B’Twin 700 Carbon Road Shoes

Don’t be fooled into thinking that the budget price of these shoes corresponds to budget performance. B’Twin, the in house cycling brand of Decathlon aims to make cycling accessible to widest range of people possible. Famous for producing basic kit, for those on a limited budget, they also make high performance kit that is used by the FDJ.fr pro team.

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The B’Twin 700 Carbon Road Shoes are exactly that and were recently worn to victory by none other than Jean Christophe Péraud in Criterium International. Not bad for an 80 quid pair of shoes?!

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So why are they so cheap? What’s the catch? For those who are unaware Decathlon’s business model is direct, similar to that used by Canyon. There is no middle man – Decathlon handles its own retail and distribution. The significant savings made here are passed on to the consumer in order to supply ‘the best possible product at the best possible price.’

For £80 you get a super stiff sole and two dials for fine tuning the fit. While the dials are not as refined as the Boa dials on the similar Specialized S-Works shoe, we cannot complain when the B’Twin 700 Carbon Shoe is a third of the price. At 237g a shoe (size 43) the weight is low and comparable again to the much more expensive S-Works.

Another great feature is the special shark skin like material on the heel cup. This helps stop your heel riding out the back of the shoe. Only currently available in white, the shoes look very smart, but we would like to see some more colour choices.

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Fit is very good, although be aware that the toe box is quite narrow, so try before you buy, if you have narrow feet like some of our testers.

For more information, head over to Decathlon.