Former shoe sponsor to Eddy Merckx is back in the cycling game with its tri-stripe design and sustainable materials
Iconic Adidas styling with modern materials(Image credit: Adidas)
After a 15-year hiatus from road cycling, the world-renowned shoe and sportswear company, Adidas, has launched a new pair of road cycling shoes.
Like Nike, who also recently made a return to the sport with its new SuperRep Cycle indoor cycling shoes, the German sports apparel giant has been curiously absent from the road cycling market for a decade and a half, but fans of the classic Adidas styling and subtle colourways will be heartened by its return.
Adidas has a proud history of competition road shoes and special edition products, dating back to the era of Eddy Merckx.
Despite fielding a very limited range of cycling kit, Adidas has certainly identified its bike market offering as underserviced. Having acquired the premium mountain bike shoe brand, FiveTen, Adidas has a presence in mountain biking and the FiveTen brand features prominently in our sister-site Bike Perfect's roundup of the best mountain bike flat pedal shoes, but the desire is now to rebuild its image in road and commuter riding.
The naming convention is wonderfully unpretentious. Adidas simply calls its new product the Road Shoe and it is not targeted at obsessive amateur racers, seeking the lightest possible weight and stiffest carbon-fibre soles.
(Image credit: Adidas)
Clever materials and laces
Aware of its sustainability profile, the Adidas Road Shoe upper is constructed from Primegreen, which Adidas claims to be a completely recycled synthetic fabric. Exact details of the Road Shoe’s cooling properties have not yet been detailed, but Adidas has unrivalled experience in running shoe design, where similar cooling airflow properties apply.
The German brand hasn’t divulged any weight or sole stiffness ratings for its new Road Shoe, but has confirmed that its sole structure isn’t carbon-fibre. Adidas use a recycled base for the shoe contact surface, reinforced with fibreglass.
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Pedal convergence promises to be good, with Adidas having designed the Road Shoe’s cleat recess to work with three-bolt clipless pedal and cleat designs.
Laces have also been used as the cycling shoe retention system, instead of Boa dials. For those riders who pine for the classic upper aesthetic of a laced road riding shoe, and appreciate the lower maintenance burden over time, this is a notable feature. Laces are easy to source and replace, compared to new tension dials and their wires.
The Adidas Road Shoe features considered industrial design and its tri-stripe styling is perhaps the most iconic of any activity shoe.
Available in either classic Adidas black or a white-on-white colourway, the Road Shoe is set to retail for £130. At this price, it doesn't take direct aim at the best cycling shoes - which can retail for £300 and more - but instead, they look set to give the best budget cycling shoes a run for their money.
Today's cycling-related highlights from the Black Friday sales. For even more, view our guide to the best Black Friday bike deals where you'll find on all things cycling, including bikes, helmets, clothing and more.
Lance Branquinho is a Namibian born media professional, with 15-years of experience in technology and engineering journalism covering anything with wheels. Being from Namibia, he knows a good gravel road when he sees one, and he has raced some of Africa’s best-known mountain bike stage races, such as Wines2Wales and Berg&Bush.
