There I was, out on a ride for the first time since we got the new
place. I finally found a day for myself for the first time in eons,
and I headed out toa place I'd been hearing tantalizing rumors about
ever since I moved to NH; Exeter Woods. I started off on a great,
technical (in my book) climb. Soon into the first climb, I heard a
loud CRACK & my right foot felt funny. I expected to have ripped the
SPD from the shoe again, but I was still attached. I continued on,
wondering about the clicking under my right foot, and not wanting to
dab my first time into this climb. Once I dabbed anyway (lack of
traction) I unclicked & started to look at the bike. As I bent down to
do so, I felt the pop in my shoe again. A quick check told me that
I'd snapped the sole straight across, side to side, under the ball of
my foot. Alas.
Being short on $ due to the new home, replacing the shoes was out. I
couldn't justify to myself or my girl a $200+ expense right then, and
I couldn't justify not riding to myself. After one more frustrating
attempt to ride on the broken shoe, I decided new & cheap would be
better than nice, old & broken. I settled for a pair of 2006 Answer
Speeders, which I picked these up for $70 from Dan's in June. When I
called Dans told me they only had them in full sizes, and I needed a
half. The woman, however, was able to find me the metric equivalent
within 1/16th of a US size, so I went with it.
I had little to no expectations for these shoes, as there were
reasonably inexpensive. When they came in, however, I started to get a
little more excited. The quality seems good, and they didn't look
nearly as cheesy as I expected. I was a little disappointed with the
"exclusive lateral heel strap retention system", which I expected
to be adjustable but was really just a strap of nylon over the heel of
the shoe. Perhaps this will help the heel from wearing weak, but who
knows. Aside from that, I liked everything about them, including the
comfort. Stiching looks good, anything attached seems very solidly
attached, etc.
The first scare was when I tried to click the shoe onto the pedal,
without me in the shoe. Due to the way this shoe recesses the cleats,
I couldn't get them to click. Disapointed, I put the shoe on to see
if I couldn't force it to click in. Turns out, by standing on just
that one foot and bouncing my nearly 200lbs on a single pedal as hard
as I could, I was barely able to get it to engage. Repeat 3x on the
left foot, and I'm clicked. Ride in circles for a good 20 laps, and
I finally manage to unclick the right foot. Left comes right out.
Perhaps these need a break-in before I ride trails...
I then clicked in and went for a spin, clicking in & out as I rolled
down the street, and generally tooling around, getting a feel. Not
only do they feel as good if not better than the Shimano shoes I
replaced them with, clicking in & out is easier every time. By an hour
into this ride, I'm in & out almost as easy as the old shoes, and
I'm ready for the trails.
The 3 Velcro straps make tying optional for me, something I could never
say about the 2 strap shoes. This is nice on shorter or easier rides.
The shoes are very stiff, and though they don't walk great over
distances, the translation of body English to the bike is great, as is
the lack of give when pulling up on the pedals climbing. The
reflective strap around the sides & heel is nice, especially on the
road bike <duck>. I don't know if it actually helps, but it can't
hurt.
All in all, I'm very happy with my purchase. I may have liked a $200
pair more, but I don't know if I'd feel I got as much for my
dollar. It's too soon to judge durability, but so far so good. If I
get a few years out of them, as I did my last pair, I wouldn't
hesitate to pick up another pair of these shoes.
Dan