dhb Aeron Carbon Road Shoe Dial

The dhb Aeron Carbon Road Shoes are stiff, a reasonable weight and pretty comfortable. With a carbon fibre sole and an Atop dial closure, they're great value at their £120 RRP never mind at the £84 you can get them for now.

• Pros: Cheap, exceptionally good sole for the money
• Cons: Low on ventilation, uppers aren't especially supple

Let's start at the sole because, to me, that's the best feature. It's full-carbon with a 3k weave top layer. Although it's not the most rigid sole I've ever used, it's pretty damn stiff and there's no sense that your power is being directed anywhere but straight into your pedals.

The sole takes road-style three-bolt cleats – Shimano SPD-SL, Look Kéo, and so on – with grid markings to help you match one shoe to the other, and you get mesh vents under the toes and the middle of the foot. The heel protector isn't replaceable but, even so, the sole is of a quality you'll find on much, much more expensive shoes.

The polyurethane upper isn't as supple as you'll find on some higher end shoes but it conforms to the shape of your foot reasonably well, the tension applied by two Velcro lower straps – the lower one of which you'll set once and never touch again – and an Atop dial-adjusted upper strap.

If you've not used one before, an Atop dial is a little like a Boa in that it's a clickety-click wheel that controls a lace. Turn it one way and it incrementally tightens the lace, turn it the other way and it lets the tension go. One slight wrinkle is that you can't loosen incrementally – you'll end up letting out a little too much lace and dialling it in again, which is very much a First World problem, admittedly! On the plus side, you can adjust the dial through thick neoprene overshoes, and it's easily replaced if it ever gets damaged. If you're not into the dial, the dhb Aeron Carbon Road Shoe Ratchet is cheaper at £100 RRP, currently reduced to £78.

You get deep padding around the opening, and the tongue is padded too. Holes through the tongue provide ventilation and various sections of the upper are perforated, although there are no mesh panels up top. I rarely get hot feet (ooh, I'm a martyr to poor circulation; don't get me started) so that's not really an issue for me, but if you do then maybe you'd be better off with something with more airflow.

dhb has completely redeveloped the fit from that of its previous shoes using a different last, the idea being that the new range will work well for most foot shapes. The fit is said to be close to brands like Giro and Fizik, if you've tried either of those.

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I took my usual shoe size here and found the dhb Aeron Carbons roomy in the toe box, so I had that lower strap cinched right in. I could easily wear a pair of thick merino wool socks underneath. If you're wide across the forefoot then these might be worth a try. I had to cut the straps down a bit and I'd almost – but not quite – be tempted to go a size smaller than normal.

The uppers are comfortable in use, the offset straps – a feature you'll also see on shoes from Giro and Shimano, for example – pulling the two sides together over the top of your foot, spreading the load evenly and holding tight with no noticeable stretch when you're sprinting. I felt that the heel counter could have been firmer to lock my foot in place on the upstroke, but that was an issue only when really going for it out of the saddle.

The footbed (why aren't they called insoles anymore?) adds to the comfort. Along with the outsole, it offers some arch support and there's a little cushioning in the forefoot, over the top of the cleat attachment area.

Overall, you're getting a lot for your money here. The full-carbon soles are exceptionally good for what you're paying and the uppers are decent enough too. The dhb Aeron Carbon Road Shoes might be a little clumpy compared with high-end race shoes, but that's fair enough because they aren't high-end race shoes. For the price, you'll struggle to find anything as good as these.

Verdict

With an impressive performance largely thanks to very good carbon fibre soles, these offer exceptional value for money