So the question is whether or not the run on bikes is over and LBS now have inventory and might have to deal from a different perspective? It does not matter too much to me except parts are always things to be able to get and have on hand.
Deacon mark