“Every ride starts with those slow steps to the bike – even for Tom Boonen and Co. The only difference? Tom Boonen has World Champ socks. Perhaps Optimus Prime is good for the legs.”

Made in Biella, Italy by Vittoria.
Available from in white, black, red, yellow, and blue colors.

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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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The Sidi Spider SRS is below the familiar top-end Dragon 2 Carbon in the performance pecking order, but it doesn’t skimp on features and it may find an important role in your arsenal every fall when cyclocross season rolls around. That’s because part of the Spider’s design aims to make this shoe a dynamic workhorse off-the-bike.

“We are excited to produce for this year a new choice for the serious Cyclocross Racer or Cross-Country rider. The Spider SRS emphasizes performance, durability and style.” explains Pio, Sidi’s legendary industrial designer.

The front of the Spider is armored with a special rubber toe guard for protection against hits and bumps while the heel cup is more relaxed for running and nailing the dismounts.

The Spider also comes with Sidi’s redesigned Caliper Buckle for dialing in a precise fit and making micro adjustments easier even while riding. Two Velcro straps, both with High Security teeth for snug fits that won’t slip, complete the closure system. Sidi’s Soft Instep Closure System and padded tongue is designed to eliminate pressure points.

The SRS in the Spider’s model name stands for Sole Replacement System. This patented feature can increase shoe life when you want to rebuild the bottom of the shoe’s sole with new cleat tread simply by using a Phillips screwdriver. The Spider accepts standard SPD pedal cleats.

The shoe’s upper is made of Lorica Microfiber, the same supple material found in other Sidi performance shoes. The black Vernice patent leather finish and graphic are distinctively Italian.

Besides the introduction of the new Spider, 2010 also marks Sidi’s 50th anniversary as the Signori family has making cycling shoes in Italy since 1960.

Sizes: 39-48 (half sizes 39.5-46.5)
Colors: Black Vernice
Price: $349.99

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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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The debut of the KéO Blade pedal gets its name from a leaf spring made of carbon fiber instead of the usual wound retention steel. The carbon spring doesn’t reduce weight as much as you might hope but it’s a strong indicator of how carbon epoxy will soon replace other supplies as the space age material of choice.

But Look claims that the KéO Blade weighs a mere 195g a pair, and less than 95 grams per pedal. This weight is helped by a long carbon fiber body and titanium spindle. This 195g is a scant one gram less than the current KéO Carbon Ti.

The carbon material’s unique curve design does offer a distinctly snappier and more responsive feel when clipping in and out compared to a conventional KéO pedal. The experience entering a KéO Blade is not as fuzzy as other conventional pedals. There is no doubt between knowing whether you’re in or out of the pedal.

Look’s representatives working their Interbike booth in Las Vegas were cocky – acting like they were going to take over the world by way of this little innovation. But at nearly $500 a pair I wonder how many attitude points they’ll be able to buy.

Spinning one in my hand felt was as if the Blade’s bearings were riding on glass. It was hard to tell if the seal construction was solid enough to deny dirt and grime from spoiling that showroom feel. Only time will tell.

Instead of typical release tension, riders can interchange sensitivity with two different blade installations. One blade roughly corresponds to the lower range of adjustment found when a conventional KéO is fully open and the other blade provides more of a stiffer feel. Pedals will be shipped with one blade pre-installed and a Look dealer can perform spring changes as needed.

These new KéO Blade pedals offer the same wider body and stainless steel upper plate found on the latest KéO 2 Max bringing more stability to the experience. It is interesting that the latest KéO debuted just months ago under Alberto Contador’s foot at the Tour de France.

Additionally, the cleats will feature “The Memory Clip” as a new bonus to extend ease of use. (See our gallery of pictures below.) The Memory Clip mounted on your shoes will make cleat replacement easier and most effective. This way new cleats will go back to the same exact position on your shoe. Shoe companies who have already signed up with Look to The Memory Clip compatible with their 2010 shoes include Bontrager, Cannondale, Chain, Diadora, DMT, Gaerne, Northwave, and Sidi. That leaves Shimano and Specialized as two notable shoemakers currently absent from this agreement.

KéO Blade pedals will be available in January 2010.

Weight: 195g
Price: $499/€269.

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blame it on Johan

Please Lance, if you are going to be around for another year will you please leave your ugly black cycling shoes at home? They have no place in the Tour de France and no place in Europe. All this talk about doping is wasted calories because the UCI needs to confiscate his shoes as soon as he deplanes in Charles de Gaule.

Unless I am mistaken only three riders in the 2009 edition of the Tour regularly wear black shoes: David Millar, Yaroslav Popovych and Lance Armstrong. Granted, here in America I see tons of black cycling shoes on the road every weekend (they are often accompanied by dated jerseys and helmet mirrors) but they just seem awkward in the European pro peloton these days. Many blog sites already agree.

Armstrong wears black socks all the time, which makes it seem like he’s wearing thermal booties in July, but he looks consistent — consistently like an old man. Blame it on Johan.

Millar seems to go back and forth with his socks but the black shoes certainly make him look British (if that makes any sense). Fellow Brit Bradley Wiggins also wears black socks and Lance tweeted about it after a mountain stage. But Popo almost always goes with the white sock/black shoe combo, perhaps as an homage to the old Russian national teams…or Cosmo Kramer.

But after watching endless hours of Tour coverage during July I realized with the exception of the aforementioned cases, the rest of the pack is white. This truly makes Popovych, Millar and Armstrong black sheep. Popo does it because he’s a slut to the American and Armstrong does it because he’s a tacky Midwestern frat boy.

It’s funny that 99% of Europeans always wear black casual shoes but white cycling shoes are still very Euro. I watched a day of American football and discovered that even the rough and tumble badboy sport will still attract the skills players to wear mostly white shoes. The linemen wear black, but in the NFL it’s a tossup.

Speaking of Tour coverage, if you make nasty phone call to Directv about dropping Versus, you may or may not receive a bunch of movie channels through the end of the year gratis.

I digress, Sidi’s been doing it long before 1983, but white shoes became popular in the late 80’s when Andy Hampsten won the Giro in his white Lakes and then Delgado led the way for Time to outfit entire teams with their sweet looking white, grey and red kicks. I still think the second-generation Time model was probably the coolest looking cycling shoe ever. Or should I say…of all Time.