How long to you expect to get out of MTB shoes? I know it’s a big ‘it depends’ but when you buy a pair of shoes are you thinking “this is a one year purchase” or “this is a 5 year purchase”. Assume average use, a few times a week trail riding, no Red Bull Rampage, no upgrading for the sake of upgrading etc
I think this would depend on the type of weather you ride in. Wet shoes loose their shape faster than dry shoes. I no longer ride mtn bikes on a regular basis. In the past I have ridden shoes for 3 to 4 years. Replacing the insole as needed.
It is all about the interface of the pedal and shoe for me.
With XC shoes and pedals (not platforms) you depend on those lugs for stability. Once those lugs are tired out, the shoe/pedal interface gets wabbly and it’s a shit experience. I find about 600 hours of riding is MY max.
For the ‘skater shoes’ that clip in (e.g., enduro shoes), you most likely use pedals with a platform, luggs/stability are much less of an issue, so they last longer. In my experience - it is about triple the amount of time as the XC shoes.
For flats - Years and years.
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I’ve been wearing flats on mtb for about 10 years now and am on my 4th pair of flat shoes. I ride mtb about 100 hrs/yr. The shoes tend to lose shape and the soles get divots worn in them from the pins. The old shoes were still rideable, but I got new ones anyway. Before switching to flats, I used clipless since ~1985. Toe clips before that. Still clipless on road and gravel. I have a pair of clipless spd shoes ~20 years old that I still use on gravel. YMMV
My current pair of flat Ride Concepts have about 1000 miles on them and are definitely getting close to replacement. They’re not falling apart, but the sole is pretty beat and probably way more flexible than it used to be. So probably 2-4 years depending on how much/where you ride.
My SPD clipless shoes are ~10 years old, but I don’t use them near as much and they almost exclusively get used on terrain where I’m not coming off the bike very often.
In my experience, the sole has been the biggest wear item. But I walk a shirt ton in them (they double as shoes for my commute and when I go shopping).
Living in Norway and having just as many rain-days as we have sunny days the shoes tend to be destroyed by smell before they are finished elsewhere. Dirty marsh-water combined with sweat does that in 2-3 years. It can be kind of mitigated by rinsing/washing them completely and using the shoe-drier everytime, but I seldom does bother. Specialized shoes tend to get funky earlier than other shoes I have had. SPD shoes
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As long as it is a good shoe and you take care of it, the shoe should last many many years. I have a pair with a carbon soul. Bought it back in 2022. So 3ish years ago. They are my beater shoes. I wear them for all my mountain biking and most gravel that is not a race event. (about 10ish hr of use a week). I am starting to see wear on the shoe that is not cosmetic. But still, it is nothing more than small stuff. The tread is still great.
…shoes tend to be destroyed by smell before they are finished elsewhere…
I’ve run into that myself and found that I can get them smelling totally fresh by soaking them in a borax or Oxyclean solution for a few hours/overnight, rinsing them, and allowing them dry. The 20 year old spd shoes I mentioned in my previous post have gone through that a number of times.
I average 500-600 hours a year, I usually buy shoes after 2-3 years. If I was riding flats, it would depend on how bad the sole is, or if they’re falling apart. I like shoes broken in more than brand new.
This is about my experience as well with Shimano XC shoes. The tread and slow start wearing down at this point and wobbling more