Once you go custom, you will never go back…

I have ridden almost every brand of cycling shoe under the sun since I started racing. I think my first pair were Lake shoes with plastic soles with laces that I cracked in half in my first crash. Shoes have come a very long way since then, carbon fiber is everywhere and you have to look very hard to find a pair with standard laces. Velcro and Micro-Adjustment buckles have taken over and I for one am very happy with the revolution. Recently I decided to kick things up a notch and try out a custom molded cycling shoe, namely the Shimano SH-R315. It took me this long to go custom not because of lack of desire, but of cost. In the past custom shoes were well out of most riders price range, however Shimano’s top of the line road shoe is still priced less than some of its competitors non custom high end shoes. The process to get “fitted” in the shoes is quite unique. First the insole is heated in a specially designed oven, once it is nice and mushy, you stand on it in cycling socks and let it slowly mold to the sole of your foot. Now the cool part, the whole shoe is then placed in the oven so the full carbon sole can get a little compliant. When it is nice and toasty you put it back on your foot and a trained fitter places a bag over your foot and literally sucks the air out of it using a specially designed vacuum. It is kind of a bizarre sensation but you are left with shoes that are literally molded to your feet. Now a great fitting shoes wouldn’t mean much if they didn’t meet the demands of hard road riding, but these shoes are a straight flush. The whole process becomes an experience where the shoe truly becomes yours. They are very light, stiff, and have classic looks without being too flashy. It’s crazy, I didn’t realize how comfortable my new shoes were until a recent mt bike adventure in non-custom shoes which at one time I thought were the most comfortable shoes I owned. After riding about five minutes I commented to my brother that I am now officially spoiled, I want custom mt bike shoes too because my old shoes just didn’t measure up anymore.