Cheap shoes = less power transfer?

Well my FT went up ~175watts since the day I bought the Specialized shoes. My VO2max went up by about 40ml. And then people dont stick to my wheel because of the glare from the shiny carbon soles. The speedplay pedals let me corner at about 10 degrees making me atleast 60% faster than the other riders in cat1.
Actually I didnt turn pro because I can make much more money selling specialized shoes.

warrenIsAnIdiot said:

Well my FT went up ~175watts since the day I bought the Specialized shoes. My VO2max went up by about 40ml. And then people dont stick to my wheel because of the glare from the shiny carbon soles. The speedplay pedals let me corner at about 10 degrees making me atleast 60% faster than the other riders in cat1.
Actually I didnt turn pro because I can make much more money selling specialized shoes.

175 watts, what, were you bare foot prior to getting your specialized?

zaskar said:

175 watts, what, were you bare foot prior to getting your specialized?

"warren" seems to be conducting a little performance art project here on the forums. To my mild astonishment, more than half of his posts so far are actually pretty amusing, when viewed in the right light...

OK, can someone give Dan the answer he's looking for.

dkingnu said:

Hi,
I have just a $60 pair of specialized road bike shoes and using speedplay peadals. If I upgraded to a much nicer pair of shoes with a carbon bottom to it, do you think I would have more power transfer directly to the pedals? Does anyone know how much power you are losing with the cheaper shoes? Would it be a noticible difference with the more expensive shoes?
Thanks
Dan

My opinion is that you will gain little to nothing measurable, although they will most likely be better (but nothing like 10 watts). More important though is if you believe they will be better, then they will be. Feeling faster, makes you faster, all else equal. I am not aware of any performance analysis done though.

the only way to make more than by the selling of any bike shoes is to ask,
want fries with that?

actually, i ride in my beloved carnac legends (these define stiff, and, i might add, heavy) bought a ways back, even though i have bought 7 pairs of high end shoes in hope the hype would pan out.
never measured the power, but these all but disappear, while the guys with the latest and greatest all mention hot spots, numbness and cramps.

warrenIsAnIdiot said:

Well my FT went up ~175watts since the day I bought the Specialized shoes. My VO2max went up by about 40ml. And then people dont stick to my wheel because of the glare from the shiny carbon soles. The speedplay pedals let me corner at about 10 degrees making me atleast 60% faster than the other riders in cat1.
Actually I didnt turn pro because I can make much more money selling specialized shoes.

kmavm said:

"warren" seems to be conducting a little performance art project here on the forums. To my mild astonishment, more than half of his posts so far are actually pretty amusing, when viewed in the right light...

I think every forum needs a Sillyoldtwit and a WarrenIsAnIdiot to provide a sort of balance. As long as the wit is not condescending, derogatory or intended to flame someone. I feel cyclists, especially us roadies tend to take ourselves and the sport too seriously at times and we need the occasional injection of humour to make us look at ourselves in a different light. In other words is it really imperative that we take 2 ounces of our shoes here, 1 ounce of the stem there etc, etc. It might be important to Lance and Co - but to us amateurs???

I think it's been said by more than one person in these forums, but in different ways, that the only people who really gain anything from carbon this and titanium that, are the people selling them. Having said this, there are of course some "not so good" things out there which are a downright hinderance, like bad tyres for instance. However, the cost difference between good tyres and bad tyres bears no resemblance to the difference between aluminium and titanium for example.
I'll stop rambling on and get on with some work. TYSON 😉

Sillyoldtwit said:

I think every forum needs a Sillyoldtwit and a WarrenIsAnIdiot to provide a sort of balance.

As someone who has, on occasion, posted comical posts that have no value beyond humor; I enjoy reading humor in the posts here on this forum. At the same time, I hate to see a new forum member not get a good answer to their serious question because someone else needs a little "me time," so I try to at least include a serious answer in my post or make sure they've gotten a serious answer before posting humor. I think that's the difference between "adding balance" and practicing one's comedy routine.

dkingnu said:

I have just a $60 pair of specialized road bike shoes and using speedplay peadals. If I upgraded to a much nicer pair of shoes with a carbon bottom to it, do you think I would have more power transfer directly to the pedals? Does anyone know how much power you are losing with the cheaper shoes? Would it be a noticible difference with the more expensive shoes?

