Crash test dummy reporting in.
I ordered a pair last Mon & CRC eventually saw fit to dispatch them on Thurs (arrived Fri), then I couldn’t ride over the weekend so this morning was the first chance to give them a go.
I went for the Shazam model with the lace cover flap as that adds to the weatherproofing, and the ‘Charcoal’ option which is acually more of a blue than a grey. Sizing seems OK – I got my normal shoe size and surprisingly enough they fit. Side by side with my old AM40s the ankle protection is about the same height, but the outside ankle is the same height rather than being lower as on the Shimanos. The sole wraps up evenly & is stitched in place, and peeking inside the bottom insole is also stiched in – the rubbery footbed obviously comes out. Also while both shoes use velcro type fixings on the lace cover the Sombrios have the hooky bit on the shoe & fluffy bit on the flap whereas the Shimanos were the other way round. Not sure if that will mean that more debris sticks in to the exposed bit around the edge of the flap, only time will tell. Aesthetically they probably give out a whiff of ‘bike geek’ but I can live with that – they’ll get covered in muck soon enough.
In use they felt stiff enough for me – I used the stiffer insert in the AM40s and there’s not much between the two. There’s still enough feel to know where the pedal is under your foot, but not skate-shoe like sensitivity to feel the pins. Grip seemed to be plenty good enough for me, obviously better than an old pair of AM40s. While riding I could just about do small re-alignments without lifting the shoe off the pedal.
They feel a bit less ventilated than the Shimanos – looking at them side by side there are obviously fewer holes in the uppers. So if you suffer from hot feet that may be something to consider – obviously that might also mean warmer/dryer feet in the winter but that’s a way off yet.
So first impressions are favourable – they might make for an all-weathers flat shoe that actually lasts. I couldn’t be bothered to go looking for puddles to ride through today but I reckon my chance will come soon enough.
