But what about the shoes? That’s what you’re here for right? Point taken. Let’s play some music shall we and talk about what your favorite pro’s are wearing when they’re not shooting up with chemicals and inorganic matter. Keep the science in the soles fellas so we all can play along without paying twice as much to ride our bikes. Thanks in advance.

It was easy to see lots of pretty shoes mashing the pedals on the Tour of California’s course this year. Shimano’s crown-jewel, the R315 was by far the most frequent shoe in the peloton. It’s also always in white like on Tom Zirbel’s feet. In fact Shimano R315′s are unanimously on each rider of Team Type 1, Jamis-Sutter Home, and Rabobank.

The peloton of the cycling elite seems to be naturally finding its roots and already turning its back on Armstong’s penchant for black feet. But if I were buying a pair of new kicks to spin the coming summer months in I don’t know they would be Shimano because the shoes are kind of boring and the technology is the same custom-molding that can be found pretty much everywhere now. Shimano was one of the first companies to pioneer the wonderful world of custom to our bike closets but the design of their high-end shoes for over $300 (even online) are simply ho-hum. There’s simply a lot more fun out there for your hard-earned dinero.

Spoiler alert: Chris Horner (RadioShack) won the whole-dang-race and as he is company guy he stays close to his Trek sponsor with a pair of red Bontrager RXXXL’s and a relaxed interview relevé. So does RadioShack MVP Matthew Busche for his tireless efforts on Saturday’s climb up Mt. Baldy protecting Horner and Levi Leipheimer from meddling attackers. However, Levi is the first man to jump ship with his own pair of black Giro Prolight SLX. Lance Armstrong may be gone but Levi is the one stronghold to carry on the black socks, black shoe tradition. But those Giro’s will set you back $350 in the US. Don’t worry, they are also offered in white.

Levi is not the only Giro-footed racer on RadioShack. Ben King who had his final race in his stars-and-stripes jersey as the reigning 2010 US road champion. King may have the stars-n-stripes but he doesn’t race in the Prolight’s. Instead he has a more modestly-priced, more fashionable Giro Factors in red and white that sell for $279. King does have a chance to win another national champ jersey next weekend, he enjoyed a shortened stint as US pro road champ when US Cycling moved the Championship race from late August to Memorial Day weekend when most of the rest of the world also crowns it’s victors.

As I was walking through the team rigs noting both racing and podium shoes, I turned and recognized newly crowned Paris-Roubaix winner Johan Van Summeren (Garmin) in a spry pair of Bont Vaypors. Even some of Garmin’s mechanics are spoiled with MBT Mahuta trainers that will make you $230 lighter. The only better ride on this team was Coach Vaughters’ temporary team car.

Jelly Belly’s shoes are as mixed as a bag of their beans. Ken Hanson is all kitted out even before his water bottle but Jeremy Powers tries to relax before a long day in the saddle, even during interviews. And if you had to abandon the race early like Alastair Loutit did after a bad wreck, this is your new shoe of choice. Don’t worry, they know how to keep from swappin’ sweat. It may not be euro but I think it brings his whole Brad Huff look together.

Andy Schleck straps on a rare pair of Northwave’s while his other Leopard Trek teammates prefer a little more click. Jason Donald (Kelly Benefit) is one of the few Mavic riders, Taylor Phinney is so young he still goes casual until racetime, and Frank Pipp seems to enjoy his DMT shoes along with the rest of his Bissel Cycling teammates even if some of them go with wind covers every day (even pro’s ride with holes in them.)

Liquigas-Cannondale keep it classy in their Italain-made Sidi Ergo 2′s and Team Saxo Bank follow their bike-supplier Specialized. But I wonder if Juan José Haedo isn’t thinking tonight that he could have won the stage’s sprint finish if only he kept his shoes as clean as his brother Sebastian does. Juan José came in tenth both at the finish line and second to his team bus door when he tried to avoid me taking a picture. At least one time in my life I can say I beat him.

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UCI rules state that “non-essential items of clothing designed to influence the performances of the rider” are prohibited and forbidden.

Bont’s Crono shoe is a clever aerodynamic shape to minimize air resistance of the largest moving parts of the bike – your feet. Its tear-drop, diamond-shaped toe and a sharply profiled heel is as unique but fitting to most time trial equipment. Even the heel pad has been shaped like a fin for minimal airflow disturbance making the shoe look almost more like a sail than shoe. Each pair goes for a pricey $500 US dollars but is customizable to the rider’s foot and backed by Bont’s reputation for quality.

