The best cycling shoes for summer
We’re at that time of the year again. One of the grand tours already completed, and the Tour de France on the horizon. The amateur cyclists are filling the roads of Majorca, and the hills around Grenoble are quietly welcoming those dedicated tour pros who are getting in that mid-season training in readiness for the greatest cycling event in the world.
If the summer so far is testament to what’s to come, then it’s going to be hot and warm, and feet will need some extra special care, along with the necessary support for climbing. Cycling shoes need to wrap your feet, allow air to circulate, and deliver the necessary performance that helps you achieve your own cycling goals. When we write recently about how we use materials here at Lake, you hopefully began to understand the benefits of choosing Lake cycling shoes. Ultimately, you see, whatever your own cycling needs - at any time of the year - there’s a Lake cycling shoe that fits your needs and fits your feet better than any other cycling shoe.
Summer is a difficult time though; and it’s why we created a world-leading choice of high performance and lightweight cycling shoes for summer riding into the hills.
Lake CX302
The CX302 is the ultimate light weight climbing shoe for summer, without sacrificing comfort, secure fit or power transfer. Utilising Clarino microfiber, a dual BOA® Li2 dial system and Lake’s Handmade CFC 3K carbon fiber sole, you have a cycling slipper that weighs an amazing 195 grams (size 44, not including the insole). Add to this, we’ve designed into the uppers, well placed mesh inserts that encourage air circulation on a hot day, helping to keep your feet cool. The mesh inserts allow any moisture created from your hard efforts to evaporate, ensuring that your feet remain comfortable in every sense. And, as a final secure fit feature, there is a Carbitex Medial Support panel for added stability and a secure fit, making sure that your foot remains where it should be, and all the effort is transferred into momentum as you take on those legendary climbs.
It’s a cycling shoe favourite of our Lake ambassadors, Ben Swift from Netscape Ineos and the world tour. Built on our iconic Race last, the CX302 features a slightly narrower toe box and tighter heel than the Competition last, and less overall volume than the Sport last. It’s a cycling shoe specifically designed for very high-cadence riding, with a slimmer fit. However, we do this cycling shoe model in a wider version too; and this option offers you 15mm of additional volume at the ball of the foot, making it a possible fit for even more cyclists looking for a summer high-performance cycling shoe.
Summer sun and sole music for performance
When we designed the CX302, we were conscious of the particular requirements for performance orientated comfort. This shoe has our Lake Race 100% Carbon fiber sole, which is available in a 3-hole cleat pattern. It also utilizes our patent double sole system, where the inner sole is a semi flexible carbon fiber platform that allows the foot to have some flexibility at the ball of the foot. This is an area where the foot tends to swell and where you typically see hot spots or numbness occurring. This technical and semi-flexible inner sole is suspended over the outer rigid carbon sole, which still functions to deliver maximum power transfer. It’s a system that we’ve honed over 40+ years of cycling shoe innovation, and it enables us to use an extremely stiff carbon outsole without sacrificing riding comfort. On those long and hot days in the summer mountains, climbing the legendary cols, it adds that industry-leading Lake guarantee of comfort.
Lake CX201
Another option for summer cycling and taking on an alps challenge, is our lightweight CX201. Taking comfort and fit to the next level, the CX201 features an all new last - our Comfort Plus last - which has the most generous forefoot platform of all our CX road cycling shoe lasts. This innovative last will accommodate a multitude of foot shapes and allow for toe splaying, and a more natural foot shaping inside the shoe. It’s been designed for those riders who struggle to find an unrestricted shoe for the shape of their feet, whilst still delivering performance.
With a wider toe box and a unique construction that offers a light weight and extremely breathable shoe, this stylish and modern cycling shoe delivers on hot days, with its NuFoam mesh upper covering the complete toe box are, providing unrivalled air circulation. This mesh upper is combined with the strength and stability of perforated Clarino micro fiber, combing all of our experience to deliver a modern cycling shoe that perfectly balances comfort, performance and style.
The sole is our Lake Comfort Plus Carbon Composite Sole, giving you all the necessary stiffness, and it has a single BOA® Fit System using their leading Li2 dials. The Li2 dial is the most advanced platform in cycling, offering a precise, micro-adjustable fit in both directions and designed to resist abrasion.
Summer cycling in comfort
Summer cycling can be difficult. It’s hot, you’re working hard, and the last thing that you need are aching feet, or feet that are too hot. Both the Lake CX201 and the high-performance CX302 are specifically designed to support cycling comfort in warmer conditions, with excellent ventilation built into each of the uppers. They’re also designed to put down maximum power on the climbs, leaving you free to smile, celebrate and enjoy your own cycling achievements. Ultimately, after over 40 years of cycling shoe innovation, Lake remains at the forefront of cycling shoe comfort and have a range of options for all riders.
Isn’t it time that you treated yourself to some cycling shoe foot love - with Lake and our unrivalled collection of some of the world’s best cycling shoes.