Lake MX331 CX shoes review

The Lake MX331 CX shoes are purpose designed for the rigours of cyclo-cross. We take them for a dirty ride and see how they perform.

Cycling Weekly Verdict

If you really do require the best you can get, then these Lake MX331 CX shoes should be top of your list, but they certainly come at a premium.

Reasons to buy
  • +

    Lightweight

  • +

    Stiff

  • +

    Size options

Reasons to avoid
  • -

    Expensive

  • -

You can trust Cycling Weekly. Our team of experts put in hard miles testing cycling tech and will always share honest, unbiased advice to help you choose. Find out more about how we test.

Working with top racers such as Jeremy Powers, Lake deduced that being light and stiff should be the key priorities of a performance cyclocross shoe. They’ve achieved this by reducing as much of the rubber on the sole as they can. In appearance, the exposed carbon underside of the shoe is more akin to a road shoe than anything traditionally off-road related.

Tipping the scales at lowly 348 grams each for a size 44, and being some of the stiffest shoes we’ve seen, Lake have really achieved what they set out to do. Comfort isn’t an issue even with the lack of flex, largely thanks to a heat mouldable heel area, allowing for a custom fit. In addition, the soft kangaroo leather was supple and surprisingly hard wearing, working in conjunction with a Boa retention system to keep the shoes firmly in place.

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