The ruling seems ironic compared to other equipment designed to reduce air resistance available to racers, especially this year as new technologies gaining big race attention. Johan Van Summeren won the Paris-Roubaix wearing a new pair of Castelli Free Aero Bib Shorts and Giro’s new Selector helmet has interchangeable tail sections.

The shoe became controversial at the world track championships in March when the Russian National team wore the shoes to a second-place non-victory. Usually shoe covers and booties intended to provide warmth in cold weather conditions are denied for indoor racing use, but Bont’s Crono shoe design seems to be time-trial specific and not weather sensitive.

Bont has stated they will challenge the UCI’s decision and the shoe maker has already generated some attention from the cycling community on their Facebook page. The outcome of the shoe banning will be followed by cyclists and industry professionals as the UCI faces growing dissatisfaction from the cycling community.

By nature cyclocross is brutal – at times testing riders against harsh winter elements. But this is Los Angeles and while the sky went from pleasantly sunny to pleasantly cloudy the worst conditions racers faced was the film of dust kicked into the air.

The course itself was challenging, seeming to be a no-flow hamster-cage taunting racers. Even as route revisions made after the first-day of racing ironed out some excessive braking, growing pains on the field’s pitch were still noticeable to both spectators as well as racers. But the atmosphere was stirring, locals were excited that racing had come to Hollywood and many amateurs wish the SoCal Cross Prestige Series luck in returning to Griffith Park next year.

As the Elite Men took stage in the late afternoon, fan favorite Ryan Trebon (Rideclean/Kona) won the hole-shot before Adam Craig (Rabobank/Giant) worked his way from fourth to victory. Craig passed Trebon at the top of the course with four laps to go and rode a steady pace escaping Trebon and even increasing his interval with waning each lap. It was Adam Craig’s second win of the weekend.

At the finish line Trebon seemed disappointed but his Shimano M315 mountain bike shoes were much less dusty than Craig’s. Mountain bike champion Sid Taberlay (Sho-Air/Specialized) always rides his Specialized S-Works.

Mavic mountain bike shoes also stood out in the pack decking out the fashionable Rapha Focus team with their bright yellow kicks and lightweight profile. Crowds were drawn to a celebrity appearance by Team RadioShack star Chris Horner. The American surfaced pre-race in a pair of gray Pearl Izumi tennis shoes before donning black Mavic MTB shoes for the race. Wearing black shoes keeps with the RadioShack uniform as team mate Lance Armstrong is notorious for preferring black shoes.

Horner finished respectfully in the top-ten after getting tangled in an early crash despite commenting that his shoes help him “keep the rubber side down.”

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At first glance they offer the sleek performance, look and feel that we are used to seeing in shoes at this higher price range. The quality of build appears good, but I can’t attest to that personally.  Bont has a history in building shoes for competitive sports, but only recently expanded into the cycling market with noticeable success.  They offer technical shoes with specially sourced grade of carbon fiber from Toray, Japan for a strong, light platform that cushion your feet with closed cell memory foam (which doesn’t absorb water.)

The tech specs sound like they stand up to the competition and their designs remind me of Northwave shoes with sweeping lines and Velcro straps. I can’t wait to try them out.  Anyone have some long term riding on these and want to chime in?

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This year the Lake CX401′s have lost their Velcro strap and now fully-enclosed by the micro-adjustable Boa lacing system that make putting these on a snap and shave access weight. We can’t wait to get on the bike and take these performance shoes for a serious spin.

Besides traditional SPD-SL three-hole cleats, the CX401 are offered in a version that will accept Speedplay pedals.

Check back when Cycling Shoes Online features a comprehensive review of the Lake CX401 road shoes. The Lake CX401′s are Lake’s flagship shoe worn by Tour de France Champion Carlos Sastre and American-sprinting-sensation Tyler Farrar.

Lake Cycling has agreed to an exclusive distribution partnership with Veltec Sports to bring Lake Shoes to local bike shops across the US.

Veltec has long-offered cycling apparel and performance components to bike shops and done so with 25 years of experience in marketing and distribution to bicycle retailers.

Manfred Krikke, chief executive officer of Veltec Sports, is excited about the recent transformations in cycling footwear and recognizes that Lake has been inventive in new shoe designs “In the past couple of years, we’ve noticed a strong demand for the innovation and design that Lake Cycling Shoes offers,” Krikke said.

Lake Shoes can also be ordered directly online from their website.

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When Jim Wyker greeted me he slipped a pair of 2010 Aerlite S.B.S. on my feet and they felt relaxed and comfortable, so good they felt like they were a custom shoe. I was ready to ride.

The reason Northwave’s feel so comfy right out of the box might be partially because the insole is built on a wood foundation. Wood might not seem like an exotic material at first, and don’t worry the outsole is a well-ventilated Carbon epoxy, but wood is the way expensive dress shoes are made.

