School me on cycling shoes - what do you swear by?

I have a pair of Shimano Tri shoes that I have had for 5 years. They were comfortable, fit my foot and have been durable. When the time comes, I will replace them with the same shoes. I replace the parts that clip into my pedals once a season. I know they recommend doing it about every 1000 miles, but once a season seems to be fine.

Not sure if I helped much

Nicole

I ended up trying on 4 or 5 different brands/models of tri shoes. The brand I had used from 2003 to 2010 didn't fit the same way in their 2011 shoes. It is all about fit and what shape your feet are. The more average they are you will have more choices. Some brands work better for narrow feet and others better for wide feet (which I have)

. I ended up buying the men's Shimanos TR51s to get extra width. 

I've got Shimano's as well, but went with a road shoe, not a tri version.  I also went with the men's version and not the ladies as the toe box was slightly wider and more comfortable. 

I wish I would have gone this route. My shoes seem so terrible snug in the toes and coincidentally I get hot foot all the time. Next pair will definitely be WIDER, and not just what's on sale.

I have a wider foot and love my LG's (triathlon).  I also have two pair of Sidis (one for spinning, one for mtb) and I think the Sidis and the LGs are very comparable. Love all three.

The two biggest differences for me were fit - all three fit me well, and the stiffness.  After riding in lower end shoes for a long time, I can never go back after experiencing really good quality, stiff shoes.

I've been riding with Bont shoes, which I'm very happy with.  They have a little wider toebox and they are moldable, which solved my problem with a bone spur.

They can be pricey but I've seen the Bont Sub-9s heavily discounted on bonktown occasionally.

X 2!!!

Oddly... I prefer the colour (or lack thereof!) of the men's shoe vs. the women's.

But I have the older T50 model.

& sorry! I was so excited to see another woman say that she wound up with the men's version of the shoe too that I forgot to mention how personal/personalized a choice it is!

I went to two stores with a wide selection of cycling & tri-specific cycling shoes... tried on ALL that they had in every price range going.... found my favorite....!

(& then tracked it down online for cheaper)

Just b/c I'm on a budget doesn't mean I can't get what I want!
(I just have to be a LOT more patient for it!)

Found a smaller pair of Bont Sub-10s on bonktown -- wider toebox (even for the 38s) plus a couple of times through the oven worked like a champ for me. Had an older pair of Specialized women's road cycling shoes before that and only tried the Bont's bc the price was too good to pass up on bonktown. The Bonts are more comfortable in my opinion.