Road Cycling Shoes
The shoe that has everything
So let’s have a look at the best cycling shoes currently on the market. First up we’ve got a shoe manufacturer that offers everything: fully heat moldable soles, a wide fitting option, and the choice of either 3-bolt or a Speedplay sole, plus also offer a customisation option as well.
The £400 Lake 402 is their top of the range shoe, sporting features that would be top of your feet’s shopping list. However, many of its features are still present in the older 401 which also has the added benefit of being available as a custom build shoe, allowing you to fine tune fit, choose colour options and so on.
The 402 uses a supple Klite Kangaroo leather and a mesh upper, mated to a custom fit carbon sole which can be heat moulded in an oven. There’s BOA a closure system and two sole options – standard and Speedplay. There’s also wide fit and women’s specific shoe sizes. This shoe is not a cheap option at close to £400 and if you are in the UK, you may not be able to get all of the options, such as a pair with both wide fit and Speedplay sole – you may have to source a pair from the USA.
A lot of the features of the top shoes are already available in the mid-range shoes. We particularly like the look of the Lake CX331 which is available online for £200 to £250. The CX237, which retails for about £200, is also standout but does not have a Speedplay sole option.
A choice of sole…
So on basis of width, heat moldability, sole variation and customising options, it would seem that Lake – if you can get them in your fit – are ahead of the game, but is that really the case? Let’s look at shoe manufacturers that offer the choice of either 3-bolt or Speedplay soles, but no wide fit on their top model, and interestingly they are all Italian; none offer heat moulding either…
SiDi are somewhat legendary in cycling. Many of us will have used SiDi’s successfully and there’s a good reason many cyclists use these shoes.
SiDi’s are not the lightest shoes but are extremely comfortable and are feature packed. It’s not by mistake that SiDi are extremely popular cycling shoes; in our own sponsored cycling team over half the riders choose SiDi shoes.
The SiDi Wire is their top of the range shoe with a full carbon sole, their own BOA-style closure system and a unique heel retention system. Strangely it is not available as a wide fitting. SiDi do offer other shoes in their ‘Mega range’, just not the top model, which is odd as far as we are concerned. Note that the Wire does come in women’s specific sizes though.
If you can get into a SiDi shoe, and typically they are on the narrow fitting side, then you will have no regrets – just look at how many ProTour riders use them. Great shoes that are highly recommended. We are yet to review the SiDi Wires, even though plenty of our reviewers use them, but did review the Ergo 3s here.
The Northwave Extreme Plus is the Italian companies top road shoe and the new 2015 ‘Pro’ model is not massively different to last year’s, so you can get a bargain if you can find a 2014 version at a discounted price. You can easily spot the bright green and orange shoes of the Northwave sponsored riders in the pro-peloton.
The Northwave Extreme Tech Plus uses an exclusive 0.5mm Speedplay adaptor
Not content to use BOA, Northwave have invented their own system, which works well evenly distributing the tension over the whole length of the shoe, thus avoiding discomfort and hotspots. The Extreme Plus features a lovely one piece upper to avoid having stitching that might also cause discomfort.
The really clever feature of this Northwave shoe – and we despair that no other manufacturer has done similar – is the carbon sole which is adaptable between 3-hole LOOK cleats and 4-hole Speedplay without the chunky Speedplay adapter and a stack height penalty. This adds up to one versatile shoe and is great if you ever change pedal system.
Northwave used to make very roomy shoes but recently changed the last used for their top shoes, making them slightly narrower, though they are still good for most riders due to the supple upper. Again they are great shoes that come highly recommended.
Gaerne have a partisan following and until recently seem to have been a bit of a ‘best kept secret’. Despite their long history in cycling, their G.Chrono shoe really shot to prominence with Gerald Chiolek’s win at Milan San-Remo in 2013. Other top sprinters such as Alexander Kristoff and the Gorilla, Andre Greipel, use Gaerne to devastating effect.
Even though it has been replaced as the top shoes with the launch of the new G.Stilo for 2015, the G. Chrono Plus, Gaerne’s top shoe from 2014, is still a good buy. The G.Stilo Speedplay and the G.Chrono Speedplay have a sole that is approved by the American pedal manufacturer.
Gaerne’s G STilo is their top of the range shoe for 2015 and comes in five colourways,
There are some clever features such as an extremely thin sole (just 3mm) and a carbon heel cup. Like Northwave, Gaerne have a really cool version of the BOA system that really does allow micro-adjustment either way when riding. The G.Chrono is said to fit narrower feet better, whilst the newer G.Stilo has a bit more room in the toe box. Again highly recommended. We have some Gaerne G.Stilo in for review so look out fo that soon.
Vittoria have been producing shoes since 1976 and claim to have had many ‘firsts’ in that time, including first nylon sole, inventing a rotor closing system using nylon cables and the first coloured shoes from Italy! They have been worn by some of cycling’s great like Moreno Argentin, Sean Kelly, Maurizio Fondriest and Stephen Roche.
Vittoria’s Ikon shoe stands out with its black Advance One frame lines
Their top shoe is the stunning Ikon. It uses Vittoria’s own closure system called SSP Micrometrics Fastening System. Though th sole is not, the insole is heat moldable and sizes 40-48 are Speedplay compatible. The black contrast lines on the shoe aren’t just for looks, they’re part of the Ikon’s structural Advance One frame technology…
We know Elite riders here in the UK who have used these shoes very successfully in the past, but none of our reviewers have personal experience of them.
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