Pearl Izumi had a bunch of new stuff on display at Interbike, but maybe the most exciting was the final release of the long awaited X-project mountain shoes. Ever since we attended the launch of PI’s wonder shoe, we’ve kept mum on final availability. The good news is that our shoes have been great, better news is that the only issue with the shoes that caused the delay has been addressed, and better still the green 1.0s will be available this week! The rest of the colors (2 colors for each model) and models should all be available by the end of the year.
Check out the rest of the goods including Pearl’s impressive new PRO Leader road shoes after the break!
The new super neon colors will sit next to the original black with neon highlight colors we saw back at the launch.
While the X-project is the high end shoe designed for riding as well as hiking, PI has updated the X Alp line as well with the new Enduro 4. At $120 the shoes won’t break the bank, and they feature a unique carbon rubber outsole to provide plenty of grip for your off the bike adventures.
Pearl has been teasing the new PRO Leader shoes for awhile, but the details are finally here. Wanting to produce one of the lightest, best fitting road shoes around, PI started with a 0.9mm thick, seamless Second Skin upper, which ends up the thinnest on the market. Power Web TPU material keeps the upper from stretching and keeps your feet firmly in place.
To attach the shoes to your feet, Pearl ditched triple Velcro in favor of one centrally located Boa dial. The dial pulls from both sides for a bi-directional closure for better comfort, plus it gets the dial out of the way in case of a crash. Even with the Boa, PI managed to cut out weight resulting in a 240g shoe.
On the chamois side of things, Pearl was showing off their new PRO anatomic 1:1 chamois which has been a project 2 years in the making. By dropping high density foam into an articulated foam base, Pearl claims they were able to make a chamois that is both extremely dense and comfortable while staying highly breathable. Pearl was proud to point out that they build all their own chamois rather than simply ordering them from a manufacturer. Anatomic 1:1 chamois will be spec on all 2014 PRO shorts.
The last bit of product newness is actually a byproduct of their racing tech. PI has used their Speed Sleeve design in their skinsuits for awhile now, and it hit them – why not use this for a cycling specific base layer? All of this design work is put into jerseys only to put a basic t-shirt base layer on underneath that tends to bunch up when in cycling position. The new Speed Sleeve base layer eliminates the bunching and offers next to skin comfort under the sleekest jerseys.
Incorporating their Minerale wicking material, there will be three versions available including sleeveless and long sleeve depending on the weather.
