Lake MX331 Cross Shoe Review

Not For The Coffee Shop
Pulling the shoe out of the box, I was very impressed with the fit and finish. There was no untidy glue residue between the sole and leather, the leather was consistently and smoothly cut, and the naked carbon sole displayed a beautiful weave. I was reluctant to get them dirty! Like a Ferrari, the Lake’s appealing presentation masks a purposeful design; these shoes are built for riding and running through some of the most miserable conditions in cycling.

The ultimate cross shoe? Maybe…

These shoes are not for strolling around downtown or commuting and they are not designed for long portages up the side of a mountain. Lake designed these shoes to provide the best platform for a cyclocross racer. This singular focus has resulted in a shoe with some unique characteristics in the off-road market.

First, Lake has emphasized a glove like fit for their shoe. They’ve done this with three key features: the MX331 offers a contoured sole with a quite pronounced arch and a deep heel cup; a dial and lace tightening system with some custom lacing configurations; and the sole can be adjusted using a heat moulding process.

Secondly, this Lake shoe does not offer any sole flex; in fact, this shoe is stiffer than my Sidi Genius 6.6 road shoes. The sole is a pure, largely naked, carbon design. If it weren’t for the large rubber tread and mountain bike pedal cleat mounting points, the MX331 could be mistaken for a road model.

Finally, the shoe has a prodigious number of stud or spike mounting points. Like teeth in a shark’s mouth, the toe includes rows of studs. I bolted steel spikes on the front of the shoe with football cleats behind them. The shoe also includes two football stud mounting points in the heel. Tenacious!

All of this is wrapped in an orange package – I loved the colour. It certainly won’t be mistaken for any other shoe on the market.

Boa closure ensures a close, snug fit

I put the Lakes in the oven before going for a ride. This is not a new cleaning or curing technique, but rather the method for softening and shaping the mouldable shoe sole and heel. Because these shoes are so stiff, a comfortable, stable fit is critical when running; any slack or looseness will hinder running and possible hurt the feet.

As mentioned, the shoe has a deep heel cup and high arch out of the box. This keeps the foot situated, but I found after a few four minute sessions in the oven, I was able to shape the shoe to a conforming fit with a lower lace tension. This lower lace tension means my feet stay warmer longer because circulation is less constricted.

The BOA lace design takes the best of the manual tie designs seen in the likes of Giro’s 2013 road shoes and the ratchet design seen across a variety of road and mountain designs. The shoe combines a very tough lace criss-crossing across the top of shoe with a Boa dial on the side. The dial, when turned clockwise, cinches the shoe by winding the lace onto the dial. The fit can be further customized using hooks on the lace guides to double up laces on certain points of the foot. This doubling allowed me to tighten the shoe on narrower parts of my foot and loosen it on wider or taller parts. There’s no doubt the variety of customisations available seemed a little daunting at first, but after a week of fiddling, we found the fit options a worthwhile time investment.

The laces can be wrapped differently to change how foot width and height differences can be accomodated.

 
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