If Darth Vader's Imperial stormtroopers had a cycling brigade these shoes would be standard issue. And that's about the nerdiest Star Wars reference you will ever hear from me. A little personal history first before I continue on about this Shimano R086 cycling shoe. The last pair of cycling shoes I owned were made by Cannondale. They were good quality and just comfortable enough. I bought them in 1988 or '89. Rather than having the velcro straps common to most shoes today these shoes were lace-ups. They were made of a full leather upper with a hard plastic sole and that is about the extent of their construction. When I say leather upper I mean that's all it was, leather. One layer of leather, no lining. Holes in the material allowed for air flow but there were really not enough of them. You see too many air holes would compromise the structure of the shoe. If you've worn cycling shoes and ridden a bicycle in them (and chances are that you have if you're bothering to read this blog) then you know that structure is important. You need to feel that the shoe is firmly holding your foot in place on the pedal. You can't have the foot moving around in the shoe during the act of pedaling. You can't have that feeling of the foot rolling off the outside edge of the shoe. These Cannondale shoes did not provide that level of confidence. The leather upper was tough enough to take numerous scuffs and scrapes, and it formed to my foot just fine, but it was too flimsy to hold my foot in place like I needed it to. Why did I buy these shoes in the first place? Two things: money and selection. There was one shop in my rural town that even sold cycling shoes, and of the handful of models they had on the shelf this was the pair I could afford. I had these shoes for 10 years, using them for about 5-6 of those years, until I rid myself of them. That was another 10 years ago. So about 20 years in advancement of cycling shoe technology has come to pass until now when I have purchased my second pair of cycling shoes...the Shimano R086.
I've ridden in these shoes twice now on my current steed, the KHS Montaña Comp which has been modified over the years from a 21-speed hard tail mountain bike into a single-speed urban commuter, and first impression is very good. They offer the necessary amount of support and structure expected in a shoe. The toe box has a generous patch of mesh material to allow for air flow into the shoe and keep the foot cool, yet the end of the toe has enough firmness to protect the little piggies. Three adjustment straps do their job well of fitting the shoe to the foot. The outer sole is made of plastic, hard enough to sufficiently transfer power from the foot to the pedal. I'm not sure a graphite or graphite composite sole is actually necessary in a cycling shoe unless you compete at one of the highest levels of the sport. The fit of the shoe and feel of the interior is very comfortable. For a moderately priced shoe for a recreational rider the Shimano R086 has so far proven to be a good value. And of course they look pretty damn cool with their black on white color scheme.
Posts
