M AY 2 019 mbr 107
JARGON BUSTER
Know your shoes
CLEATOPENING
ANDPOSITION
Ingeneral,a broader,m
rounded-offcleatopeni
allowseasier,more
intuitiveengagement.T
solecompoundandclea
boxpositionalsoaffects
entryandexit,withthe
optimumdesignbeings
thetrail,yeteasytodise
suddenlyneeded.SOLECOMPOUND
TheHolyGrailforflatpedalshoesis
maximummechanicalgriporfriction
fromtherubbercompoundonthe
outersole.Stickiersolesweldto
platformsandstayputinallweathers
forbettercontrolandsecurity.Vibram
andStealthblendsarepopular,with
eachspecific compoundaimingtobest
balancesoftness,stickiness,damping
propertiesanddurability.WATERPROOFNESS
ANDWARMTH
There’sa balancetostrikebetween
ventilationandprotectionfrom
theelements.IntheUK,a more
water-resistantupperrules,both
forfendingoffsplashesandrain,
andalsodryingfastwhenshoesget
soaked.Lookoutforholesormesh
panelsontoesasobviousareasfor
moisturepenetration.Oncewater
getsin,shoesneedtodraineasilyor
feetcanendup‘swimming’inside.WEIGHT
Shoesneedtorotatewiththecranksonevery
stroke,solightershoesaremoreefficient
whenpedalling.Thecaveathereis thatthe
mostlightweightshoesstillhavetobesolid
enoughtotransmitriderpowereffectively
intothedrivetrain.SOLESTIFFNESS
Raciercliplessshoesoftenuse
carbonsolesforultimatestiffness
andpowertransfer.Fortrailriding,
extremerigiditycanbeoverkilland
uncomfortableandcanalsopromote
heelliftwhichcanbeanimpediment
whenhikingwiththebike.
A majorchunkofshoestiffness
comesfromtheshankormidsole
—thefoundationthatconnectsthe
outersolewiththeinteriorfootbed.
A lessflexiblesolecanimprove
comfortonlongerrides,butreduce
trailtransmissionstosensitivenerve
endingsintoesandfeetthatfeedback
informationaboutgripandterrain.RETENTIONS
Whethertradition
strapsorBoa-style
shoesneedtorem
digginginorcreat
points.A wrigglyfi
controlandcanca
Lookfordesignsth
tousewithcoldha
thatwon’trot,and
tonguesforstabili
andcomfort.TREADPATTERN
Indentationsorgroovesinthesolehelpshoes
interfacewithtractionstudsonpedalstoresist
fore/aftfootmovementwhileriding.Deeper
toetreadscanalsosignificantlyimprove
climbingtractionforhikingwhenoffthebike
—somethingthat’soccasionallyunavoidable
onstifferclipshoes.DURABILITY
It’snogoodhavinga sole
compoundthatlastsyearsif the
rubberis toostiffandslipperywhen
you’reactuallyriding.Thebest
productsshouldstretchanderode
uppersandsolesina uniformway,so
maximumlifespanandperformance
arewellbalanced.