I recently bought a pair of Cannondale rp2000 (White) for a great price. My earlier pair, which I still use, is a shimano (Black). It seems like the best time to buy cycling shoes is when there is a sale. The pricing is about 30-50% of retail price (when these were new models).

The shimano has a full carbon outsole and is pretty stiff. Though the shoe is a .5 size bigger for my feet, It is pretty comfortable to ride in these. I have ridden more than 2000 Km’s on these shoes and they are still in good shape (though a bit dirty and ragged). What I am more surprised about is that the SPD-SL cleats I got are still going strong. I walk quite a bit on pavement / concrete during my commute where the cleats take quite a pounding. These shoes also have pretty sizable drain holes and they seem to work well when it rains hard. However the traction in wet floor is almost zero. One has to be extremely careful while walking in these. The Velcro straps are pretty handy to use and help with quick adjustments, but they seem to lose adhesion in wet conditions.

The Cannondale feels much better constructed and looks stylish – may be it is the color.The upper lining seems to have a leathery finish with enough vents for air circulation. The ratchet mechanism for fastening is pretty neat and I guess will provide better fit regardless of whether it is raining or not. What I do like about this shoe is that the outsole is some rubberized compound that seems to have better traction while walking. I will have to test it out in wet one of these days. The shoe feels less stiff than the shimano but nothing that affects the ride. I suppose the need for stiffness is more important to athletes on their edge of performance and not for some one commuting on a spring loaded saddle There are less and smaller drainage slots in this shoe but I will have to wait for rain to find out if that is a problem. Overall a great shoe and well worth the sub 100$ price.

On a side note, one might wonder why someone needs whiz-bang shoes for cycling around. After all, most of use learnt to ride in sandals and it was good enough. To me, the need for these shoes is more functional than aesthetic. The shoes do not improve my speed (though wearing it makes you look like a fast rider) nor do they help when I am off the bike. Actually, they are pretty annoying when you are not riding and walking any distance in these should be done with much care. However, in terms of providing positive contact with the pedals, these are without par. There are other technologies like toe straps etc… but I seem to prefer the clipless variety for pedals.

I ride in ‘heavy’ traffic and likely in rain about 30% of the time. it is pretty important (for the sake of other motorists) that I accelerate fast at traffic lights. This means that I usually have to put much effort on my pedals while moving from a light (usually done standing up). It is easy for the shoes to slip in such conditions and I’d rather not speculate the consequences. To me some form of positive contact is essential and clipless pedals with these shoes provide exactly this outcome.

Or It could be that the shoes look damn cool and makes more sense when wearing lycra and polyester who the hell cares.

Related posts:

1. Cycling and Impotence
2. cycling myth

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 12th, 2007 at 10:04 am and is filed under bike, review. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.