Shimano RC7 SPD-SL shoes

Here's something to be glad about – most stuff is better than it was before. No, not all stuff, but in general the performance of cycling kit today has massively progressed from what it was in the past. Shimano's road shoes are a good case in point. In the last few years it's made progress in leaps and bounds to the point where these new RC7 shoes are maybe my favourite shoe I've yet tested. They're comfortable, stiff and incredibly quick to put on and take off. I reckon they look pretty good too.

In this year's range, the top dog in Shimano's product range is the S-Phyre as seen on the feet of the Giant Alpecin team in last year's Tour de France. As you might expect, they're monstrously expensive (£299) and were the first Shimano shoes to have the Boa wire closure system used by a number of other brands. Dave's been testing these, so there will be a review up here in the near future.

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A step down the ladder in Shimano's range is the RC7 shoe, which has one Boa and a Velcro strap in place of the pair of Boas used on the S-Phyres. Neither shoe is heat mouldable, unlike previous top-end Shimano shoes. Despite that, I found the fit with the RC7 was excellent, nigh-on perfect in fact. I was impressed with the fit in the RP5 shoes a year ago, and these are even more comfortable.

The RP5 shoes were unusually roomy in the toe box – these don't have quite as much wiggle room but are supremely comfortable. They are stiff too, with the full-carbon sole giving what Shimano rates as a 10 on its stiffness scale. In case you were wondering where that leaves the S-Phyre, worry not – that gets a 12. As each manufacturer uses a different scale, most of which now seem to go up beyond 10, these figures are pretty useless for making comparisons between brands. I would say that the RC7 shoes are amply stiff enough for racing in, in any case. The carbon sole looks very similar to that used on last year's RP9 which we liked very much indeed.

We've talked about the Boa closure system on a number of other shoes previously, but for the uninitiated, it uses fine woven steel wire which is tightened and loosened by twisting a dial. If the dial is pulled upwards, the wire can pass easily through, allowing for very quick removal of the shoe, especially if only one dial is fitted as here. I found I could set the single Velcro strap once to suit my feet and then never touch it again. It's a very similar setup to that used on the identically priced Specialized Expert shoe.

The reason generally cited for having more than one Boa dial is that it allows for different tension across different parts of your foot. Having done several hundred miles in these shoes and also in the top-drawer S-Phyre model, I found the RC7 to be more comfortable for my feet, and significantly easier to put on and take off. One area where the S-Phyres are better is heel retention, thanks to the use of "cat's tongue" material to grip your foot and hold it in place.

Ventilation in the RC7 is reasonable, with a mesh area on top of the toes and a small port underneath. I wasn't really able to detect whether the small perforations down the sides had a significant effect but they ought to enhance breathability to a degree. I've used shoes with more ventilation, and if I was based somewhere really hot that may sway my choice, but I'd have no concerns about using the RC7s around these parts in summer.

Shimano's styling department has taken a somewhat scattergun approach to its road shoes in recent years, resulting in a wide range of aesthetics (where previously they had been homogenous to a fault). I think the styling on the RC7 is pretty smart, both in the white and black models they sent us, and the red alternative. They are 3-bolt only for use with road pedals, but Shimano has also released a mountain bike equivalent model, the XC7.

The RC7 is offered in half-sizes between Euro sizes 38-47, as well as whole sizes up to 50. There are wide versions in all of these sizes too, so you've got a really good chance of finding the right size for you. The RRP of £169 is a wedge of cash, putting these against some quality mid-range shoes from the likes of Sidi, Giro and Specialized. It's a lot less than the price of top-end pro-level footwear, though, and that makes these decent value as they are pretty much on a par with the best.

> Buyer's Guide: The best performance cycling shoes

Shimano cites a weight of 245g for a size 42; my clown-size pair (48) came in at 604g, so they aren't as light as some high-end shoes (although are very similar to the S-Phyre), but there's really not much in it.

Verdict

Superb road shoes – top-end comfort and performance at a mid-range price. Highly recommended