The Chamber sits right at the opposite end of the spectrum from the carbon soled cross country racing shoes, with a velcro strap and laces, flat sole and a skate shoe style.

Casual clipless shoes are not exactly a new thing, but a we’ve seen a new breed of shoes that are both casual and high performance, like these. The sole is stiff enough for good power transfer, but still have enough softness and bend for comfort walking. The sole won’t isolate you from the pedal like a stiff shoe does, we loved the way that when riding you could ‘feel’ the bike with your feet.

Off the bike the flat and roomy fit is refreshing, and comfortable to wear for hours. The cleats do make contact with the ground when walking though, the click clack sound is a reminder that they are still mountain bike shoes.

The heel is also quite cushy, with a thick amount of padding, and around the front of the shoe is a good amount of protection from impacts if you tend to ride with your foot out a lot and kick rocks as a result.

They aren’t the lightest shoe, especially when wet from soaking up sweat of splashing through wet trails. But in our experience and shoe that goes for low weight loses out in style, that’s the tradeoff.

And if you run your cleats a long way back in the slots, you may need to look into that aspect first with these, the slots aren’t as long as some.

Giro also do the less casual Terraduro shoe, one step towards the cross country end of the spectrum, we’re fans of these too. Click for the review – Tested: Giro Terraduro.

Verdict:

Combining just the right amount of function, fit and form these styling shoes have stood up to plenty of travel and long rides with us at Flow, a great option for sure.