Cube has announced three new road cycling shoes, spanning from the new £300 carbon-soled “pure performance” RD C:68X through to a £100 “everyday” Sydrix shoe that Cube claims is as stiff (and almost the same weight) as the pricer Sydrix Pro (£150).
German bike brand Cube turned heads in September when it launched its new Attain C:62 SLT with Ultegra Di2 shifting at a price tag of ‘just’ (yes, cycling is expensive) €2,999, sparking questions about if it’s the best value road bike of the decade so far. Now, the brand has turned its attention to shoes, releasing three new road models and making big claims about the cheapest option — the Sydrix.
At £99.95, it’s not the cheapest road cycling shoe out there but still just about comes in below the £100 mark. At 310g it’s just 8g heavier than the £50 more expensive Sydrix Pro which has also launched today, and Cube gives both the Sydrix and Sydrix Pro a ‘stiffness index’ score of 9, versus the 10 given to the flagship £299.95 carbon-soled RD C:68X, suggesting that Cube is confident these will punch above their weight on stiffness at least.
The sole is glass fibre composite and dials have replaced the Velcro straps of previous cheaper Cube models. Cube says that, like the more expensive Sydrix Pro, it has a glass fibre composite sole, a replaceable heel pad and “carefully placed” ventilation zones.
Compared to other top budget-friendly options, the Sydrix is in the same ballpark, weight-wise, as Boardman’s Carbon Cycle Shoe and Bont’s Motion model, if slightly more expensive than both and lacking the carbon sole that the Boardman model impressively offers. It does however, as mentioned earlier, upgrade to a dial system which is a plus over the Bont Motion, even if it is around £20 more expensive.
At £99.95 the Sydrix is the same price as the previous RD Sydrix, while the Pro has gone up £20 to £149.95 but weighs almost exactly the same and has the same stiffness index score as the cheaper model.
It does have a dual-dial system for “fast and precise adjustments”, while Cube’s marketing pitches it as “slipper-like comfort without compromising on performance”.
Adding to the range is Cube’s new flagship carbon-soled shoe — the RD C:68X which will be available from late June at a suitably pricey £299.95 and completes the new cycling product bingo card of being “stiffer, lighter and faster”, according to the brand.
It’s Cube’s “pure performance” shoe which features a full-carbon sole made from the same “high-grade material used in Cube’s top-tier frames”. It weighs 248g and Cube says it’s as stiff a shoe as it has made.
We should have these in for review so will report back then. The Cube Sydrix Pro and Sydrix are available now, while the brand says the RD C:68X will be in stores from late June.
