Shimano M-230 Shoes

This pair of Shimano M-230 shoes came in the post about a month ago and even though we are still in the grips of winter, I'm still managing to get out up to 4 times a week, consequently the new shoes don't look that new any more.

That said, this latest offering from the the big 'S' is the top of the line Expert/Performance competition shoe. Not as light (807grms) or as stiff as the Elite M-310, but it's still got a carbon sole and custom fit heat moldable insole and uppers to give a precise fit with no pressure points.

I seem to have developed a bit of a bad habit of wearing out riding shoes prematurely of late. There was a time not that long ago when a nice pair of Italian riding slippers would last up to 4 seasons of riding. My last 3 pairs of shoes only lasted 2 1/2 years between them. Yes I'm doing a shed load more riding than I did in the past, but man, stuff just doesn't seem to last like it used to.

So this pair of Shimano shoes seem pretty well made with lots of rubber 'Armor' around the outer edges of the shoe, multi layed materials to add some durability, a nicely tucked in main buckle and some good deep tread on the sole if you have to portage nasty terrain. The 'Wide' model that I'm wearing has good room for those of us with wide fore feet and the added bonus of having room for thicker winter shocks and will I'm sure be great on hot days, letting more air flow around my feet. Something the Italian slippers were not to good at.

I've got 8 weeks of prep riding to do for a two week tour of Bhutan in mid October, which in it's self is about 700k's of mixed riding from 2000m climbs and descents, to virgin single track and everything in between. So these shoes will get some thorough testing long before summer even kicks in.

Stay tuned to see if they hang in there.

Pro Build for World Champs

I offered a local athlete my professional services to help him with his second attempt at the World Masters Road Racing Champs in France. So I went to work on him and his bike.

He had been having some comfort issues in his training lead up to the event, so I re-fitted him to the bike, lowering saddle height, moving him forward and changing the tilt on his saddle. He reported that he had no more numbness, more power and much better seated climbing.

Next was to give his bike the full Black Peak Cycles 'Pro Build' service. The bike gets stripped back to the bare frame and then reassembled in a way that optimises each components full potential and limits any chance of mechanical failure. This is a very important part of bike racing and performance riding. Having your bike properly preped and tuned so that your bike can perform at it's full potential.