New carbon shoes are said to improve pedalling efficiency and capture energy that’s lost with conventional cycling footwear
Lore Cycle says its new 3D-printed LoreTwo cycling shoes are “the best fitting and biomechanically efficient shoes ever made”.
Announced at Eurobike 2024, the new shoes use a scan of your feet to create a custom fit that should feel like a glove but leave your feet free in certain places, as if you were barefoot. Lore Cycle says the shoes enhance pedalling efficiency and comfort compared to conventional cycling shoes.
This could be a blessing for those who have wide feet or struggle with foot pain. But it will come as little surprise that a fully custom 3D-printed ‘continuous carbon fibre’ cycling shoe doesn’t come cheap. The LoreTwo will set you back at least £1,069 / $1,349 / €1,259 and up to £1,539 / $1,849 / €1,819.
Increased watts
Lore Cycle describes the LoreTwo as the commercial version of its LoreOne shoe, released last year. It claims the new design is the world’s first 3D-printed carbon fibre hardshell shoe.
A hardshell shoe for cycling may sound like an odd proposition. However, Lore Cycle says its shoes can be firm due to their customisation. Other cycling shoes need to be soft to accommodate a range of foot shapes.
Using the trademarked Morphic scanning and printing technology, Lore Cycle says its shoes’ firm roof captures the energy that is bled off from typical cycling shoes, increasing efficiency and power transfer.
The brand says it hasn’t conducted any controlled studies yet, but it reckons the shoes increase watts by 3 to 8 per cent at tempo pace, adding that higher efforts increase the recordable efficiency.
The LoreTwo is said to “bridge the gap” between the “extremity” of the LoreOne and what people expect from typical cycling shoes, providing a more forgiving fit but retaining the same custom design.
Growing distribution and future applications
One of the main differences between the LoreOne and the new LoreTwo is how you get the custom design.
The LoreOne enables you to scan your feet at home, but you need to visit a bike fitter or shop to get a scan for the LoreTwo shoes. Following the scan, Lore Cycle manufactures the shoes in California and ships globally.
Speaking to BikeRadar at Eurobike, a Lore Cycle employee said there are around 30 retailers of Lore Cycle shoes globally. It hopes there will be more than 100 by September.
The employee described distribution as “very good” across North America and said there are also retailers in England, Canada, the Netherlands, Belgium, Mexico, Hong Kong and Singapore.
Cycling shoes are just the first application of the Morphic technology. The manufacturing process could be applied to other products that interact with the human body, such as running shoes, ski boots or driving seats.