MX238 GRAVEL SALE

The positives: amazing quality. They fit like a sneaker. Ridiculously comfortable. BOA is fantastic. I love everything about this shoe except the negatives.

The negatives: The shoes are heavy. 200 grams more than my S-work recons. But the real big negative is the lack of ventilation. After a two hour ride my feet were dripping from sweat. I’ve never experienced anything like this. There is almost no ventilation.

I’m an avid racer so the negatives are dealt with breakers for me. Especially the lack of ventilation. Despite their quality I cannot recommend them.

I have a pair of CX238 road bike shoes which fit perfectly and I love (EU 44), so thought I’d try the MX238 for my gravel bike given they use the same last. Unfortunately the identical size was slightly too narrow around the toebox and my toes were touching the top of the shoe. I swapped for a pair half size larger EU 44.5) and these fit great. Excellent quality as usual.

These shoes are very well made and pretty comfortable. It is obvious that a lot of thought has gone into them and the premium materials Lake has chosen to use.
My problem is I have a standard width forefoot and narrow heels and these shoes are really wide at the heel. It's January here and so far I have only used them indoors. They feel ok on the trainer but I hope I never have to walk very far in them.
I wish they offered something like that removeable plastic V shaped thing that some Sidis have that squeeze the back of the shoe around your heel.
Once you install cleats you can no longer return or exchange so you must decide whether or not to commit to them by how they feel just sitting/standing in them.
One other thing I would mention is that these shoes are (for my purposes at least) way overbuilt and heavy.

Normal width is a D

I don't have anywhere local to try these on, so took a gamble and went through the online size method a couple of times to be sure. And they fit nicely in terms of overall length and width around the toes. However, the heel is very wide. I'm trying to use adhesive pads to fix this problem but it's not ideal. I understand having narrow and wide heel lasts would probably be prohibitive but it would be nice if heel width was listed in the size guide. That way at least it's not a surprise.

With that said, they are very well made. The upper finish is lovely, the sole is nice and stiff so I'm not suffering hotspots any more and reversible BOA is handy for little adjustments while riding. After 150km the microfiber upper is a bit stiffer than I'd like, I'm hoping it softens up slightly with more use.