What are you doing to shoes in four years to ruin them? My old shoes probably had 15 years and 50,000 miles in them when they finally retired earlier this year. The Velcro fasteners were fairly worn but other than that they were fine; just didn’t really fit my feet anymore.
Edit: given the high cost of cycling shoes, they better last more than four or five years. I’d call that time frame poor.
Eh, it's actually fairly average per a survey of my cycling crew here in DC.
Part of it is I sweat
a lot - and that sweat breaks down the lining of the shoes, as well as the glue that bonds the sole to the boot. They also see a fair amount of use in the rain and on wet/muddy roads, which doesn't help in terms of upkeep.
And I have fairly aggressive plantar fasciitis, so when the soles start flexing more than usual that's it for the shoes.
Sidi shoes typically last longer, it's true. But living on a shoestring budget like I do, they're often well outside my budget for the ones that are built to last. My previous pair was great before my femur break and resultant hip replacement, but as my right foot expanded a bit post-surgery to the point where the right shoe no longer fits without causing a lot of pain. Pity, they were good shoes (Genius 5.5 model). They've since been sold to another rider who loves them.
I'm currently using a pair of Specialized Torch 2.0 shoes, and they are really well made and have lasted around 15,000 miles thus far without any degradation of function. We shall see how much longer they hold out, but the glue is still strong, the Boa closure still good, the liners still intact. Truly, they're some of the best shoes I've had in terms of durability, and they fit fairly well (with a Superfeet black insole).
Fit wise, I've had Bontragers that were better but they had a run for many years where the sole would shear off the boot after 3-4 years of use. Mine suffered this fate on a ride, luckily when I was only 3 miles from home. There was no warning: they just went.