Shimano shoes, I have had 3 different types of shimano shoes, 2 road shoes, the most expensive in the range with the rachet top closing mechanism and two Velcro straps, and the model below with the three Velcro straps, both with the carbon soles. These both looked reasonably fashionable, both in silver, the older of the two pairs I have worn for training purposes for 3 years, so they seem to last reasonably well. They are comfortable, reasonably light, the rachet is good for tightening when necessary in a sprint or when on the attack. Overall a top quality shoe.

DMT, two years ago I was given a pair of the top DMT models, these really did look the part, they are shiny synthetic uppers, this and light, with carbon soles, they are a very trendy white gold and black. These shoes are the lightest shoes I had used, they were a wide fit which I like, a bit of lateral movement is always good to give the knees a break and to avoid cramping. Again, could not fault these shoes, very nice, the only question mark is over durability, they are an out and out racing shoe and I expect may not last much more than 1 year if used in anger, although, not wanting to suck eggs, I will hang fire on this point until further use!

Now I come onto the latest pair of shoes that have been given to me by PBK this year, these are the Lake CX401 in Pearl white and red, now these shoes are a fantastic looking pair of shoes, lots of shiny weaved carbon on show, the sole naturally, but in addition the sides ad heal of the shoe are also full carbon, now this is not just for show, although it looks great, it also has  a fundamental purpose, it is to allow for a custom Fit for the heel and rear of the foot. This was a first for me, although a few shoes had a similar feature I didn’t ever experiment because it was normally the case that you had to take the shoe somewhere to get it properly fitted.

However, on this occasion I found a spare half an hour to read the instructions and give it a go, the shoes had to be placed in the oven, yes, the oven!! preheated to 80 Deg C, leave the shoes in for 5 minutes, make sure they don’t burn though!! Next step is to put the shoes on and gently push the sides to mould to your heel shape.  All said and done, the shoes felt even better!!

Once on the bike they feel light and responsive, rigid too. Another first in a pair of shoes is the upper material, Kangaroo leather!!! 

Hopefully they will make me go that little bit quicker!!!!

Its that time of the month again, when I write an article for rutraining.co.uk. This month I thought that I would write a short piece on my experiences with shoes. One of the benefits of racing for sponsored teams for 8 years is that you get a new pair of shoes every year.

What are the main features you look for in a pair of cycling shoes? Materials have changed an immense amount in the past decade, nowadays the top priced cycle racing shoe can look more like the front wing of a formula 1 car than a conventional cycling shoe.

My first pair of cycling shoes was a cheap pair of diadora road shoes, these had a standard plastic sole with fabric uppers and 3 velcro straps. There was a certain amount of flex in the shoe and the shoes were fairly heavy, especially when wet. Overall these shoes lasted long enough and did their job, for the price of £50 there could be no arguments.

Moving onto team shoes, all the shoes are in the higher price bracket, shoes used are as follow :- Carnac Quartz, Sidi Energy, Specialized, Shimano, DMT.

The Carnac shoes which were worn in 2003, these shoes are built like bricks, they have a close fit and are comfortable. There are 4 velcro straps which hold the foot firmly in place. The sole is a plastic moulded single piece which makes the shoe quite heavy, probably the worst aspect of these particular shoes. The styling is nice and still look good even in todays market.

The Sidi energy shoes are bright blue, they have a piece on the sole of the shoe that allows you to adjust the tension of the sole, never understood it, never felt any difference when either tensioned or loose, to be honest, a waste of time. The quality of these shoes is poor, the tension device fell apart quickly and the heel pad also fell off. These shoes are reasonably light, however, I didn’t find them particularly comfortable and was never really taken by the screw fasteners as the closing mechanism for the shoes. All in all I was glad to see the back of these shoes.

Specialized shoes were next, I had these for two seasons, can’t remember the model, but they were a recent model, carbon soled shoe with the disc closing mechanism. These shoes were very light, I believe the lightest shoe in the market at the time, they were reasonably comfortable, the carbon sole added rigidity to the shoe, however, the uppers were not particularly well made and distorted after a seasons use. These shoes were also pretty heavy when wet which was probably the worst feature of the shoes.

BRITISH MOUNTAIN BIKE SERIES
50KM ENDURO
BY CARLA HAINES
I was really excited for this event as I have always enjoyed competing in them. My mum dad and sister were also racing which I was pleased about.
I woke up at 7am again and packed my drink and equipment in my Osprey bag, which I was going to wear for the race. My calf was still a a little stiff but the previous night I freezed it, warmed it up and stretched.