Then I met Northwave’s other heads of state. Desiree Moore and John McKone stopped and chatted for a while. John elaborated on the benefits of wood, “It’s an insulator to heat and road noise. You know what I mean by road noise don’t you?”

At first I thought I he was referring to dampening vibrations and shock transmitted by the pedals and cranks. But John went on to explain that the wood in Northwave shoes help create a quieter riding experience as well. I’ve never ridden shoes with wood insoles so I wonder what I’m missing.

Northwave’s wood insole is completely natural. The layers of wood are worked, thermoformed at high temperatures and treated with special bonding agents to protect the insole from sweat and water. The structure is broken down into two sections: a more flexible portion that adapts to the shape of your foot and a stiffer core to connect power transmission to the bike.

Northwave builds its shoes from a BioMap concept that analyzes how the body functions during physical activity. So the wood insoles are designed to transmit power directly to the pedals without wasting any energy.

But there is more to a pair of Northwave’s than just the wood intersole. Footbeds, the ventilated outsole, the enclosure and the Ultra Y heel system all work in congress as a complete design.

Check back with Cycling Shoes Online for a complete review.

Colors: black, blue and white
Sizes: 39-48, half sizes 39.5-45.5

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Feeling the rush of the excited crowds I wondered into the shoe and pedal side of the TIME booth for a first-hand peek at the new iCLIC pedals I had been hearing about. I wasn’t expecting a to run into a pro team mechanical manager, but that’s what I got. Straight from the drenched countryside of Northern France was Time’s Product Manager, Dominique Faure. His strong French accent made me sure of two things, I wasn’t about to beat him in a 200M sprint or in a fight for the ladies.  But that’s the magic of Interbike and I didn’t hold the language barrier between us to keep us from coming together as cyclists at heart. I came for the pedals but stayed for the conversation no matter how muddy it got.

THERMO MOLDING: INNOVATIVE RACING CONCEPTS

Dominique started by giving me a tour of Time’s pedals and the customizable shoes he’s been putting through the ringer for over a year just to get them ready for weekend warriors.  Most of the lessons he’s learned arrived from his personal experiences in the field supporting young-professional French racers on the Bbox Bouygues Telecom development team Vendée U.

Vendée U probably stands for Vendée University, as a place for the new crop of France’s next generation of racers to be cultivated in the Vendée region.  Northern France is known for having extremely wet and windy Spring seasons and the racing is notoriously uncomfortable. It doesn’t matter how fast you are the cold wind is going to make your ride miserable. That kind of Spring weather is something known to American Pro Tour racers as “getting Franced on” when referring to riding on an incredibly cold, windy and wet weather. The kind of day so wretched that staying inside on a set of rollers might actually seem attractive.

Dominique recalled one dreadful, wicked day when some of the young bucks on Vendée U came back after a harsh flooded ride and instinctively put their soaked Time shoes on top of the clothes dryer to dry them out and warm them up. Not long after their shoes had dried, the unattended kicks lost their custom fitting due to the extended exposure to the dryer’s heat. The racers called Dominique fearing the worst, that their premium shoes were probably ruined and worthless. But unlike some shoes that require a specific temperature process to mold from Dominique instructed the racers to refit the shoes themselves as they were without the need of driving into a big city bike shop.

To custom fit a pair of 2010 Time cycling shoes it doesn’t take a big production. The Time ULTEAM RS CARBON shoes have a THERMO SHAPE membrane (or TS SYSTEM) inside the upper. All you need is a hairdryer and four minutes to bring the shoes up to temperature and ready for fitting.

Hold a hairdryer at 45 degrees and 15cm from the entrance of the shoe for four minutes and then put the shoe on while wearing a pair of cycling socks. Then sit on a bike held by a rear-wheel trainer and clip in. Don’t pedal, just sit normally and patiently let the shoes cool. This idle position is beneficial because as Dominique notes, “your foot on a bike is not the same as it is walking or standing.”

After the shoe cools, the TS System has retained the shape of your foot and custom molding is complete. As for the racers Vendée U found out, these new Time shoes can be remolded and fitted repeatedly over and over. Dominique told me he molded his own pair every day for over a year while the Ulteam RS Carbon was in its developing process, “I’ve molded my own shoes well over 200 times,” he said.

And in case you forget, each pair of shoes comes with a nice instructional card inside each box. This can also be passed along with the shoes if you ever sell them or give them away giving new meaning to customization. “With the TS System you can feel the difference instantly,” Dominique added.

