Cycling Shoes Review and Thank You LAKE

It is time for me to say…

Thank you Christian Van Asten for your LAKE cycling shoes!

race

Since the “CX 402 Wide” cycling shoes just propelled me through my first Triathlon and have granted me a year on the road without anymore pain in feet, knees and hips, I want to share my experience with all fellow cyclists.

There are many causes to knee, hip and lower back pain. The not right fitting pair of cycling shoes might be one of them. I find it hard to believe that so many top brands care so little about producing healthy and comfortable cycling shoes.

I have started out with click-in shoes, with the “Giro Empire”.

cycling shoes - Giro Empire

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With no doubt it is a good looking cycling shoe. They felt a bit too tight to me, but I was told they fit just fine and I will get used to it. I got numb toes in autumn. Probably it was too cold for my feet. I cycled the whole winter with thick overshoes and numb toes. In summer I thought my feet expanded because of the warmth, when I had numb toes.

“Never get used to pain!”

In endurance sport there is some pain involved, when we redefine our capabilities. But when we just get on the bike and ride, there should not be any pain anywhere. Get the right fit, get proper kicks and work your core!

Knee, hip and lower back pain followed. Unbearable. Since I was training for the Transcontinental Race IV in 2016, I had to find a solution. Instead of sitting in the saddle, I started to spent a huge amount of time with doctors. Searching for the cause of pain.

I have got a sport physio specialist “orthophysio” in Berlin analyze my muscles strength, balance and posture. They educated me in core muscle training.

I received a professional bike fit by Thomas Pollesche from BikeAcademy Berlin including custom Solestar carbon Insoles.

An I received my first pair of

LAKE Cycling Shoes by Christian Van Asten and other brands

cycling shoes -LAKE CX402w

Before I learned about Lake Cycling Shoes, I tried different kicks from the major brands.

I squeezed my feet in to the S-Works 6 in a Specialized store in Berlin. They told me it would be just the right size for me, even though the shoe felt really uncomfortable before even getting on the bike. They have been slightly upset, as I did not want to buy their top pair of shoes.

cycling shoes - Specialized S-Works 6

 

 

 

 

 

I have tried Trek’s Bontrager XXX,

cycling shoes - TREK Bontrager XXX

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fizik’s R1B uomo

cycling shoes - Fizik uomo

 

 

 

 

 

 

and the Bont Vapor S

cycling shoes - bont vapor s

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

in several sizes at home. All models have been uncomfortable enough that I could not imagine my feet would feel any better when I actually use these shoes on the bike.

There might be beautiful narrow shaped Italian feet fitting into those kicks or some feet less demanding, but mine are certainly not.

THE LAKE CX 402 WIDE Cycling shoes

I was nervous when I unpacked my last hope of cycling shoes. My heart rate went up when I put my new pair of Lake Cycling shoes in to the oven. Yes into the oven. You bake them to achieve a unmatched perfect custom fit. Even I like cooking and baking a lot, I have never been so adrenaline pumped when watching something in the oven.

I repeated the process a few times. I warmed up the shoes, put the insole in followed by my feet and massaged the carbon layers on to the shape of your feet.

When I slip into them they make a sound of a hollow piece of wood. They are stiff and while I fitted them on my feet the first time, I could hardly imagine that a cycling shoe making such sound and with such stiffness could be comfortable. As soon I had them on, I forgot that I am actually wearing some cycling shoes. Not even my barefoot shoes match this feeling. They fit so well, I do not even need to close the Boa’s to ride.

Does they make you cycling faster?

I have no numbers to tell you how much faster I got by them, but I know how much longer I can ride because of them. No more numbness, no more pain, no more limited by my cycling shoes. More training, more joy, I am definitely faster now.

I have now cycled with the “CX402 wide” about one year and 10.000 km on tarmac in Germany, Belgium, France and Serbia. The cycling shoes are super durable, they still look like new. I love these shoes!

You might argue about the pricing of the shoes, but then again it is hard to put a price tag on health and considering the value of lifetime not sitting at the doctor, I will not.

Winter is (was) coming! – The LAKE CX 145

cycling shoes - LAKE CX145

The “CX402” are well ventilated and they do not claim to be waterproof. I had tried many overshoes in the winter before, but there was no pair keeping my feet dry and warm when riding over long periods of rain.

After enjoying the “CX 402” so much I invested in the Lake CX 145. An wise investment, and cheaper compared to the number of overshoes I have ripped or which just did not perform accordingly. I did ride the whole Winter in them in every kind of weather, in snowstorm at minus 20° C and pouring down rain.

Of course the CX 145 are a bit heavier than the CX 402 but they are evenly comfortable cycling shoes to ride with. I do not want to miss them anymore.

