wearing out shoes

OK, so I haven't been doing this as long as many of you, and I was idly wondering about something. How long does it take you to wear out a pair of cycling shoes, and when you do wear them out, what kind of wear signals the death knell for them?

I got thinking about this because I've got a pair of Shimano XC5s that I've put 6000 miles into, give or take. I don't do hike-a-bike or anything like that, but ride pretty hard, and they still look brand new. I don't see how I'm ever going to wear them out.

6k miles is nothing.

As for your question: as in life, every death is different. But you'll know it when you see it.

To me, it seems like how long they last depends on a lot of factors. The uppers can stretch or develop slop, the soles can wear out, the fasteners (Boas, velcro, etc.) can die.  Miles alone doesn't dictate any of those. Like @Koyote basically said, when they aren't working for you, time for new shoes.  A lot of people (like me) experience "shiny new thing" syndrome long before the shoes wear out, but I always end up wearing them out anyway, using them as spin bike shoes, or winter shoes, or just spares. 

@mike d gave some good info, above. But note that Boa will send you (for free!) new fasteners when yours fail -- just go to their website. A decent cobbler can often repair straps and such. (I've extended some shoes' lives that way.)  As Mike suggested, uppers can stretch beyond the point of usefulness - I had that happen with a cheap pair. But I've got quality shoes with probably 50k miles that are still usable. And some shoes (Sidi comes to mind) are intelligently designed to allow easy replacement of rubber heels and other bits that are prone to wearing out.

One way to extend shoe lifespan -- and this goes for any kind of shoe -- is to NOT wear the same ones on consecutive days, or at least don't wear them when they are still wet from rain or even sweat. 

@Koyote  I've been through 2 sets of new Boa dials (free from Boa), on 2 pairs of Specialized shoes.  Awesome customer service there. 👍 I guess I was just trying to point out the multiple failure points for shoes based on different usage patterns.  I'm really surprised you've gotten 50K miles out of a pair of shoes.  I have a first generation pair of Spec S-Works that I might have close to that on, but they are definitely relegated to emergency use at this point.  I do put on miles.  I've broken DA cranks, and a Merlin Ti frame (lifetime warranty replacement and probably close to 100K miles on that one, after 15 years of racing and training).  

mike wrote:@Koyote  I've been through 2 sets of new Boa dials (free from Boa), on 2 pairs of Specialized shoes.  Awesome customer service there. 👍 I guess I was just trying to point out the multiple failure points for shoes based on different usage patterns.  I'm really surprised you've gotten 50K miles out of a pair of shoes.  I have a first generation pair of Spec S-Works that I might have close to that on, but they are definitely relegated to emergency use at this point.  I do put on miles.  I've broken DA cranks, and a Merlin Ti frame (lifetime warranty replacement and probably close to 100K miles on that one, after 15 years of racing and training).  

 

I will admit that those 50k mile shoes are pretty ragged, and should probably be thrown out. And I would never expect to get even half that mileage from a pair of mtb shoes (even just used for gravel riding), since those see much harder use than road shoes.