Kicks

ACCESSORY 33: Cycling shoes $153 @ Chain Reaction Bicycles
Returning these so I can get them from Lomardi Sports for $107.

Although I've come across this brand before, I didn't really pay much attention to it until I saw it at Summit Bicycles. Every shop I stepped foot into seemed to be plastered with Shimano which I tried on later, but felt uncomfortable compared to the Bontrager. These Bontragers were in the middle price range way under the $249 pairs and just above the $100 ones.

In my search for cycling shoes, I've come across a number of brands before choosing the Bontrager RL:

Specialized:
The price range for this brand are from $170-$250 before tax. Both way beyond my budget and the quality doesn't seem to be any better than the Bontrager RL MTB shoe.

Shimano:
They have a good price range that goes across the board. Some are as low as $100 and priced even lower during sales. Of the three pairs I've tried on at Performance Bicycle and Chain Reaction Bicycles, they didn't feet that great.

Louis Garneau:
They look attractive and are competitively priced with the Bontrager, but again aren't as comfortable.

Sidi:
They're price ranges start at $275 and go up to over $400 a pair! Enough said. Their cheapest model look a lot like the pricier styles, but don't have a ratchet strap - 3 Velcros and have an ugly gloss black finish.

Mavic:
They're Razor style has a cool strap system that replaces most brand's Velcros, but they were out of my price range.

Bontrager (Model RL): My final choice.
It has the ratchet strap system, carbon fiber sole, high arch and all at $140 before tax. I'm getting it cheaper at Lombardi Sports where my wife gets a discount. They're on special order to arrive in 7-10 days when I get to pick them up! $107 after tax!

I slipped it on at Chain Reaction Bicycle and again it felt great! Being that these shoes are supposed to be super stiff, I figured the worst and expected it to feel like rental skates.

The most important part though is the fit. This is one thing I would never buy online w/o trying at a store first and by then, the store deserves the sale if they have good sales people and the price is decent. Ed from Chain Reaction treated me well when I visited the store, but the price difference of $153-$107 = $46 (30%) savings is too good to pass up.

To my surprise, they felt more like slippers! Not quite, but they felt as good as a new pair of casual shoes! The sales guy, Peter from Summit where I first tried these on said it was a hit or miss. Some people love them, while others can't stand the higher arch in the sole. He recommended the ratchet straps which I confirmed later after trying a few all velcro pairs did make a big difference in fitment.

After rejecting the purchase and heading home to do some research on the features and of course prices, I found it really does have more features than its competitors in the same price range. Very few shoes under $200 have carbon soles. I'm a carbon fiber addict, but I'm told these are stiffer than the rubber soles which I can imagine. I still think the differences would be too marginal to matter.

The sides look a bit funky, but I started to like it after awhile. I'm going for black over white shoes since white would easily get dirty and I've never been able to wear white shoes w/o looking like a clown. Some people can pull off the GAP look, but for reason it doesn't work on me.