A Healthy Cycling shoe

I might have failed at the Transcontinental Race IV, but I did not fail the health of my feet. With the CX 402 w and CX 145 w cycling shoes I found my perfect fit. I will never cycle with another shoe brand and the next shoe I will buy will be the “TX 312 Wide” for Triathlon.

cycling shoes - TX312

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you want to say Thank you to your feet, gift them a pair of Lake cycling shoes.

ride1

 

Triathlon – my first – Olympic Distance Bremen

Triathlon. A “first time” again. Again I am starting to fulfill one of my childhood dreams. These are the first steps on a path ahead.

The”GEWOBA” Triathlon in Bremen

It was to experience the procedure of a Triathlon event, to be part of the triathlon community, to know what I am getting into before laying out a road map to achieve a goal I set myself as a child. Olympic distance was my choice to compete in for now. This means to perform a 1500m swim, followed by a 40km bike ride and finished after a 10 km run.

It was to have fun and enjoy a race, hopefully finish it and to grow just a little  bit. I was hardly thinking about what time I would finish. Surly I did the math based on my numbers from my training. But I disregarded these thoughts as pure nonsense, as the sum of the single efforts can not reflect the much more demanding challenge performing a swim, a bike ride and a run after each other.

My first Triathlon-Olympic Distance

The sky was covered in clouds. There was little to no wind to hope to clean up the sky. When I entered the Transition Area to setup my spot, 832 my number, it started to rain. Nervous and excited I arrived, a little piece of paper on a metal bar, 832, to hook my bike on. It rains a lot in northern Germany, but for some reasons I got lucky since I moved here and never got surprised by bad weather in my bike training. Commute yes, wet to the bones but not in training. Today at my first Triathlon event water runs down my face before the swim and it is cold.

Transition Zone

I step away from the crowd who is busy preparing for a fast transition, putting anti chafing cream to all thinkable spots or already squeezing into their wetsuits. I am not even trying to hide how I check their transition zone setups. Until I realize that I am running out of time to get dressed up too. I jump into my wetsuit, it is a 5 to 10 min long jump, far from elegant and make my last preparations.

Swim

We walk down to the harbor. We joke about the weather, I check the course around the buoys and jump into the water. It is freezing cold, despite the wetsuit. I flood the wetsuit and it gets worse. The water is greenish dark, I can hardly see a meter ahead. Did I mention I get panic in deep dark water?

The commentator keeps bubbling his nonsense, nobody listens. Until he says that we would have to do 3 times the course, he corrects himself a little later that we have to do it “only” two times. Suddenly he counts down and a moment later the water explodes. 200 arms hit the surface at once. Noise and no time to think about darkness anymore if I do not want to drown under the bodies of athletes rushing through the water.

The field stretches after a little while and as long we are not swimming around the corner at the buoy everyone has enough space and swimmers are no more stacked above each other. All in all it was pretty respectful behavior but it does not make it easier to find and keep your rhythm. Nor did the cold, the dark grey sky or the rain helped me with the orientation.

A hundred meter before getting out of the water my hamstrings cramp. I swim on my back to take a deep breath, turn around again and let my arms do the work alone.

After roughly 1700 m swim (instead of 1500) I take a few minutes to let the DLRG Life Guard stretch my leg. I get up and run with some pain to my bike, with a smile. I am happy.

swim

Bike

After I have left my spot in the transition zone well organized and clean, I mount my bike. Five minutes into the ride I find my legs. Now! It is race time! No that was not the plan. No, no racing! ….but.race Hitting the pedals, a even whirring sound appears as I accelerate. I start to take over other riders. I am close to a 40 km/h average, controlled, taking my time to slow down for tracks and corners, the road surface is still wet. Four times the same track, at least it is not boringly straight and the rain did stop. There only a few people around the track, but it feels good to see them watching the race. Beside two beasts of riders who passed by, I am the one who is taking over and it feels good. I could have continued that for quite a while.

ride

Run

I switched my shoes, even got socks on now and get on the track. 10 km ahead my vastus medialis on both legs feels like iron balls. It really hurts. I had eaten well on the bike and now put in Mg for the second time. Running a low pace and breathing deep and calmly. Smiling.

Another athlete passes by cheering me on “You are doing it, come on, GO! GO! GO!”.  After 2 km in the run it is getting better. As long I am not trying to run too fast I can actually enjoy the scene. There is no more race. It is just me, I am running with. I am grateful for the people cheering me on and for every smile I earn.

Result – offical ranking

2:33:32 – 54th overall and 12th in my age group not that it does matter.

finish1I cross the finish line, happy.