LAKE MX160 MTB SHOES REVIEW

 
Out of the box the shoe design is a no-fuss sturdy black leather, with a flash of silver and grey from the front of the ankle to heel, and flashes of silver and red along the Velcro straps, with silver finger tabs indicating the end of the strapping.
 

 
The stitching work is good quality and the bonding with the fibreglass injected nylon mid-sole and rubber outer-soul is also excellent quality, and so far there are no signs of wear at the seams and bonding points at all. If you’re using them for cyclocross these shoes will soon be a uniform murky brown, though that said I have found that they scrub up pretty well.
 
The looks and styling of the MX160s are functional, but what are they like to wear and ride in..?
 
At 800g (by my scales) these shoes aren’t light, a weight that’s comparable to similarly priced MTB shoes on the market – that’s the equivalent of wearing half a loaf of sliced Hovis on each foot (if you needed a reference point).
 

 
The ‘action leather’ is durable and with the mesh upper is highly breathable. During late spring and summer use they kept my feet at a tolerable temperature, and the material is water resistant to a point – I’d say splash resistant – water will generally find its way through the upper mesh section of the shoe with the first 2 minutes of a downpour, though the shoes will cope ok with a bit of standing water. Not exactly winter shoes, but should see you through to the first frosts I should think, provided it is not bucketing down and you’ve got decent woolly socks on.

 

Drying time and the smell test afterwards make all the difference, there’s nothing worse that putting on wet or damp shoes. Thus far they are performing well and dry out fairly quickly, without a hint of odour despite a good dousing a couple of times, especially in the last few weeks.
 

The fibreglass injected nylon mid-sole is stiff enough to maintain enough power through the shoe to the pedal, and yet flexible enough that there’s decent feel during off the bike running efforts – the rubber out-sole is chunky and works best whilst off the bike in the worst slub Sussex has to offer; but it can be a little awkward and slippery on the hard grass or harder chalk surfaces, like the South Downs Way for example and my wet decking in the garden, where I’ve almost come a cropper a few times.

 

They’re not the most responsive of shoe when you’re on a technical descent or singletrack, but then how often are you going to be doing that on a ‘cross bike? Actually, I am really into the singletrack on a ‘cross bike at the moment, there’s that added sense of misguided fun that I just can’t get enough of – the MX160 is not the best shoe for this kind of riding.

 

 

With proper cleat positioning I haven’t suffered any knee or ankle joint issues and I can’t, in all honesty, comment on the ‘Competition Last’ concept but to say the pedal stroke and foot position felt stable and comfortable whilst wearing these shoes. Maybe the ride benefited from this design engineering in the shoe, I don’t know, but more on the fit to follow.

 
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