Winter Cycling - Mini-review: Lake CXZ301 Winter Road Shoe

I purchased these boots over a month ago, but our freakish El Nino weather hasn't given be cause to try them out until yesterday and today. I've taken my standard Lake road shoes down to 35 degrees F. by utilizing silk sock liners and medium weight wool socks, however I've also suffered mightily on cooler days-- after 90 minutes I can't feel my feet anymore and the feet warm up after I'm through riding is pretty uncomfortable. With temps in the teens overnight the past two nights I knew it was time.

Both rides were at about 29 degrees F. at the start and just over freezing when I finished (2-2 hour rides). In addition to the boots, I wore:

Timberland skull cap, wool/acrylic mix
Underarmor cold weather mock t-neck
Long sleeve P'zumi jersey
doublethick duofold polypro turtleneck
P'zumi shorts w/ Col de Lizard Icebike Tights
medium weight standard cycling socks
Sealskinz Chillblocker gloves

In a word, these boots are stupendously warm. Ok, that's two words, but my GOD was it nice to have warm feet for a change. Not overly warm, not sweaty, just plain old toasty. No hint of windchill. The neoprene 'sock' inner boot wraps around the foot and ankle very smoothly, no seams digging in anywhere. The toebox is roomy and I could have incorporated an even heavier sock combination without worrying about bloodflow restriction via compression. The boots 'lace up' via a wheel/wire constriction gizmo many of you are familiar with. That lace up face is tucked behind a full leather tongue cover/ankle wrap which velcros in place.

Only time will tell how these boots will hold up, but they certainly appear to be made well. More as the winter progresses,

Dave

Good report. I just got the UPS ship notification so I should have mine by Tuesday! This morning was 17F, that would have been a good test. Toesies over my MTB shoes have helped slightly but yesterday one got hung up on the pedal when I clipped out- not good.
Are you using LOOK or SPD cleats? If LOOK, how is it walking - they have some sort of sole to make it easier?

I have LOOK Keo Carbons, I'm using the gray cleats (4.5 degrees of float). The cleats came with nifty hard rubber covers. Unfortunately, when the covers are on the cleat is the high point of the shoe by a couple of millimeters, making it extra awkward to walk about.

I have the older 300 version (MTB variety) and agree that they are slicker than frog snot.

How true to size are they? If you expect to wear medium to heavy socks with them, do you need a slighty larger size than normal?

How true to size are they? If you expect to wear medium to heavy socks with them, do you need a slighty larger size than normal?

The sizing is bizarre. I'm a men's 13W, the folks at Lick Bikes told me I need the European 50, which (on the box) equates to a size 15. I have no idea how to correlate that to other sizes, however. Lick Bikes had excellent customer service, by the way.

I have the older 300 version (MTB variety) and agree that they are slicker than frog snot.

Until it gets cold. http://www.bikeforums.net/archive/index.php/t-174717.html

I have the MXZ 300's, and have ridden in temps in the low 20's with chemical warmers, and my feet were comfortable. Can't see riding if it's much colder than that anyway.

I gave up on them. nothing wrong with them but they did not help my feet much. I found sandels are far better because you can adjust them for the socks you wear. I wan wear thin socks and waterproof socks and still fit or I can wear medium wool socks and lined waterproof socks no problem or I can wear heavy wool socks and fleece lined waterpoof socks no problem. I find this fare more practial then boots that are a pain to get on and I could not werar enough socks with them. plus the sandles are easier to walk in.

