Vittoria 1976 shoes

Vittoria's 1976 shoes hark back to the golden, pre-Velcro, un-carbon-soled days of yesteryear when men were Merckx and you had a steak down your shorts. Our tested pair were in shiny patent leather-look white, and never failed to draw appreciative looks and comments when out and about.

The fact that with a fully-recessed SPD cleat you could walk like a normal person instead of a hobnailed duck made the carrying off of Effortless Cool much easier. If you like the duckwalk, Vittoria now does a version that takes three-bolt Look/Shimano cleats. Just be aware of sizing.

Find your nearest dealer here 

Buy these online here 

The 1976 shoes are handmade in Biella, Italy, from Lorica, a near-miracle microfiber material (see comments later regarding durability). Being full of holes, these aren't what you'd want to wear in Flanders on a drizzly February morning, but if caught in a midsummer cloudburst while making your way between baguette/espresso stops or canal-path pubs, they will drain and dry quickly.

The rubber sole is textured and grooved, and grips café forecourt surfaces perfectly well. The feel of walking in them is – as expected – more rigid than a normal shoe, but you'd have no problem strolling around a piazza for an hour of a breezy Tuscan afternoon, or out for dinner after a day's vineyard hopping in Champagne.

The shoes can be used with a standard two-bolt Shimano SPD cleat, once a plastic plate is unscrewed. With the plate in place they can be used as a traditional cycling shoe, with or without toe-straps.

Size matters

I'd known about the Eroica Britannia ride six months in advance, yet left the procurement of shoes until the week beforehand, trusting that the gods of ebay would deliver. Turns out that pre-1986 cycling shoes were only made in sizes 7-9, cyclists' feet being smaller back in the day. Thankfully Vittoria's UK distributor turned up with the goods in the nick of time, and sent over a couple of pairs to get the sizing right.

This is where, once again, I take issue with cycling sizings in general, and Italian ones in particular. Being an EU 44-45 in pretty much every pair of bike shoes I own, of course I needed a 46 in the Vittorias. And the fit was tight across the front of one foot, necessitating soaking the shoes in warm water then walking around in them for a day to get a better fit.

In the end I also had to use a shoe stretcher to get the fit across the little toe acceptable – this is for a shoe where the big toe/heel fit was perfect, it's just the width. Maybe as these are a cycling shoe designed to go into toe-straps Vittoria has gone for a much closer tolerance width-wise, so be warned and make sure if you are Hobbit-ish you either try them on first or order from someone with a good returns policy. Note: this is simply a design choice Vittoria has made, and my own personal podiatry issues are in no way a slight on the shoes themselves.

Baptism of fire. And wind, and rain...

The 1976 shoes looked right at home on the 6am startline for 100 miles of Peak District and vintage shenanigans. The 1984 Raleigh Corsa was fitted with (of course) metal toe cages and grimy leather straps, and I was initially very reluctant to put the beautiful white finish into close contact with either.

Once we were off, the pace was, if not blistering, comfortably warm. After an hour it quickened and I found myself leading a small group of bronzed, sinewy Norwegians and Italians up Edale, thinking there should be a hill around here somewhere. Just as my turn at the front was at its end, the road dropped, turned left and the 10 per cent Mam Tor reared its damp head. With 42x24 being the 'easiest' option available the next 13 minutes were spent out of the saddle, flapping from side to side as the gradient ramped and ramped again to over 19 per cent.

The best thing I can say about the 1976s is that I forgot about them, being much more preoccupied with the remaining 80 miles. By mid-climb the upstroke was firmly in play, toe-straps cinched down in a mutually-assured destruction pact of man and bike should forward momentum not be maintained.

Words were had with self, passing sheep, the gradient and the weather. Summiting without a dab and the subsequent long run down into Chapel-en-le-Frith were standout moments of what turned into a gloriously sunny 100-mile day.

>> Check out our buyer's guide to cycling shoes here

The shoes did the job, both technically and sartorially, garnering appreciative comments at an event where looking sharp is half the reason for being there. The frankly amazing thing is that the front of the shoes remained unmarked, despite dealing with a century's worth of strain, mud, water, Peak District strada bianca and rubbing against metal and leather. The textured soles allowed slipping in and out of the clips while staying put when needed under distressingly slow cadence efforts when pedalling form was totally absent – think pedalling dodecahedrons as opposed to squares.

The infinitely adjustable 14-point retaining mechanism – 'laces' – worked very well, allowing fine-tuning of pressure across the top of the foot as the day progressed, feet swelled, gradients changed, and so on. The heel cup held the foot securely, never feeling like it was coming adrift even under the heaviest of upstrokes.

The inevitable compromise between walkability and stiffness means this is not a shoe for a turbo session or time trial. When used as an SPD shoe under strong, repetitive pedal strokes, the axle area can be felt under the ball of the foot instead of evenly distributed as in a modern carbon-soled road shoe. But let's be clear here: just as this is not a shoe for the cold, it's not a shoe designed for extreme efforts. But on a club run or even a fairly quick individual effort they worked well - and you also get at least 3 watts for looking snazzy.

If you're after a shoe for mixing it about town/country on a vintage machine or for on-off the bike touring in warmer climes, the Vittoria 1976s should definitely be on your list to try.

Verdict

Vittoria's 1976 shoes look gorgeous, work with toe-clips, flat or clipless pedals, and will keep most people happy most of the time