FLR F-XX Strawweight Road Race Full Carbon Sole

The FLR F-XX Strawweight shoes are a reasonably lightweight performance option providing plenty of comfort and simple on-the-fly adjustment.

First things first, if you're not familiar with FLR, it's an Israeli brand that makes a full range of road and mountain bike shoes. The top-of-the-line F-XX shoes have what are called R500 carbon-fibre outsoles. As I seem to find myself saying about a lot of high-end shoes, the soles just don't flex while cycling, not even when you stick your bike in a big gear and pound on the pedals for all you're worth. Manufacturers know how to make solid soles these days, it's as simple as that.

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The three-bolt soles feature markings to help you get your cleats positioned identically from one foot to the other and to make replacing cleats easier, and you get non-slip treads at the heel and toe. I've not had any trouble when walking in these or dabbing a foot down at junctions. The treads aren't replaceable but I've been using these for about five rides a week over the past couple of months and, although showing signs of wear, you can tell they're going to last ages.

The carbon fibre itself looks in good shape too. The surface treatment has chipped a little from walking on gravel, as it always does, but structurally they're absolutely fine.

The uppers are made from non-stretch microfibre with a middling amount of mesh panelling and more ventilation down the centre of the tongue. I found this, along with a small vent in the sole, to be sufficient to keep my feet feeling cool and relatively sweat-free even in very hot conditions. It's possible that people who tend to get hot feet will want more ventilation but I didn't find it to be an issue.

Two Atop dials take care of closure, acting on wire laces. The rubber-edged dials make tightening very simple while you're riding, an audible click telling you that you've hit the spot. Loosening is a little more vague – the dials don't click in the same way – but it's still very easy. You just turn the dial in the opposite direction.

The tongue is lightly padded so you don't feel any pressure from those laces, and there's ample padding around the heel too. The heel counter is firm enough to offer support and stiffness, although you will find more rigid designs out there, and you get some reflective material on the back there for a bit of added safety.

On the downside, some dye from the black shoes got onto my lovely white socks while riding and it hasn't come out in the wash. At least, not all of it has come out. It's not a massive problem. If you don't like the sound of that, these shoes are also available in white. The microfibre is very easy to keep clean. Just give it a wipe with a damp cloth and it's as good as new. It takes seconds.

Something else to be aware of is that our test shoes (size 46) are larger than usual. I've no idea if that applies across the board but I could have gone down a size without any trouble.

> Read our guide to the best performance cycling shoes here

In terms of width, I'd say these are about average. The uppers are extremely supple and you get loads of lace here so they'll conform to a whole range of different foot shapes.

Although £179.99 is a lot to spend on a pair of cycling shoes, a lot of high end options out there are considerably more expensive than these. You're getting a lot of performance for your money here.

Verdict

Very good race/performance shoes that offer easy adjustment