Doge

Get Shimano heat molded shoes and then actually do the heat mold. We pretty much don't pay for shoes. Junior like the lased SWorks. I have some SH-R260L that are a few years old and had them heat molded. They are superior, although heavier. I am almost 60 and don't race, but I know shoes. I know knives and tube amps too.

gsteinb

I use Shimano R-315s. I have four pair. Bought them up when they were moving to the next iteration.

topflightpro

The lottery is largely a scam to take money from people who don't have any and give it to people who do - in college, I spent a semester on an independent study project on state lotteries. That said, I play pretty consistently - only Mega Millions and PowerBall when the jackpot gets up to $80m or so. I can afford it, and it's fun to dream about what I would do with the money. I know my chances of winning are essentially 0, but statistically speaking, my chances of winning go up infinitely just by buying a ticket.

Regarding shoes, don't go cheap. RTC, I feel like you have shown a tendency to be penny wise and pound foolish with bike stuff. You have knee and back issues that have prevented you from riding. Given that shoes are a major contact point, you need to make sure you have shoes that fit well and are comfortable and that do not lead to you exacerbating your issues. Spending a few hundred on good shoes now could save you thousands in medical bills later.

And if you have odd shaped feet or other issues, consider going custom or semi-custom. This was the best decision I've made. I have Riivos and the first pair I purchased is still going strong after 6 years. Yes, they were expensive, ~$1000 for semi custom and ~$1300 for full custom, but when you factor the cost per hour pedaled, it's not bad.

Flatballer

I'll third or whatever the Shimano. I have (not that I use them) some of the heat moldable ones (315 sounds familiar but I don't remember) and they're the first shoe I found that I could ride all day in the heat without hot spots.

Sworks and Sidi just don't fit me.

furiousferret

Yea I get that feeling. Years ago I limited myself to no more than 2 tickets a draw, but its still hundreds of dollars a year.

I honestly have thought if I put that money into actual entrepreneurial endeavors my chances of getting rich would be better.

Enthalpic

Undefined.

I buy one $3 ticket per draw if I remember too. I win many free plays and a $10 prize isn't that rare. I probably only lose 2.50 a draw.

himespau 

For a second, I thought you were talking about cycling. I don't win or get payoffs for my riding but a little dopamine hit keeps me coming back and spending more money.

ridethecliche

I tend not to cheap out much on contact points.

I ended up buying some specialized torch 3.0's, giro ACC's, and fizik R3 Arias. If the torchs fit well, I'll order the sworks. If the acc's fit well, I might keep them while looking for something more boa friendly. If the R3's fit, I'll order some R1's from across the pond. Sadly no one around here has shimano's that I know of. I'll look for some on amazon and see if I can order a few to try out.

I'm not at the point where I can swing for custom shoes yet. I don't really think I need them either. It's just difficult finding shops that carry 8-9 range shoes in the upper end and with the bike shortage, no one has anything.

I'm probably going to end up getting another fit, likely from the place Gary recommended or from a PT+fitter type. My knee's been acting up again and I haven't ridden for 2 weeks because of that and a few other reasons (2nd dose vaccine kicked my ass and some other health issues). Just trying to figure out next steps at this point. For now I'll likely be concentrating on PT and yoga for the next month with a few trainer rides thrown it to test the knee etc.

It is what it is.

Edit: collegiate team sponsor shop carries shimano... allegedly. I'll reach out monday to see if they actually have anything in stock. Otherwise I'll try to find a place to order online to test sizing and then order from the shop.

Matt2.8NJ

I see you're in NJ too, apologies if we had this conversation in the past.

Are you referring to Kim's in New Brunswick?

ridethecliche

Correct. Kims it is!

I've been really happy with them. They have low stock right now like everyone else and I honestly don't want to order a bunch of ish to try on there if I'm not going to buy it because its going to be on the upper end of pricing and it'll just sit there for a while. Feel free to PM me about anything related to this if you want.

Matt2.8NJ

I've been on a bit of a shoe Odyssey myself over the last few years before settling on heat moldable Bont Vaypor's in wide.

If you're around a 43 I have several pairs of shoes I've accumulated in the hunt and have no use for; Specialized S-Works, Shimano R321, R320, Bont's, Lake 4xx's, that you're welcome to try on, and I'll trade them for beer.

ridethecliche

Damn, I freaking wish. I'm an 8.5 though so more like a 41.5 - 42. Appreciate it though. I can ask some teammates that might need shoes if you're looking to part with them.

