Lake I/O sandals

The market for cycling specific sandals isn't exactly crowded and the main alternatives, from Shimano and Stelvio, look more like traditional open sandals. These pleasingly chunky and robust Lake I/Os buck that trend by looking more like a perforated leisure shoe.

They have a proper protective enclosure for your toes and a full length tongue to cushion the top of your feet from the straps. You could easily tackle some rougher terrain in these shoes, secure in the knowledge that your toes aren't going to be smacked bloody on the first rock they meet. You can also use them with toe-clips.

These are pretty techy pair of shoes and the marketing men have clearly been enjoying themselves writing descriptions of the various pieces of proprietary wizardry. My personal favourite is "SmartFabric Technology uses microencapsulated Phase Change Material (mPCM)" which just sounds fabulous, whatever it actually does in real life.

The main tech which concerns us is the Boa lacing system and the Vibram sole. The Boa system first appeared on high end road shoes a few years ago and used a dial coupled with strong nylon line to close the shoe. These sandals use a much simpler version, with a cord running all the way round the shoe and securing with a rather flimsy feeling spring loaded clasp. Tightening the shoe up is fiddly and the clasp doesn't grip the cord very well, which means that getting the shoes nicely snug is almost impossible. That said, they don't feel loose on the bike and I haven't noticed them feeling sloppy off it either.

The Vibram sole is standard issue on plenty of leisure shoes and is nicely stiff for riding while being flexible enough to make walking easy. The cleat cutout is a little on the narrow side (I used Crank Bros Eggbeater cleats) which can make clipping in slightly more awkward than usual, but I quickly got used to this. The shoes also have an anti-microbial treatment, which hopefully means that they won't smell after a few sweaty days in the saddle.

Fit is good, helped by the more enclosed design, although the deep heel cup does chafe a little. I have quite wide feet and these 42s fitted perfectly, although the holes do mean that they are more accommodating than a normal shoe.

On the bike they feel very comfortable with the Vibram sole giving reasonable power transfer. The slightly looser fit, compared to an ordinary leisure shoe, means that they aren't quite as efficient but they don't slop about either. You get plenty of extra cooling through the large side holes, although less than you would with a fully open design. Being deeper set does mean that your sole can feel a little clammy though as the air holes come in about half way up your foot.

Off the bike they are reasonably comfortable, the odd bit of initial rubbing aside, but I'm not sure that I would want to spend a long day walking around in them.

If we get the long hot summer that we've been promised then these leisure sandals will be just what every sweaty footed cyclist needs. Of course if we get a never-ending monsoon like last year then at least the holes will let the water drain out and prevent you from getting trenchfoot.

Verdict

Well thought out compromise between a fully open sandal and a standard leisure shoe. A versatile addition to any serious cyclist's wardrobe.