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.

[View with PicLens]

12►

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.

The new service allows you to map turn by turn cycling directions, see the trails and bike lanes directly on the map, and drag and drop points to customize your route. Now you can avoid congested streets and large climbs on your commute. Check out this detailed video of the features. Happy Riding.

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).

custom kicks complete with a bull's eye...

(If only we could all have custom shoes and lettering like the pro’s do.) But what matters most in these shoes is the Boa S1 lacing system that will be available from Specialized in 2010.

Already Tour de France racers wearing shoes with the Boa Lacing System have sported 6 days in yellow, won 3 stage victories, and added 33 top 20 stage finishes to their resumes.

Millar doesn’t have any stage victories yet this year but the British cycling star took time from his rest and recovery to debut the upcoming technology and its ease of on-the-fly adjustment to the rest of the world. Watch the special Versus TV coverage below now. It’s worth checking out just for Millar’s daily choice in kicks.

Boa S1 Featured on Live Tour de France Coverage by Versus from dax kelm on Vimeo.

That was 2003, now as the 2009 Tour de France welcomes Lance Armstrong back into the peloton let’s take a quick look back and remember a past pedal mishap in racing history.
Shoes seldom play a role in mechanical problems so memorable but Lance Armstrong nearly lost the Tour due to his following a scary crash with a spectator.

July 21, 2003 was a day Lance Armstrong needed to attack to put the seal of victory over his rivals in the Pyrenees. The foggy weather shrouded the Col du Tourmalet in Stage 15 of an already stressful Tour for Armstrong. He was clinging to a lead and going head-to-head with Iban Mayo and Jan Ullrich on the penultimate climb of the day when strange things started happening.

As Armstrong gapped Ullrich with Mayo right on his wheel, a spectator’s bag caught the Maillot Jaune’s right handlebar and Armstrong shot over the bars. Mayo went down as well, over the top of Armstrong, while Ullrich swerved left to avoid the dumped duo.

A teammate helped pace Armstrong back into the fold. Ullrich wasn’t attacking, but a few switchbacks later Armstrong was shaken by another surprise when his right shoe slipped off his pedal slamming him into his top tube. He had never fully clipped back into his pedals after remounting from the initial wreck. In the video you can see how he was shocked by the disturbance – but the moment was mostly overlooked by some news reports on the stage.

It’s unclear what shoes Armstrong was wearing that day, but from the video they appear to be Shimano. The point is trivial though because Armstrong replaced his orthopedist the following off-season.

Either way, Armstrong overcame the brief moment of chaos and used his adrenaline to power up the climb and overcome the unlikely series of inconveniences.

Watch the video here, the pedal incident happens just after the 1:20 minute mark.

Only this image I ripped from Cyclingnews.com. A good look at the spicy inside of Juan Antoni Flecha’s Shimano shoes.

Where can I get custom insoles like these? What kind are they? Who knows?

Eye candy for your beautiful spring weekend.

As if it were as fashionable as white tie attire at a wedding, wearing a white shoe is the popular choice for cyclists who keep it on the road. It’s just another aspect for mountain bikers to rebel against along with their baggy shorts and hairy legs.

As germane as white shoes and matching socks may be, all formal correctness may change and the Euro snobs may be in for a shock. That’s because last week Lance Armstrong made his thundering reemergence to professional racing and with all eyes trained on his epic return to the Pro Tour, he had the unbecoming audacity to wear black shoes and black socks in the face of the best cyclists in the world.

It was ever apparent from the live streaming video online, Lance showed no fear as he protected Amgen Tour of California race leader Levi Leipheimer for 9 days whether rain or shine. As usual he rode near the front of the pack, and as usual Nike provided him with his shoes. Nike never stopped sponsoring Lance and his Livestrong Cancer Organization even while he was retired.

Now, it is true that 2008 did see an emergence of more UCI teams incorporating black shoes into their kit, but Lance’s image in California was more distinct because along with his black and yellow Livestrong gilet and black bicycle, his shoes were also different from the rest of Team Astana. Last week he just seemed to stick out more, divergent from his team and the rest of the racers who all continued to wear white.

Looking back to Lance’s career he has always been a proponent of a darker shade of shoe and the seven time Tour de France champion started rocking black shoes again in the Tour Down Under this past January. Only at the Interbike’s Cyclocross race last fall in Las Vegas did he wear a mix-colored shoe, a discipline fitting for black.