I gave up on them. nothing wrong with them but they did not help my feet much. I found sandels are far better because you can adjust them for the socks you wear. I wan wear thin socks and waterproof socks and still fit or I can wear medium wool socks and lined waterproof socks no problem or I can wear heavy wool socks and fleece lined waterpoof socks no problem. I find this fare more practial then boots that are a pain to get on and I could not werar enough socks with them. plus the sandles are easier to walk in.
I tried sandals also - even bought 3 pairs of SPD pedals on ebay to go with them. Three layers of wool socks, thin, medium, and thick plus sealskin boot socks. At 30F my toes were still getting cold after 45 minutes. It takes extra time and drying space too.

did you get the fleece lined sealskins? they are far warmer then the regular ones. keeping toes warrm is tuff. mine still get cold but not as bad as they did with shoes.

did you get the fleece lined sealskins? they are far warmer then the regular ones. keeping toes warrm is tuff. mine still get cold but not as bad as they did with shoes.
No, that could make a difference. The ones I got on ebay were $15 down from $40. A friend got the chill blockers but they didn't quite work either. My Lake CXZ301 are due in tomorrow. Of course it just hit 60F this weekend.

Until it gets cold. http://www.bikeforums.net/archive/index.php/t-174717.html

And my response in your cited thread was.......



dobber

I'll have to disagree. I've been using my Lake 300s for the past two winters and have been very happy with them.

I sized my MXZ300s the same as my other Lake shoes. But I bought em for both really cold weather and for the water resistance during oursloppy wet fall and spring (25-35°F) when wearing wool socks would be overkill (for me). I can get away with an ordinary athletic sock till around 10-15°F, at which point I pull out that super thick insole and replace it with a thinner type. Then I can do the thick wool socks and with a combo of plastic bags and booties, I'm good to down below -20°F.

How about sandles,socks of your choice,tucked inside pedal pogies?wind proof,rain proof,don't ask me how they work, i haven't made them yet,but im thinking!!!!!!on it!!!!!!

How about sandles,socks of your choice,tucked inside pedal pogies?

What's a Pedal Pogie? Is it anything like Pedal Pushers made out of Pierogi's?

Got my Lake CXZ301 road boots. They are very nicely engineered with nice leather and other materials. I have to switch back to LOOK (preferred anyway). The boots look a lot smaller than the size 47 but they seem to fit and there is room for thicker socks. My initial fitting shows the medium and thick wool socks work separately but probably too tight worn together. I may combine the medium and thin wool socks. It's going to be uniformly colder this week (23F - 45F) so a good time to test!

I found these to not be warm enough below 20F.

I wore them all summer and very rarely felt they were too warm.

I like my Lakes. My 'winters' are more wet than cold (temps down to -5C = 28F ish) and I just got tired of packcloth booties. I find that wrapping the boots' ankle cuffs around the outside of my rain pants does a pretty good job of keeping the rain out (I know it's supposed to go the other way, but the elasticized cuffs of the pants don't stay put).

My only complaint was that while the Lake website stated that the Road model were SPD compatible, the soles of my boots were different than the soles depicted on the website. The result was that my SPD cleats were positioned more towards the arch of my foot - which made for some painful 'missed connections' when clipping in, and made it hard to walk in the shoes.

This past weekend, I laid into them with a Dremel tool and a hammer, and re-shaped the sole to position the SPD cleats further forward. It took a bit of skill, but now I have a great pair of wet winter cycling shoes, with positioning to match my summer cycling shoes.

I've been using my Lakes (mtb version) for a couple of weeks now. They have fairly good fit, are weather resistant (I added a coat of mink oil over the top) in sloppy weather and are very easy to put on and take off. I ride 30 miles a day commuting. One way takes about 1- 1/2hr and my toes just start feeling cold at 20 degrees F. I've been wearing a fairly light Smartwool sock. I haven't used my Sidi toasters w/ them yet but will when the temp drops.

I'm really happy w/ them and would recommend them. For ultra cold weather, other precautions would be needed to keep warm. Maybe booties will suffice. We'll see.

yep, i have the same Lakes and they keep my feet nice and toasty in the coldest temps. pricey and heavy, but a small price to pay for total comfort and warmth. nothing worst than cold feet on the bike.

The sizing is bizarre. I'm a men's 13W, the folks at Lick Bikes told me I need the European 50, which (on the box) equates to a size 15. I have no idea how to correlate that to other sizes, however. Lick Bikes had excellent customer service, by the way.

They are giving you room for thick socks. Probably too much room.