At about 11 and a half stones, I don’t exactly tip the scales, yet no mountain bike shoe I have bought has lasted more than 6 months.
- Pearl Izumi shoe - lasted 3 months before the strap went - £70
- Pearl Izumi shoe - lasted 6 months till the sole detached in a race - warranty replacement
- Specialized Mountain Bike shoe - lasted 3 months, developed large hole near front - £80
Ok, for sure, I had no problems getting new shoes on warranty, but you have to faff with cleats and the like, and then wear them in again so they are comfy. In fact, with one of the Pearl shoes I had to sit for 2 hours with a power drill to get the cleats out.
In my opinion its a fine line that sports manufacturers take, they obviously want the items to wear out so consumers such as myself buy the latest pimpy gear (maybe around about a year with moderate use). Someone like myself comes along who abuses everything he owns, and stuff just doesn’t last. If I was an ordinary person, stuff wouldn’t wear out quickly enough for warranty replacement therefore I would end up paying through the ass for stuff I have hardly used.
On a side note I picked up a pair of Sidi road shoes last weekend. They fit perfectly and you can replace the straps, ratchets, heel etc.
The bad part is, they were £100 (from ebay).