Review: Mavic Alpine MTB Shoes

I have a confession to make.

Poison is hard to resist and within an hour at Chapter 2 Cycle, I was parting with $145. It was exciting to get new "toys" and the weather was brilliant in allowing me a short test ride.

I spent some time at the AMK NTUC Xtra outlet, before heading for Sembawang library to read up on some stuff. As usual, the Black Belt magazines caught my eye and I spent time browsing through before moving on to the newspaper section. Coincidentally, I bumped into Alfred Chua at the library. I finished off at the section of books on sporting matters and decided to borrow a seemingly interesting read on adventure tour-cycling.

I decided to give the unknown MVR Racing brand a try. The Louis Garneau pair I am using is way more expensive but has barely lasted 8 months. It's full of holes now.

Back home, I quickly fixed my PD-A530 SPD pedals (removed before Genting) on the Raleigh and started to screw the cleats (SM-SH 51) onto my newly acquired shoes. It was not difficult but the positioning of the cleats had to be adjusted correctly to facilitate efficient clipping and unclipping. It was hard to get the shoes on the pedals at first and equally difficult to twist it off. After a few tries and subsequent fine-tuning, I got it quite right and decided to take the bike out for a test ride.

Mavic Alpine All-Mountain MTB shoes

The Mavic Alpine (2009) is a pair of all mountain MTB shoes designed for multi-purpose usage and comfort. At 435g (UK 8.5), it felt a little heavy to the touch but the weight was barely noticeable when I wore it. In comparison to the more competitive XC models, the Alpine weighed a good 80 - 100g more.

Rigidity wise, the sole was fairly stiff but I felt comfortable walking in it. As always, there is a trade-off. For efficient transmission of power, rigidity is favoured over flex but as an all-mountain style, the design has incorporated comfort and some flex in the sole to suit the purpose of walking on different terrain types. The cleats just touched (barely in some instances) the ground when walking on smooth surfaces but I could feel the contact when traversing uneven terrain on foot.

On the bike, it was simple to clip the shoes into the pedals and not too difficult to twist them out (tension of pedals set to the lowest). When clipped in, I noticed there was still some lateral movement but that is probably due to the design of the cleats and the clipping system on the pedal, rather than the shoe itself.

Instead of the usual three velcro straps found on the XC models, the laces on the Alpine provide a splendid solution to tightening up when cycling and loosening up when wearing the shoes casually. The laces also serve a secondary purpose of making the shoes look casual when wearing it on a non-cycling occasion. This is great as I can consider not bringing a second pair of casual shoes when on long cycling tours overseas. The presence of a top velcro strap tightens the fit, helps to keep the laces in and can be easily covered by long pants, if you deem the strap unsightly.

I did a short circuit around the Sembawang area, covering different terrain. Hitting the trails at high speeds, the shoes felt snug and firm against the pedals. When I hopped onto kerbs, the rear lifted easily. As expected.

I am dying to test the shoes out on the real off-roads. I hope I get the chance this Saturday.

Total distance: 7km test ride
Money spent: $145
Participants: LSH