Minimalist footwear took running by storm a few years ago, but cycling seemed non-plussed by the trend. Now, the Lintamam Minimalist 2.1 brings flat soled, ultralight designs to roadies with a very unconventional design. Built on a 4.5mm thick, totally flat carbon fiber sole, the Minimalist 2.1 adds a mesh upper with some reinforcements to keep its shape. It pairs that with a multi-adjustable heel cup that lets you reposition the heel support inside or outside the shell to change how much pressure using to retain your foot.
The outsole allows for cleat placement from the normal front positions all the way to a true mid-sole position. They say the benefit is that you’re using more quad and less calf muscle, which could save triathletes on the run (and they do acknowledge the potential cornering issues it presents…but hey, options). The shape is wider than most bike shoes, too, allowing for more natural toe splay. Because of the adjustable heel cup and retention, they limit production to just seven sizes, but they say that’ll cover everything from a 37 to 49.5. Retail is $149.95.
The more traditional cycling shoes from Lintaman are their Adjust Plus, which gives you a ton of ways to tweak the fit. Multiple loops and routing for the retention cables make it possible to keep some areas open and loose, and others tight and secure.
The other benefit is they can adjust to thinner or thicker socks more easily, or different size feet from left to right. They’re available with a full carbon, SPD-compatible sole for $350. An optional Speedplay specific sole is also available. Or opt for a nylon sole for road or mountain bike for $199. Check them out at Lintaman.com.
Lake Cycling Shoes
Lake’s been offering a couple of camo prints, and the colors keep coming. Choose from red/gray, blue, white/gray/black and traditional green/brown. Some colors are available only on certain models, though: Look for the Forest Camo on the MX 237 Endurance mountain bike shoe, red for the MX 241 Endurance, blue for their MX 332 mountain bike shoe, and white/gray in the CX237 road shoe.
Some models also come in special edition prints and ultra-shiny or iridescent colors, too. And they’re still offering their custom program, too, so you can get just about any print on your road, cyclocross or mountain bike shoes. See all the options at LakeCycling.com.
Exustar Gravel Cycling Shoes
These new knit kicks from Exustar look like they could be great gravel road bike shoes, combining breathability with protection. Offering a synthetic outer web structure to retain its shape better than a full knit upper, we’d like to see a bit more tread on the bottom for real dirty riding, so could be that they’re aimed more at racers. The soft knit cuff should do a great job of keeping grit and small rocks out, not to mention streamlining the aerodynamics. Retail and availability TBD.
These two shoes were on display to show their custom capabilities, which isn’t really a feature they promote heavily, but it’s there if you’re willing to pay for it. The smaller shoe is a size 35, and the bigger one is a whopping 59! And, yes, they actually make these boats for one single customer. That’s a “plus” sized iPhone for comparison. Exustar also makes helmets, shades, pedals and more, all on display at Exustar.com.
