Designed for indoor use, Nike‘s SuperRep shoes are designed for “stability and breathability on and off the bike”.
If you were a fan of pro cycling back in the late ’90s and early 2000s, you’ll remember that Nike was rather popular with their shoes being worn by a certain American. Nike left cycling around 2008 but the likes of Mark Cavendish, Adam Blythe and Dani Rowe still wear ‘Nike’ shoes.
These designs are not publicly available and seem to be re-badged shoes from a popular Italian manufacturer. The new shoes though, seem to be a tentative first step back into cycling for the footwear giant.
The SuperRep spin shoes are designed for spin bike riders. The shoes can be used with either two or three-bolt cleats and feature a “translucid mesh on the upper, coupled with a perforated sock liner and vents through the bottom of the plate to enable better airflow around the toes.”
Check out Cav’s Tour de France shoes inspired by Brazil football legend Ronaldo
Nike says that “to better address the needs of riders’ lateral and out-of-seat movements, a support arc on the shoe’s medial side.” This, they say, “helps keep feet secured during “Figure 8s” or other side-to-side combinations out of the saddle.”
Nike has used a split sole design, that will be a familiar sight if you’re a fan of their football boots. We’re not sure what material has been used for the two sole pieces, but it looks to be a stiffened nylon rather than the carbon sole we’d expect to see on a road cycling shoe.
The sole is finished with low profile rubber studs and a textured pattern to “provide traction while walking to and from the bike.”
Two large velcro straps provide a simple closure system. Could we see Nike make a return to road cycling?
We’ve got no pricing information yet, but on their UK website Nike say the shoes will be available to buy in June.
25 thoughts on “Nike step back into cycling with “visually stunning” SuperRep spin bike shoes”
That would make a great
That would make a great triathlon shoe if the sole were more orthodox – good ventilation, a rear loop and a speedy velcro closure.
Sorry, yes, I said the T word…I’ll get me wetsuit…
Off with his head!
Off with his head!
Flippers with cleats. You
Flippers with cleats. You heard it here first.
I’ve had a pair of Nike
I’ve had a pair of Nike Poggio’s for over a decade. Still wear them about once a week. They are starting to show their age, but are stupidly light and very comfortable. Great shoes.
In a weird way that I’m
In a weird way that I’m slightly ashamed of, I quite like those shoes of Adam Blythe.
The new indoor ones might be a good idea if they’re not too expensive, although the indoor cycling market seems to have a lot of people who are willing to spend a whole lot on equipment, even more so than outdoor cyclists, so who knows.
They look ‘different’ in a
They look ‘different’ in a good way.. these are clearly not for the road.. but I’d very much welcome Nike’s R&D budget being pumped into cycling shoes!
I agree, at least the black
I agree, at least the black version. Not so keen on the red colourway, but I suspect I’m not in the target market for that one.
Condemning someone for
Condemning someone for mentioning triathlon, and then using the non-word ‘colourway’? The hypocrisy is astounding!
‘Colourway’ has been a term
‘Colourway’ has been a term in the fabric industry for ages and is certainly older than ‘triathlon’ which only dates back to the 1970s.
Doesn’t mean I have to like
Doesn’t mean I have to like it.
That’s a different matter. I
That’s a different matter. I’m merely here when there’s “something wrong on the internet”[1]. My job is done and I can change back into my normal clothes. If only phone booths were still a thing…
[1] https://xkcd.com/386/
(And, of course, the really nasty tracking that happens when you click on comment links here is another reason to use an ad blocker. Better to cut and past it into your browser.)
Spin shoes….. What nonsense
Spin shoes….. What nonsense.
Why ?
Why ?
It’s the word before shoes
It’s the word before shoes that’s the nonsense… did that really require explanation?
werics wrote:
Yes. The activity is known as ‘spinning’, in ‘spin classes’ on a ‘spin bike’ – these have design features that the manufacturer thinks will make them more suitable in that environment than regular cycling shoes – seems appropriate as brief, descriptive name, c.f. road shoes, MTB shoes, tri shoes.
Never entirely understood the
Never entirely understood the purpose of spin classes.
Would make more sense to ride a bike to wherever your spin class is held, then turn around and cycle home again (cutting out the whole fee-paying spin class bit in the middle) 😉
Not my thing either – but
🙂 Not my thing either – but Bertie Bassett and all that…
brooksby wrote:
Surely the same argument can be made for turbo trainers?
I haven’t done a spin class for a long time, but they are generally very different to riding on the road (no stopping and starting in traffic, navigating junctions or dealing with other vehicles, just being the obvious differences).
Like a spin class, I also ride very differently on the turbo, in particular I push myself a lot harder, partly because of those things I mention above, but also because if I push myself too hard, I can just get off, grab a drink and a sandwich and jump straight in the shower. Can’t do that if I run out of “gas” 15 miles from home.
I love riding outside, and do it as much as I can, but I also love riding the turbo (and know others who love spin classes) and both have a different impact on my riding.
All that said (and getting back on topic), I have never quite understood the current fashion for specific indoor clothing. I just use my tatty, but still usable shoes on the turbo, and would do the same if I did a spin class. Why buy something new, and expensive? Maybe the answer is … people do it because they can, and they like it. Fair play if so.
Jetmans Dad wrote:
Funny thing – perhaps because the conditions in the room I ride my turbo in are more consistent than outside, over the last couple of months I’ve really noticed the difference between different jerseys (yes, I wear a jersey on the trainer, it feels right). My favourite outdoor ones get me too hot, whereas a really thin summer dhb one is the most comfortable. Maybe there’s something in it.
brooksby wrote:
I’ve never done a spin class, but my friend (who lives in New Zealand) is a spin class instructor. She’s never rides an actual bike as she’s terrified of traffic.
She loves spinning, and literally does it as a full time job.
I’ve been to some that are
I’ve been to some that are closer to group HIIT training, which is much easier/safer to do when nobody can crash into each other/get hit by a car.
Funnily enough I cycle to a
Funnily enough I cycle to a spin class do 45 mins of highly intensive training then tootle home again (12 miles each way)and it suits me.
on a side note I also have a pair of Nike Ventoux cycling shoes in maroon they are years old but far more comfortable than any shoe I have looked at replacing them with.
Also if it was to be a
Also if it was to be a Spinning shoe then it would need a more mtb sole because the majority of studio bikes run spd cleats not spd sl (and actually no studio bikes run spd-sl as they dont licence them, they are nearly always a look cleat) and running and spd cleat with no leteral support is not good !
Neil69cyclist wrote:
To be fair, it’s built to use either and doesn’t actually say what type of 3-bolt cleat they would take
FTA
..and the sole tread looks it’s been designed with 2-bolt cleats in mind (yeah, SPD-SL/Look + shallow sole wouldn’t be that stable i’d guess…)
Spinning is a registered
Spinning is a registered trade mark of Mad Dogg Athletics, Inc. Cal and should not be used in relation to indoor cycle exercise without permission.