Interbike 2015: New Shoes from Shimano
My first clipless cycling shoes were entry-level Shimano mountain bike shoes. They cost me no more than $100, yet stood up to an incredible amount of abuse for four years. So I guess I have a soft spot in my heart for Shimano shoes, even if they tend to be more conservative in terms of style—I think highly of their function and quality.
That’s why I was more than happy to see the company go big in this department for 2016, releasing 18 new models for road, mountain, and urban riding. Here are a few highlights from the Outdoor Demo at Interbike.
AM9: All-Mountain Shoe
The new AM9 all-mountain shoe replaces Shimano’s AM45 downhill sneaker, adding SPD compatibility and a wider toebox for even more comfortable walking. The AM9 gets the TORBAL outsole that the company released last year in its enduro footwear line. TORBAL, standing for “torsional balance,” enables the back half of the sole to flex side-to-side independently from the front, so that the rider can move a bit on the pedals through tricky terrain, while still maintaining stiffness for pedaling efficiency in the front.
The AM9 also features a cut-out in the center of the sole (pictured above), which allows the shoe to better “hold on” to an SPD pedal in those instances when you can’t immediately clip in. Anyone who’s had to clip out and back in on some steeper and more technical terrain knows that sometimes, you end up having to ride some rough sections with your shoes balanced precariously on your pedals—and understands why this feature is awesome. The AM9 will be available in October or November for $140; a non-SPD compatible version called the AM7 will also be available for $130 with a sticky, textured Vibram outsole that was designed to integrate well with Shimano’s Saint flat pedal.
RP5: Road Shoe
Shimano also released the RP road series, which gives performance-oriented riders a more affordable alternative to the company’s top-tier road race shoes. The RP series starts with the RP9 shoe ($275), which features a full carbon outsole and can be custom-fit to your foot using Shimano’s heat molding process, which is similar to the process used to fit ski boots.
One step down from the RP9 is the RP5 ($150). The RP5 features a carbon plate embedded in a reinforced nylon sole, instead of the full carbon sole in the RP9 (see the comparison in the photo above—the RP9 is on the left, the RP5 on the right). This adds carbon-fiber stiffness at the point of power transfer between shoe and pedal, while saving some cost where it’s less integral to pedaling efficiency. The RP5 upper is also a slightly heftier material, and the shoe doesn’t get Shimano’s CustomFit technology; it does, however, share the same double-Velcro strap with a plastic ratchet design as the RP9. The RP5 is compatible with both 3-bolt cleat patterns as well as two-bolt SPD cleats, making it a solid spin class shoe, too.
MW7: Winter Shoe
The new MW7, an all-weather winter boot, has a waterproof, full Gore-Tex upper and the flexy TORBAL sole featured on the AM9. A lace shield (secured with Velcro) helps keep your feet dry and warm, as does the fleece lining. The MW7 has a quick-lacing system—simply pull the nylon lacing tight, similar to some snowboard boot designs—which ensures you’ll be in and out easily when it’s too cold for your hands to dilly-dally outside of your gloves, fiddling with laces or ratchets. A sticky rubber outsole improves grip on slippery terrain compared to Shimano’s previous winter boot. While the MW7 is not temperature rated, Shimano says the boot is intended to be worn on even the coldest—like sub-zero Fahrenheit—days.
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