Otherwise, you should list some of that ish on ebay though! If you price it with a BIN around the current selling price and an offer option, they should move pretty quickly. I just wanted mine gone so sold them a bit too low, but they were gone in like 2 days. Just make sure to charge atleast 10-15 for shipping. I hit 'free shipping' by mistake and ended up eating almost 20 bucks...

Or try the paceline forums if you're a member there.

ridethecliche

Added shimano sphyre R9's or whatever to the competitive cyclist order. Looking forward to giving those a go. Apparently they make a sprinters version too which is a bit stiffer and has a more secure closure. Excel Sports has them. Looks interesting. Price is about in the realm of what I'd be looking for as well. I think they also make MTB's with a comparable fit which is important for me for the gravel bike... though given fit ish I'm honestly tempted just to use road pedals for it lol.

carpediemracing 

I realized a long time ago that I could get myself into big trouble if I started going hog wild on lottery tickets. I scare myself about stuff like this and then don't do it - heck, I was scared to drink for a long, long time, and I never did any drugs (although some of the cars that come in reek so bad I'd probably test positive after walking by such a car). My general rule now is if I get tip money (sometimes it's mad tip money) then I can spend it And any "winnings" get put back in.

It's sort of like video games with their little rewards. I'm currently playing... okay, I'll do a separate comment on that.

ridethecliche

This is so cool!

gsteinb

I bought spinergys from them 100 years ago

cmh

~minute 11:00 -"Ran out of deet" . Oh crap that is serious.

Pretty awesome endeavor.

ridethecliche

They're great. I love family run shops like that. I've also seen how they treat some of the 'riff-raff' that goes on in places like NB and it's almost a master class in de-escalation and handling folks who might be under the influence and/or not of fully sound mind.

Her enthusiasm for just getting up and riding a bike is right up there with lachlan morton. Such great shepherds for cycling.

topflightpro

We got a dog!

We had to put our dog down about a year and a half ago. And now we are fostering a new dog. She's a 2-year-old mutt. She looks like a Boxer/Boston Terrier mix. It's fun having a dog again. Though, my calves are killing me. I'm not used to walking so hard.

Flatballer

Awesome, are you thinking of keeping, or just fostering? I don't know how people foster, I think we'd get too attached.

burnthesheep

Forecast for today as of 8PM last night: rain moves out early morning and clear by lunch and mid 50's pushing low 60's by 2pm.

Actuality: currently about 44deg, still raining..........zero chance it hits 50 by lunch, will still be kinda gross out past 1pm or so.

WTF. I was eyeing the TT bike longingly last night. Best bet at this point is a Z2 run at lunch then some more Zwift tonight. Sigh.............

TMonk

Hey, but at least there's that! We have a rainy week here in SoCal but I'm like not even phased since I have Zwift now. I'm hoping that I can get two days outside over today/tomorrow in between storms.

gsteinb

I'm in Florida camping in great weather and riding the trainer anyway. Pretty good chance I'll live through this vacation though. Which is good/bad for my wife.

Hermes

I made a comment that the weather for SD was forecast to be gnarly. Well, yesterday, we had 60 mph winds and some rain and below seasonal temperatures at the coast and 18 foot waves with hourly sets to 35 feet. The only thing that saved coastal properties from flooding was it all occurred at low tide. And we lost power just after dark for about an hour. My hat is off to the workers who troubleshoot and fix downed power lines and other issues in very difficult weather and working conditions.

The next couple of days will be cleanup with cycling on the roads sketchy at best with all the debris, dirt and sand.

Indoor workout today.

topflightpro

Maybe. It's unclear at this point. The young woman who has had her is having to spend some time in some sort of inpatient treatment center and cannot take the dog with her. So, she needed someone to care for the dog while she is there. The plan is to sort of figure out whether we keep her after the young woman completes whatever treatment she needs - I don't have details on this and really didn't ask.

At the same time, this is good for me that it is only considered temporary. Our last dog had a lot of health issues - epilepsy and severe arthritis - and it was tough on us, and he was the first dog I'd ever had to put down. Since then, I've really struggled with the idea of taking on another dog.