In a move that might rewrite the rulebook (and price) for cycling footwear, Lore has dropped its latest shoe offering: the Lore Three Performance Series. For riders chasing every last watt of power and perfect biomechanical fit, this is the one to watch.
What Are the Lore Three Cycling Shoes?
According to Lore, the Three are: “The most powerful and fastest cycling shoes ever created,” and importantly, they claim these shoes can deliver more power gains than many frame or wheel upgrades. A heavy claim, especially from a company that many cyclists won’t recognize.
But the real headline here is the combination of “Morphic™ 3D-print process” and “continuous carbon fibre 3D printing” —both of which allow the Lore Three to be dialled to your exact foot shape and pedal stroke. In other words: if your feet aren’t holding you back, this shoe won’t either.
Whose Using Them?
Lore is gathering support from some of the cycling heavy hitters, most notably former USA Elite road National Champ Alex Howes. Howes was seen at Big Sugar Gravel over the weekend – rocking a pair of the Lore Three shoes. He was quick ot point out, “No, he’s not an investor in the company, just a big fan.”
Alex explained that during his time in the World Tour with Team EF, he would go through a few pairs of shoes each season. And every time, he faced challenges like tension dials breaking, needing custom insoles to fit correctly, and other bits to make a shoe “perfect”. The Lore Three however, is 3D-printed to your exact foot shape, so it should eliminate many of those fit issues.
The Lore Three models use a unique strap method, paired with lots of abrasion paneling to ensure a long-lasting fit – meaning no dials to break.
The Lore Line-up in a Nutshell
Lore divides the new series into two performance tiers for each discipline (road and off-road):
- Legend Pro: The “comfort” version within the series — sculpted toe box, heel cup, and upper aimed at solving fit imperfections.
- The Watts: The highest performance variant — bookmarked by Lore as “the shoe that changes what a cycling shoe is” and again touting gains over even a frame or wheel upgrade.
- Road version: Legend Pro US $1,649 and The Watts $1,999
- Off-road/Gravel version: Legend Pro $1,749 and The Watts $2,099
How Do You Get in the Door?
Getting a pair involves a four-step process:
- Scan: Use your phone at home (or go to a fitting lab) to capture a high-resolution scan of your feet.
- Design: Those scans serve as the blueprint for your individual shoe build — shape, plate structure, and upper geometry.
- Build: Using additive robotic manufacturing and continuous carbon fibre struts to optimize power transfer and minimise “dead spots” in the pedal stroke.
- Ship: Your customised pair arrives ready to ride.
- What if they don’t fit correctly? Lore backs this with a full money-back guarantee plus a two-year warranty.
What About That Price?
With prices starting at $1,999 for the Road Watts and $2,099 for the Off-Road version, the Lore Three Performance Series sits firmly in the ultra-premium bracket—well beyond what most riders would consider reasonable for footwear. But, for top of the line performance… you’re gonna pay. Fit becomes even more critical at this level, since each pair is fully custom-printed to your foot shape, leaving no “grab-your-size” fallback if the scan isn’t perfect. For those already riding in top-tier shoes, the real-world performance gains may be incremental and measurable only through careful testing with a power meter or fit analysis. And because every pair is built to order, expect some lead time—so if you’re targeting a specific race or event, plan your purchase well in advance.
Check out everything at Lore.cc
