Bontrager Specter Road Shoe

In this high visibility yellow, the Bontrager Specter road shoes sure catch the eye (other colours are available). Aside from the brightness, which is off the scale, these are superbly comfortable shoes with a good fit and enough sole stiffness for everyone but the most committed racers.

Bontrager's Specter name is given to the US company's mid-range products and includes previously tested kit such as the Specter helmet. Essentially, you're getting a lot of performance without a massive price tag. And after riding these new Specter shoes, there seems to be very little compromise in that aim to keep the price to a reasonably affordable level.

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What do you get for your £129.99 then? The Specter shoe features a 'Bronze Series' composite nylon sole with a unique 'PowerTruss' design. Because the material doesn't provide the same level of stiffness as a more expensive carbon fibre sole, Bontrager has developed a rather clever central supporting ridge to boost stiffness.

It works, too. Evidently these shoes aren't as expensive as some full carbon fibre jobs costing twice as much, but the difference isn't as noticeable as you might imagine. There's less noticeable flex than with the similar priced Fizik R5B shoes I tested a while ago. Unlike some super-stiff shoes, though, you're not left with sore soles after a bout of serious pedalling.

The sole is appointed with non-removeable rubber bumpers at the heel and toe to aid walking. There's a choice of 3- or 2-bolt cleat attachments. That's useful if you prefer SPD pedals for commuting or audax rides, but still want the performance and appearance of a road race shoe. The SPD cleat sits proud of the sole, though, so walking is a little precarious.

If you intend to use a 3-bolt Look-style cleat, you'll need to remove the metal plate for the 2-bolt cleat option. If you don't do that then it'll rattle around inside the sole. Removing it is a case of lifting out the sole and peeling back a pre-cut flap above the cleat area, and pulling out the redundant metal plate. It's a tricky little job, I suggest some caution if you reach for the kitchen knife, as I did.

The upper uses a synthetic material with mesh panels which, in unison with the vents on the sole, do help to prevent overheating. A Velcro strap is used at the front of the foot and a single Boa IP1 dial is used to tension a cord across the rest of the shoe – Bontrager's more expensive shoes use a pair of Boa dials so you can fine-tune the fit with more precision.

>> Check out our guide to the best performance road shoes here

Despite this difference, I found the single dial worked very well. The Boa dial is pleasingly easy to use: tighten with single click adjustments one way, rotate in the other direction to loosen. Pop the Boa dial up to slacken off the cable and remove the shoe. Simple. And you can adjust them even with oversocks or overshoes on.

The Specter provides a really good fit. Bontrager uses an inForm Race last for these shoes, which it describes as a 'slighter roomier high-performance fit'. I have pretty regular size 45 feet and most shoe brands fit me well. These offered a close but not restrictive fit, on a par with recent shoes I've tested from Giro, Fizik and Sidi.

That just leaves the colour to talk about. The shoes are offered in black, white/black and the so-called Visibility Yellow tested here. Yellow shoes certainly aren't for everyone, but cycling has been going through a colourful phase for a couple of years, and it's now cool to be seen sporting some brightly coloured fluoro clothing and kit. I'll let you draw your own conclusions, but I will just say that I've been glad of these bright shoes for the past couple of weeks, as the nights are drawing in and visibility is reduced during early morning and evening rides.

Verdict

Comfortable, easy adjustment and reasonably stiff performance shoes. And bright, but other colours are available