Scott Road Premium Shoes

There aren’t too many equipment pieces in cycling that are harder to get right than finding which shoe suits you best. To aid you in your search for the perfect kicks, the Scott Road Premium Shoe has been developed to provide you with a micro-adjustable comfort level in a top-end racing package. The first thing you’ll notice about the Road Premium Shoe is how sleek it looks without any straps or ratchets. Scott has made use of their dual-zone Boa IP1 lacing system to tighten and hold these babies together. Aside from reducing the weight that often comes with full-on strap and ratchet systems, the dual-zone Boa can offer minute adjustment possibilities, which will mean that you will be able to lock your foot in place without risking over-strapping and cutting off circulation to the tootsies. Adjusting the Boa IP1 is super easy with a two-way incremental capability that can be fiddled on the fly. So if you are in a break of three, five kilometers away from the finish line, you can quickly tighten your shoes up in preparation for a sprint finish. Alternatively, if you are on a five or six-hour epic ride and want to relieve some pressure in your increasingly swelling feet, you can easily pull-to-release for some extra room. Working in sympathy with the dual-zone Boa IP1 lacing system is the ErgoLogic Wrap Fit that Scott has developed. The Wrap Fit makes use of a synthetic leather upper that envelops the foot more like a second skin than a regular techy shoe. The structural layer is held securely together by butted seams that provide support without troublesome pressure points. The Road Premium Shoe does have what Scott calls a Racing Fit, which is designed to provide less volume and more support than a touring shoe, but you won’t have to worry about being pinched in your shoes since the last that Scott uses still allows for plenty of room in the toe box. As the top drawer Scott racing shoe, the Road Premium comes with the ErgoLogic Footbed. Scott is unique among most shoe manufacturers who should really be ashamed about the thin excuses of footbeds they are sometimes sending out in their shoes. With the Premium Road, Scott has spent a great deal of time and research to find the best way to create a footbed that will provide the essential level of support for a wide variety of riders. That’s because Scott uses something they call “foot zoning” in their footpad, which gives them the anatomical pre-shape of a footpad that will provide the required support to facilitate the power transfer while cycling. Design genius then kicks in with the addition of modular footbed sections that allow the rider to individualize the footpad according to his requirements. There are removable options for the metatarsal pad, which will help distribute the pressure evenly, eliminating numbness around the ball of the foot. In addition to that there are interchangeable arch adjustment pads so that you can customize your arch support, which will keep your foot properly aligned within the shoe. You won’t have to worry about heel slippage since the heel cradle hugs the heel in a way that it is well supported and properly aligned with the ankle joints while riding. It’s a good thing too, that Scott has taken such care with the insole, since the outsole is mega stiff and ready to give you the sort of power transfer that wins races, but can, in a poorly-constructed shoe, prove fatiguing for the feet. That won’t be an issue with the Road Premium Shoes, though because Scott has worked with experts to develop their Power Zone Outsole concept that intertwines monumentally efficient outsoles with maximum comfort. If you get your shoes wrong, you’ll be screwing up your ankle-knee-hip axis that could spell disaster for a ride or a season, depending on how wrong you get it. But Scott has devoted a great deal of R&D to make sure that their Road Premium Shoes will give you super stiff carbon soles that don’t kill your feet. Given the highest stiffness rating on the Scott stiffness index, the Road Premium Shoes have a high modulus ten-ply layup to optimize sole stiffness from the cleat section to the heel while allowing for a modicum of torsional flex from the arch to the heel to increase comfort without sacrificing performance. Don’t forget that the replaceable TPU heel tread will also help protect your soles when you’re clomping around before hopping on the bike. The Scott Road Premium shoe combines an asymmetrical comfort upper with the stiffest outsole in their lineup as well as more than your average insole support. Your feet can now enjoy all day comfort and pro-level performance. The Road Premium shoes weigh in at around 255 grams in a size 8.5.