However, in the Pro Tour he is constantly surrounded by white kicks including those of fellow countrymen Christian Vande Velde, David Zabriskie, and longtime lieutenant George Hincapie. Even Rock Racing and their bad boy civil disobedience is consoled by their white feet, probably because their team is more populated with Europeans this season.

But even with Armstrong’s comeback, most riders and racers will probably stick with white for a while. White shoes still remain the chic and hip choice for club riders everywhere as each cyclist pays homage to the European roots of cycling. However, when applied with a black sock, a dark shoe can make a statement that might stand out as much like Rock Racing’s anarchy. But for now the tradition remains, and white shoes cast a brilliant reflection on a sun-drenched day drawing the eye to the center of the fun, the spin of the pedals, the power and the grace of our sport.

I’ve ridden Shimano shoes most of my cycling life. Ever since they started making them. I rode Nike shoes too, some even back in the 80s. It’s always been a money thing because Nikes tend to always be about five or ten dollars more. The last pair of Nike cycling shoes I owned was during the Lance Armstrong’s string of Tour de France victories. The year before Nike made a big push back into the cycling world that ended up being short lived. They made these great looking shoes with big yellow swooshes on the straps.

But the bottom line was, all those Nike shoes sucked. I don’t know how Lance won so many Tours on them. Were they for real? I guess when you’re racing on somebody else’s dime you probably get new shoes everyday – like Jordan. And as soon as Lance left racing for the first time so did Nike.

Shimano came out with pretty great shoes as soon as they released them for production. It always amazed me a shoe company, like Nike, couldn’t make a decent cycling shoe when they were a shoe company. And, a bike equipment company, like Shimano, could and does own them in the cycling shoe game.

these clipless pedal cleats need replacement

Shoe cleats last a long time and don’t require much maintenance but they need to be kept them screwed on tight. If they become loose on a ride you run the risk of loosing them and nothing can be a bigger bummer than limping home one-footed. Plus the strain of ripping the screws from your shoe can strip the fixing threads. So every few months it’s a good idea to take an Allen wrench and give the fixing screws a squeeze. But you don’t want to over tighten them either. Most cleats only need a 5Nm torque or as we like to call it at the bike shop, a two finger tight. That is about the same force it takes to screw in a light bulb. That goes for mountain bike shoes as well as road shoes.

But every year or two you might need to replace the cleats altogether. Mountain bike cleats seem to last forever because they are still usually made of steel. Road cleats are the ones that need to be replaced more often. To keep them lightweight, most pedal manufacturers make cleats out of plastic and these can wear down from walking around and normal clip-in use.

these have some life left in them

Shimano cleats even have wear marks on the edges of their systems that help to let you know when it’s time to buy a new pair. Use these as a much better indicator of cleat life than how they might feel in the pedals. A new seat of cleats will not necessarily feel tighter in your pedals – that might be the float in your pedal. But if you feel your cleats getting slicker on pavement when you walk around off the bike there might be increasing wear that needs to be addressed too.

There might be other factors as well: your shoe might pop out once in awhile when you’re pulling up on the pedal. If this happens and you haven’t replaced your cleats for a while it might be a good idea to start thinking about it. You wouldn’t want total failure on a group ride that might leave you with an embarrassing memory or someone getting hurt. It can happen and prevention is the best tool to keep you in line and riding right.

When buying a new set of cleats make sure you know the part number you are replacing. Shimano makes a new update almost every year but some pedals will take slightly different cleats. Shop for the pedal, not just your existing cleat. You might have the option to choose a floating cleat or a fixed cleat as well.

you are forbidden from riding these

I know some dudes that have never been fans of movement cleats. Old guys – meaning people that have been riding since the 70s – just don’t understand them. One of these “old dudes” I ride with says he “never has ridden them unless his were so worn out that they became floating cleats.” Ha ha. Obviously he was completely stoked when Shimano came out with the fixed red cleats. The fixed cleat aspect achieves an even tighter leg to pedal that can’t be had anywhere else. But they are best for track racing and not when you are putting in 80-250 miles a week.

While some old pro’s like Steve Tilford are fixed cleat diehards, I would recommend sticking with floating cleats because they are easier on your knees.