Cycling shoes are rated by pro and casual bikers alike, as one of the most important cycling gear items when it comes to longer tracks. It’s quite logical too, since you’ll be doing most of the hard work with your feet and it’s quite easy to get really uncomfortable really fast if you’re wearing the wrong footwear. So let’s see what your cycling shoes should be like, what they shouldn’t be like and what the most popular brands in this field are.
First off, the most important thing about cycling shoes is that they need to be light. You don’t want any extra weight to hinder you down while pedaling and the lighter the footwear, the easier the motion and consequentially, the higher the comfort. Try setting track with a couple of heavy shoes, I guarantee you’ll need a stop after just around 15 minutes.
Next up and probably equally important is that your cycling shoes need to have a good grip on their sole. This is especially noticeable on fast tracks, where pedaling is more intense and your foot can easily slip off and cause you some nasty moments. Some bikes have small hinges on the pedals that don’t allow your feet to slip off, which makes this characteristic of your cycling shoes to fade off in comparison to their weight.
Now about cycling footwear brands, it’s no secret that the most popular companies that produce them are also companies that produce athletic footwear and I’m thinking about Nike, Adidas, Reebok and so forth. However, they’re not the only brands to have great success when it comes to cycling shoes, since some companies that focus on cycling gear and cycling gear only, have managed to attain the popularity of the latter mentioned general sportswear brands. These include Sidi, Northwave or Shimano but many cycling apparel producers tend to rise from mediocrity, threatening the popularity of the already-established brands.
Let’s take Sidi as an example and see what the company has to offer in terms of cycling shoes. What Sidi is well known for, is the fact that their cycling shoe models strive for absolute perfection and performance. Each model’s sole is very rigid, allowing for a greater power transfer but it is also flexible enough as to not hinder your pedaling. Their “Millennium II” sole for example is built like that, supporting the whole foot area while it “corrects” the pedaling movement, encouraging perfectly smooth circles.
Sidi shoes are also build to take the shape of the foot and having a snug fit is very important especially for pro cyclists. If your shoes are “glued” to your feet, there’s no risk of your feet moving around in your shoes while you pedal, throwing them off balance and simply annoying you. And of course, Sidi also designed a rather effective ventilation system that allows your feet to be kept dry and cool during long runs, providing the comfort you need. Some of the latest and most successful Sidi models include the Genius, Zeta, Ergo, Raiden, or the T-1 series, for both men and women.
On the other side of the barricade (the general sportswear one), Nike probably doesn’t need an introduction. Suffice to say that they have a special cycling department called (you guessed) Nike Cycling. Offering both road cycling shoes and mountain biking ones, Nike has a large selection of models for both men and women, such as: Nike Granfondo, Nike YVR, Nike Spin Trainer plus, Nike Kato, Nike Ventoux, Nike Altea or Alpin.
If you were wondering what professional athletes wear Nike cycling shoes, these include names like Lance Armstrong, Danny Stam, Robert Slippens, Nicole Cooke, Thomas Voeckler, Michael Rogers, Max Van Heeswjik and obviously, many more. These huge cycling names wearing Nike sportswear are a huge guarantee to the quality of the brand.
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