The TS membrane also helps with problem feet. The shoes don’t come in different widths yet, but the membrane is able to conform to almost any problem. Dominique told me one story of how he helped a racer finish an important stage race. The rider had fallen and had a severe foot injury that made pedaling very difficult and painful. Dominique went to work and after some bandage adjustments with foam and gauze he remolded his shoe using the same process allowing him to ride and finish the race for team Vendée U. Then as the rider’s foot healed they molded the shoes as the swollen foot went back down to its normal health and size.

Dominique has also learned a thing or two from triathletes like Cedric Fleureton. The lessons he has learned might help any racer ride survive a difficult effort when equipment not only needs to not just be working but performing outright.

Take for instance the external toe box on Time’s New ULTEAM TRI CARBON. Dominique noted how Cedric Fleureton once came out of the water only seconds behind the leaders and needed to keep his pace to stay in reach with them. Cedric’s weakest leg is on the bike and after he had a poor transition he couldn’t quite take the time to get his foot in his shoe. The only thing he could think about was pedaling so he rode with his foot on top of his shoe and kept his foot out for the first 10km. Because his Time shoe has a hard external toe box Cedric’s powerful legs didn’t crush the toe completely and when he had a chance he was able to slip his foot inside without being dropped or losing any time.

Listening to Dominique made me feel like I had been there myself and it was reassuring to know that most of the developments came directly from the frontlines of a pro team racing on the rainy roads of France by a product developer who has seen what it means to be race ready.

There is more to tell about Time’s shoes and pedal systems. Stay tuned and we’ll bring you more details from Time’s Interbike booth in part two of my discussion with Dominique.

Time Ulteam shoe sizes: 36 to 47 (half-sizes 40.5 to 45.5)

colors: Shiny White and Red (red sizes 39 to 47 and half sizes)

weight (size 42): 658 grams

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New cycling shoes and products will focus on customization like never before. If you’re going to buy a new pair of shoes in the coming year you can expect to have a plethora of cool styles to choose from. Needless to say the decision will be hard to make.

We’re gathering our notes now and will be bringing you the headliners soon. Until then consider these kicks a tease.

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Sidi Sport is the maker of the strongest and fastest-growing cycling shoe brand sold in North America. Sidi makes the well-renowned Ergo 2 shoe and the Dragon 2 mountain bike shoe. Earlier this year Veltec and Sidi announced a price cut in some of its shoe models to offsetthe difference between the Euro and the dollar.

After 2010 Sidi will self-distribute its shoes and apparel in the United States and Canada. Veltec will distribute for the remainder of 2009 and 2010 but will not beyond next model year.

Veltec started distributing Sidi more than 20 years ago and has grown U.S. sales of the line from 10,000 pairs of shoes to more than 100,000 pairs last year. But Sidi has taken offense to Veltec’s growing ownership in Lake Cycling citing a conflict of interest and is parting ways with its longtime North American partner.

Sidi is the strongest brand in their stable, so you have to wonder why a partner like Veltec would bother with a less-popular product like Lake Cycling.

Over the past three years Veltec has purchased Shebeest cycling apparel and bought Descente’s cycling license as part of a long-term strategy to own more brands it distributes.

Veltec says it plans to make the transition for Sidi dealers as seamless as possible.

This endorsement deal is significant because Contador isn’t the same marketing draw as Lance Armstrong is usually considered to be – at least in the United States.

The LOOK KéO 2 MAX offers increased efficiency and comfort by using a resistant INOX stainless steel contact surface area. The pedal platform is 12% larger over the KéO Carbon.

It also sports dual seals, a carbon injected pedal body, INOX stainless steel contact surface, and an oversize axle for durability. The KéO grip cleats also provide rubber contact for walking while off the bike.

The carbon keeps these pedals light, Look reports their weight right at 120 grams.

Six teams rode these pedals in the 2009 Tour including Astana, Cofidis, Quick-Step, Team Katusha, Silence-Lotto and Agritubel.

Contador wore Sidi Genius 6.6 shoes during the entirety of the Tour, but on the final day he was decked out in a serious pair of custom kicks for the celebration.

On the final day Sidi sent him a new pair of Genius 6.6 commemorating his grand tour victories at the Vuelta, the Giro and the Tour.

In 2008, Alberto Contador became the fifth cyclist in Pro Tour history and the first Spaniard to win all three Grand Tours.

While the Maillot Juane color of the Tour de France is most promenant in Contador’s special custom Sidi shoes, they also feature the colors of the leader’s jerseys for The Giro and The Vuelta. The Giro leader’s jersey is pink (called the Maglia Rosa) and the leader of The Vuelta wears a golden jersey (known by locals as the Jersey de Oro).