2020 Shimano Shoes | Trail Shoes, Race Shoes and – E-Bike shoes?

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Shimano is using the evening of this year’s Eurobike Show to launch the new 2020 Shimano shoe range. There are cycling shoes for every discipline here, including disciplines you didn’t know needed their own shoes.

The 2020 Shimano shoe collection (and it it quite a collection) includes gravel race shoes, indoor spinning shoes, triathlon shoes and even e-bike shoes in addition to new versions of the well-loved GR and AM trail clipless and flat pedal shoes.

Let’s leap in with some of the highlights for you:

2020 shimano shoes
The Shimano AM7 in the now-classic blue/black colour

The new AM9 and AM7 Downhill/Enduro SPD shoes with new navy or black (SH-AM9) and blue or black (SH-AM7) colourways and improved pedal channel areas when clipped in and clipped out. Both the AM9 and AM7 also come with  an E-BIKE RATED motif recommended them for E-MTB riding. The new AM7 also has a women’s fitting version available in a grey/purple colourway.

2020 shimano shoes
Here’s the sassy AM9 in black/navy
2020 shimano shoes
And the women’s version in purple/grey.

Interestingly, the new AM9 and AM9 soles appear to have the extended channel that we saw in a recent Shimano patent. This allows the rider to rest on the SPD pedal while unclipped, while keeping the foot low down near the axle for stability and a little bit of grip.

2020 shimano shoes
The AM7 features laces and strap. The AM9 has a quicklace system and flap
2020 shimano shoes
The flat pedal GR7
2020 shimano shoes
New women’s GR7 trail shoe.

GR9 and GR7 flat pedal Downhill/Enduro shoes come in new navy or black (GR9) and yellow or black (GR7) colours with improved grip thanks to a new giant slab of Michelin rubber sole, plus enhanced protection from a TPU reinformcement layer, a robust toe cap and asymmetrically raised padded ankle collar. Both the GR9 and GR7 are also E-BIKE RATED (more of that in a second…). The new GR7 also comes with a women’s specific fitting in grey/blue.

There’s a new version of the Shimano MW5 winter mountain biking boot (SH-MW501) which comes with a DRYSHIELD membrane and neoprene ankle collar to keep feet warm and dry.

You want more? We’ve already brought you detail of the Gravel Race Shoe (yes, that’s a thing now) the Shimano RX8 but here are some photos. It’s interesting to see that ‘camo’ has become the de-facto colourscheme of gravel riding.

You want more? How about some e-bike specific shoes. Something else you probably didn’t know was ‘a thing’ but it seems that while the GR9 and GR7 shoes are ‘e-bike rated’, they’re not e-bike specific. That falls to the new ET-5 e-bike Touring shoe!

The ET5 E-bike Touring shoe is “designed to appeal to the casual urban/trekking e-bike rider. Regular sports shoes will deform against pedal contact over time, causing muscle fatigue in the foot and calf muscles, so the stiffer soles on the ET5 are designed to reduce rider fatigue and improve pedaling efficiency. The flat-soled ET5 comes with a rubber outsole for great grip, even in wet conditions, including a stiffer pedal area with lugs to firmly grab pedal cages and tread blocks in the front and rear for walking grip on uneven ground. The ET5 comes in five colour variations for men and women.” And despite our gentle ribbing, they look pretty good for riders looking for a decent trail shoe that is neither too racy nor too gnar.

2020 shimano shoes
Not bad, Shimano. Not bad at all. The ET5 looks like a decent trail show.

More info on the 2020 Shimano Shoes range will doubtless appear soon on freewheel.co.uk

Chipps Chippendale

Singletrackworld's Editor At Large

With 23 years as Editor of Singletrack World Magazine, Chipps is the longest-running mountain bike magazine editor in the world. He started in the bike trade in 1990 and became a full time mountain bike journalist at the start of 1994. Over the last 30 years as a bike writer and photographer, he has seen mountain bike culture flourish, strengthen and diversify and bike technology go from rigid steel frames to fully suspended carbon fibre (and sometimes back to rigid steel as well.)

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