Tong Family

Well, I’ve been using a set of Nike biking shoes. These use velcro straps and then have a ratchet system. They actually don’t work as well as my very old Sidi shoes which have three ratchets. So on to looking for some replacements.
They have carbon fiber soles, but along with the PowerTap P1 pedals, they feel kind of loose, although I’m lucky they are comfortable at least for five hours, but they are definitely wearing out and the P1 pedal cleats are not wearing well. The cleat covers do not fit very well, even the ones designed for it, so they are wearing quickly. They also have six degrees of float.
Fortunately, Clever Training does have these PowerTap P1 cleats in stock, so getting new ones isn’t a problem. (nice price at $12). They definitely wear and you do need to put into some oil into the cleats to keep them in. And with only six degrees of float, they do sometimes get to be difficult. Finally, their release is pretty high so you have to be careful and hopefully you never get stuck in them.
So what are what are some nice replacements using Bicycling Magazine, Wirecutter, Bike Radar as a guide.
They like the Shimano S-Phyre RC9. (as Bikerumor, Velonews does) I actually had a chance to try these are they really do fit like a glove. Super pricey at $400 list price, so it’s good to look for it for sales this fall. It’s heavy at 269 grams each or 538 grams, but very comfortable. Other shoes are up to 100 grams lighter, so something to think about. Also these have super tight fit so make sure you do not have any wiggle. But that makes them hard to put on. So beware if you are using S-Works 6 (which are very, very tight) or Giro shoes.
The Sidi Shot Vent is the successor to the Sidi’s I’ve been using for years. It has the Shot Vent. It is expensive at $550 list (wow!) and very heavy (Bikeradar) that Wirecutter and Bicycling likes.
If you look at Bike Radar, then you get the Giro Empire LX (or Bicycling likes the Giro E70 Knit which uses knitting instead of leather), they use laces to get to much lighter weight at just 374 grams per pair. That is quite a different and is nearly 5 ounces lighter.