A quick shoutout to Shimano for continually making shoes that go the distance.
I’m three years into a relationship with the ME7’s and they are just as good as the day I purchased them. Dirtier, yes. This is an important point. I don’t take care of my shoes. I just don’t. Never washed. Never rinsed. I suck. They are a foundational piece of kit, literally. Perhaps the most important part of the ride is the gear that connects you to it. And Shimano delivers.
Shimano’s outgoing, mid-level shoe, bears the same quality and attention to detail that its drivetrains are renown for. That is reason enough to consider them. I suspect the GE9’s, the model replacing the ME7’s, share the same characteristics.
Cylcing shoes have a strange impact on the rider. There is an emotional connection to them more than any other piece of gear and I was reminded of this on a recent Southern California trail, colloquially dubbed the Pine to Palms Epic, where the desert landscape begs to tear, rip, and shred everything it touches. There were some hike-a-bike sections brought on by my own impatience for the slow climbing speeds and fails of riders in front that forced a risky trek on jagged granite pebbles, sharp stones, and chunky rocks. Inspecting my shoes after the ride, there was no sign of damage. None. The rubber toe guard remained bonded to the toe-box, the toe crease, often the cause of material delamination and holes, had no impact on the shoe’s integrity, and the sole’s rubber grip faced little by way of lost or ripped lugs. As good as the ride was, and it was good, most of my post-ride attention marveled at how well my shoes held up. Already with 3 years of unkept and unmaintained use, I believe they are up for many more desert rides. Shimano for the win.
Let’s talk about width
One gripe. There always has to be at least one. Width.
I have bad feet; my right foot anyway. I ride with a neuroma between my third and fourth metatarsal and it burns with the heat of the sun if in any cycling shoe for over 1.5 hours. Like clockwork, the pain comes on reliably strong at 1:30:00. It’s searing and debilitating. I purchased the wide version to mitigate the onset of the suck, but it still sucks.
I’m not convinced that Shimano uses a wider last, but one that only creates more volume. If true, and let me be clear, I don’t know if it is, but, if it’s true, I think this consideration to be unnecessary and unhelpful. Perhaps there are riders with toes 3″ tall and need the space. Probably not. Let wide = wide. Not, wide = more volume.
My workaround is a set of custom orthotics with a bulge built into the footbed, just behind the pad on the ball of my foot. With each downstroke, the bulge forces the metatarsals to spread and prevents the neuroma from flaring up. These have given new life into my rides enabling indefinite time spent past the hour and thirty minute mark.
Regardless of the workaround, Shimano’s shoes are the business and when the day finally comes to replace them, Shimano’s got my vote.
If in the market for new shoes, give them a look.