What are the world’s best cycling shoes
It’s time to ask the question about wrapping your feet in excellence
By Robert Thorpe, with images by Robert Thorpe, Lake shoes & Larisa Chinces
As cyclists, comfort is important to us, whatever bike we’re riding. Whether it’s a commute to work, a road ride for leisure, a club ride, or an off-road adventure by gravel bike or mountain bike, we want to be as comfortable as possible – from head to toe. That includes are main contact points: the feet, our bum and of course our hands and across the arms and shoulders. If we can get these three elements correct, then we’re usually onto a winner in achieving that golden trilogy of cycling – comfort, performance and style. When we feel good and we also look good, we can take on the world. Bikefitting now allows us to achieve this without the old-fashioned trial and error technique. People like those very clever scientists at SQLab in Bavaria have been developing systems to analysis the hell out of cyclists, and in doing so, helping thousands of them to ride in comfort and increasing their cycling performance. As for the style – well, that’s up to you and your own choices 😉 .
Our feet are the most critical of the three contact elements, as they’re in more contact with the bike than any other. They not only provide some stability, but they also generate all-important forward motion. They’re connected – hopefully – to our legs and to our hips and upwards, meaning that how our feet operate on the bike can also affect lots of other aspects of our bodies, and ultimately our cycling comfort and performance. The question arises then: what are the best cycling shoes in the world? Is their one answer, or are there several options… in truth, I don’t know. However, I have my own thoughts. Even then, though, we have to break it down; what are the best road cycling shoes, the best gravel biking shoes, the best triathlon shoes and the best mountain biking shoes. We ride so many different styles of bike these days. Add to all of this that we’re all built differently, and we each have our own unique feet – wow! It’s probably a question that has a a different answer for each of us.
Finding the best cycling shoes for road cyclists
Okay then, so on a positive note, we’ve already noticed that if you have N+1 bikes and for different styles of riding, you now need N+1 to work for your cycling shoes too. Yes, your feet operate in different ways and on different terrains for each of the three styles given, meaning that you need at least three new pairs of cycling shoes – result! Pause first, however, as it gets even more complicated. The trouble with trying to find which are the best road cycling shoes in the world – or indeed the world’s best gravel biking shoes – is that brands don’t often want to tell you how good their cycling shoes are. It’s a bit like the Heineken advert: “probably the best lager in the world!” In short, they can only usually say that they’re probably the best cycling shoes in the world – even though, in your eyes, they definitely are. Brands are rightly cautious of making claims, and rely on the consumer – you and I – to tell them how good their cycling shoes are.
How we measure the quality is also variable too, depending on personal preference. However, one element that is standard in reference, is comfort – and it’s probably the most important aspect too. If you can find the most comfortable cycling shoes in the world, then you’re onto a winner. Once you have comfort on your side, then hopefully performance will follow – style is then down to the designer and to how you mix and match things.
The best road cycling shoes will need to fit you in length, width and volume, hold your heel neatly and comfortably in place, allowing you to maximise power transfer. The shoes will need a stiff and strong carbon sole to create that power transfer, and the lateral movement will need to be curtailed, as the upper wraps itself around your strangely shaped feet. That’s a whole lot to ask of a cycling shoes; but if you can achieve it, then you’re on your way to finding the world’s best road cycling shoe… for your own unique feet! Yes, remember, as we said before, we all have feet that are different in shape, size, volume etc, which is why brands like Lake cycling shoes make probably – that all-important word – the best selection of road cycling shoe size options in the world. Their road cycling shoes are built on a variety of shoe ‘lasts’, giving different shape coverage, and then they have different width fittings, alongside a whole spectrum of sizes for length. They also measure your feet properly too, looking at volume, which when taken with a full bike fit from somebody such as SQLab, will then bring in custom insoles to refine that fit and give your feet some much needed foot love.
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