Chinese cycling clothes

[Pedaldancer]

I've ordered a pair of YKYW bibs and been very impressed. They feel higher quality then some bibs I've paid 4 times as much for. Any recommendations for stiff xc shoes as the carbon soles on my Northwave extreme XC2 pair are starting to crack?

For SPD-SL I could point to Santic, but they focus on road. Their SPD shoes don't look too promising.
The Northwave shoe you are referring to is quite high class. I am not sure if you can find this for SPD at AliExpress.
Maybe it's a better strategy to wait for end of season sale. That's how i picked up all my Northwave shoes.

[H143]

Can someone recommend a good base layer for men for summer and one for winter? For winter, preferably in merino wool

[gribs]

For SPD-SL I could point to Santic, but they focus on road. Their SPD shoes don't look too promising.
The Northwave shoe you are referring to is quite high class. I am not sure if you can find this for SPD at AliExpress.
Maybe it's a better strategy to wait for end of season sale. That's how i picked up all my Northwave shoes.

Mine came cheaply from when Chiggle were shutting down and I've had others at a reasonable price in the past. I'd heard Chinese road shoes were now ok but couldn't find anything that looked reasonable and was 2 bolt.

[kbernstein]

Can someone recommend a good base layer for men for summer and one for winter? For winter, preferably in merino wool

I have the thicker darevie for winter and the cheap thin unbranded you find in the bundles section found rebadged. They're both great.
But the moisture wicking thing is a lie imo, i wouldn't use the thinner one in real heat. I only use it to add a tiny bit of warmth when it's 14-17c

[darkening]

Their SPD shoes don't look too promising.

They do have new super stiff mtb shoes: just search for TMS24050H

[zaphodbeeblebrox]

I just received a pair of shimano rc703s from 'chaser store' https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005008647723719.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.order_list_main.5.73bb1802m3UdRE

Tried on a bunch of shoes at a store in person to find the right fit, but the prices are crazy. Not sure how 'real' these ones are, but they seem identical. Came with a shimano box, manual, and tags that were not attached. The size I ordered also fits exactly the same as the size I tried on so they seem legit. With coupons the 703s were the same price as the 302s in store.

[zaphodbeeblebrox]

167usd/230cad, not cheap but a good deal compared to the 349cad+tax they are here.

[Merry]

I just received a pair of shimano rc703s from 'chaser store' https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005008647723719.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.order_list_main.5.73bb1802m3UdRE

Tried on a bunch of shoes at a store in person to find the right fit, but the prices are crazy. Not sure how 'real' these ones are, but they seem identical. Came with a shimano box, manual, and tags that were not attached. The size I ordered also fits exactly the same as the size I tried on so they seem legit. With coupons the 703s were the same price as the 302s in store.

That's insane, almost bordering on "too good to be true" territory. Let us know how it feels when you take it out for a ride. Crazy how Aliexpress is becoming such a compelling alternative to many bike shop parts...

I'm almost tempted to get a pair myself because they're stupid expensive as a fellow Canadian.

[kbernstein]

They do have new super stiff mtb shoes: just search for TMS24050H

Do you have a link for aliexpress? Can't find anything. Do you mean the "alps carbon" model on their website? It looks good but 300usd is steep.  No weight speficified either. I need to replace my shimano RX6 because they don't fit me but ali doesn't really have decently light spd shoes  :'(

edit: found them under the name  TMS24050V instead. still 180 with coupons and no weight listed. cleats look pretty far forward too

[Pedaldancer]

They do have new super stiff mtb shoes: just search for TMS24050H

They indeed look much better. I am still missing some special color and design which is the case for the road shoes.

My SPD shoes are Northwave and Shimano. Buying winter shoes in summer and summer shoes in winter helps a lot for finding good local offers 

[zaphodbeeblebrox]

That's insane, almost bordering on "too good to be true" territory. Let us know how it feels when you take it out for a ride. Crazy how Aliexpress is becoming such a compelling alternative to many bike shop parts...

I'm almost tempted to get a pair myself because they're stupid expensive as a fellow Canadian.

Did about 40km in the shoes as a first ride, felt great! Maybe stiffer than the one size too big rc1 I was using previously. But that could just be placebo. Upside is they're white and look fancy, although slightly less white already haha.

[Merry]

Did about 40km in the shoes as a first ride, felt great! Maybe stiffer than the one size too big rc1 I was using previously. But that could just be placebo. Upside is they're white and look fancy, although slightly less white already haha.

Glad to hear that went well. White shoes are always going to be discoloured, whenever I see someone with pristine white shoes - I wonder if they actually ride or just have an extra pair of shoes

[darkening]

found them under the name  TMS24050V instead. still 180 with coupons and no weight listed. cleats look pretty far forward too

Shimano RX8 282gr
Santic TMS24050 320gr

Both Size 40, with cleat (TIME Atac)

[crazyravr]

Glad to hear that went well. White shoes are always going to be discoloured, whenever I see someone with pristine white shoes - I wonder if they actually ride or just have an extra pair of shoes

Or, like me, wash / clean often. Then they stay white.
And for the shitty weather, nothing beats a second pair of black shoes / socks

[amacal1]

I have an off-white pair (slightly gray-ish, but very light = almost white) and I have to say I'm impressed with how white-looking they have remained. I don't clean them and I don't baby them. They're the only pair of road cycling shoes I have. If you stare at them, you can tell they're not even close to blemish free. BUT, they get the overall impression of being pretty damn white.

What's the line from Shawshank Redemption: "How often do you really look at a man's shoes?"