Bontrager Velocis shoes review

Although you can spend a lot more than £169.99 on a pair of cycling shoes, but I’m not sure why you would when these brand new Bontrager Velocis shoes offer such a compelling package.

These shoes may only have a rating of 10 on Bontrager’s “stiffness index” (compared to the 14 of the high-end XXX Road shoes), but I was still very impressed by the performance of the carbon/fibreglass composite sole. It may not offer the same stiffness of real top-end shoes, but it's at least on a par with similarly-priced shoes such as the Giro Trans. This makes these shoes stiff enough for racing at a decent level, but not to the point of giving discomfort on longer, more relaxed rides.

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Comfort is also improved by the level of adjustment offered by the single Boa dial at the top of the Bontrager Velocis shoes. A little surprisingly for the price, this is the top level Boa dial, meaning that you can both tighten and loosen the shoes incrementally, as well as pulling it out to release the laces completely.

This means it is easy to achieve a perfect fit, with the Velcro strap lower down the shoe keeping the ball of your foot glued to the footbed, greatly improving power transfer.

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I also really liked the appearance of these shoes. Available in white, black, or (errr) pink, they certainly look like they belong to a much higher price bracket, with the synthetic uppers having the look of leather, but being very easy to wipe clean after a ride - always an important consideration with white shoes.

The only thing I would like to see improved is the ventilation. Although the tongue is perforated and there are two small vents sitting just above your toes, this is not enough for hotter days, and I certainly found my feet got very warm when wearing the Bontrager Velocis shoes on hotter rides in foreign climes.

For more details visit the Bontrager website.