In theory, the more rigid the connections between leg muscles and cranks, the better the power transfer. That could probably be proven in an engineering lab, but probably not in an exercise-physiology lab because of all the different variables involved in real-world cycling. That said, even resin-soled (ie, plastic) road shoes are typically pretty darn stiff. In my understanding, the benefit of using carbon is that they can use less material to get that stiffness, and thus reduce weight. I doubt that you'd get a *noticeably* better power transfer by going from your road shoes to a set of CF soles, but shoes can be a decent place to reduce weight if you're at a level to be worrying about that sort of thing.

Another factor to consider is how securely your foot is being held by the upper part of the shoe. If your foot is sliding around in the shoe, then that could also affect your power *again, in theory* (I doubt you'll see it on a power meter). More expensive shoes may have stiffer uppers, better closure systems, etc. so you'd have to judge those as well. In general, I'd suggest looking for the most comfortable, reasonably stiff, shoe that fits your budget. The more comfortable and secure your feet feel in the shoes, the faster you'll feel. 🙂

frenchyge said:

As someone who has, on occasion, posted comical posts that have no value beyond humor; I enjoy reading humor in the posts here on this forum. At the same time, I hate to see a new forum member not get a good answer to their serious question because someone else needs a little "me time," so I try to at least include a serious answer in my post or make sure they've gotten a serious answer before posting humor. I think that's the difference between "adding balance" and practicing one's comedy routine.

You're right of course Frenchy, unless it is of course an absolutely ridiculous question like, "will wearing titanium socks improve my FTP?"

To the OP. Someone recommended Sidi shoes to me, but I didn't take their word for it and tried on various makes. And I can tell you the Sidis had the most comfortable uppers. I wore them once before doing a century (miles) last weekend, and I didn't even know I had them on. My feet were as good at the finish as at the beginning.

I wish Sidi made padding for cycling shorts!:eek:

frenchyge said:

In theory, the more rigid the connections between leg muscles and cranks, the better the power transfer. That could probably be proven in an engineering lab, but probably not in an exercise-physiology lab because of all the different variables involved in real-world cycling. That said, even resin-soled (ie, plastic) road shoes are typically pretty darn stiff. In my understanding, the benefit of using carbon is that they can use less material to get that stiffness, and thus reduce weight.

The only real, measurable efficiency improvement you might get switching to carbon soles is getting your foot down a tiny bit closer to the pedal spindle. On the less tangible side if you find that a stiffer sole provides better comfort (ie. no hot spots or cramps), then you're likely to be more effective with your training.

dkingnu said:

Hi,
I have just a $60 pair of specialized road bike shoes and using speedplay peadals. If I upgraded to a much nicer pair of shoes with a carbon bottom to it, do you think I would have more power transfer directly to the pedals? Does anyone know how much power you are losing with the cheaper shoes? Would it be a noticible difference with the more expensive shoes?
Thanks
Dan

Here are some shoes which offer a guaranteed improvement in power, but they are pricey...
http://www.biketechreview.com/redshoe/brochure.htm

wilmar13 said:

Here are some shoes which offer a guaranteed improvement in power, but they are pricey...
biketechreview.combrochure.htmOpen ↗

40% more power! Basso would be challenging Rossi with those shoes.

wilmar13 said:

Here are some shoes which offer a guaranteed improvement in power, but they are pricey...
biketechreview.combrochure.htmOpen ↗

Sure, but with an up to 40% increase in power, they're darn worth it! And I bet you could get 'em on eBay for half-price. Just check out those testimonials! 😄

wilmar13 said:

Here are some shoes which offer a guaranteed improvement in power, but they are pricey...
biketechreview.combrochure.htmOpen ↗

Why, once I combine these with powercranks, I'll be able to set the hour record! Let me break out my credit card!

I don't think carbon soles would help in any significant way. The force either goes to the pedal or to flexing the sole which then either gets returned somewhere else or goes into heating the sole and the soles don't get hot so....

On the other hand I think custom shoes and/or orthotics can make a difference in efficiency by aligning your legs and feet properly, preventing the waste of energy squashing the arch of your foot, minimizing movement inside the shoe, and just being more comfortable.

kmavm said:

Why, once I combine these with powercranks, I'll be able to set the hour record! Let me break out my credit card!

Can they not make them in black, red won't match my bike! Guess I will have to look else where for my edge to win the Race to Replace....

biketrue said:

Can they not make them in black, red won't match my bike! Guess I will have to look else where for my edge to win the Race to Replace....

They tried black first, but it turns out the the red ones are up to 39% faster than the black ones. 🙂

frenchyge said:

They tried black first, but it turns out the the red ones are up to 39% faster than the black ones. 🙂

Yes thats the same principal as where your body goes red during intensive exercise means that you are going faster, but if your body goes black, then you are in deep S***.