Written by Robert Thorpe
To be a Climber
You only have to watch a grand tour, such as the Tour de France, to know popular the cycling climbers are. They're the modern-day Gods of the stage race, feted and looked after by a team of domestiques, and with a super domestique assigned solely to them. Away from the pro peloton, we all have those hills and road climbs that we fear and dream of ascending, and which live in our memories once we succeed. For me, it was the Transfagarasan Highway, in magical Transylvania, described by many as ‘the best road in the world, as it twists and turns its ribbon of tarmac to the top of the Carpathian Mountains. Yes, ascending this was a truly memorable day in my own cycling life.
Climbing on a bike, deep in the ribboned roads of the mountains, is like no other action on a bicycle; it’s a true test of both your mental and physical strength, with the wall of tarmac seemingly steepening as you weaken. To be a pedal dancer, you need miles in the legs, a will of iron, the right gearing – and great shoes. Which is why we at Lake have designed the CX 302 road cycling shoe.
An Evolution in Cycle Shoes for Climbing Hills & High-Performance Cycling
The CX302 is the evolution in light weight performance cycling shoe, that feels unbelievably light on the foot without sacrificing comfort. It has a super secure fit and excellent power transfer, utilizing a Clarino microfiber upper, a dual BOA® Li2 dial and Lake’s Handmade CFC 3K carbon fiber sole. As you wrap your feet in this stylishly modern, performance cycling shoe, you have a cycling slipper that the competition can get nowhere close to when it comes to fit, comfort and performance. The key issue with a climbing shoe, is having your feet closely wrapped, and being able to transfer as much wattage as possible into upward motion, with a stable upper that holds your foot in place as you dance on the pedals. We’ve designed the Lake CX302 road cycling shoe with all these points in mind, to maximize your own cycling efforts in style – Lake cycling style.
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CX 302$379.99  |
Advanced Design in a Cycling Shoe Sole
If you consider how the foot is generally positioned when climbing on the mountain roads, there’s some obvious flexibility needed – but too much. You need that power transfer stability, but when you consider how your core moves around when climbing, the feet themselves obviously need some movement too, if you're to remain comfortable and to maximize upward motion and performance. The Lake CX302 comes with the Lake Race 100% Carbon Fiber Sole, a high-end and technical basis for a cycling shoe.
The shoe utilizes Lake’s patent, and highly technical double sole system., in which the inner sole is a semi flexible carbon fiber platform that allows the foot to have some flexibility at the ball of the foot, where the foot tends to swell, and typically hot spots or numbness would occur. The inner sole is also suspended over the outer rigid carbon sole. This system enables us to use an extremely stiff carbon outsole without sacrificing riding comfort, giving you the opportunity to dance away on those pedals as you rise to the challenge of the climbing Cols and mountains.
Stability Matters
Our Lake CX302 comes with a Clarino Microfiber and mesh upper, with a Carbitex Medial Support panel for a secure fit and extra stability for the foot, in those dynamic movements on a climb. Being a super-light shoe, it’s also going to save you those vital marginal gain grams, and comes in some super stylish colors, helping you to look as good you’ll feel, with your feet wrapped in our legendary Lake cycling shoe comfort. There’s also a wide and an extra-wide fitting option, as we recognize that you're unique.
Cycling into the hills and powering your bike, as you climb the steep and winding hills that twist and turn like a dropped ribbon on the landscape, is always an epic challenge. When you’re planning your own Transfagarasan Challenge, take a look at our Lake CX302 road cycling shoe – probably the best high performance road cycling shoe in the world, and give yourself the best opportunity for success, balanced with our legendary Lake comfort.