Today Shimano showed us some new shoes aimed at Enduro riders but these new shoes should appeal to anyone not racing an XC bike. Learn all about the M200 ($180USD), M163 ($150USD), and M089 ($120) inside.
Video: Shimano M200 / M163 / M089
At the top of the food chain for these new Enduro shoes is the M200. It’s got a lot of features that you can learn about in the video above as well. Shimano shoes have always fit us well and these are no different. They hug feet well and their heel design is top notch in our book as it doens’t lift off the base of the foot when you’re climbing off the bike like some shoes can do.
The cleat position has been adjusted to allow riders to move the cleat 5-9mm more towards the center of the foot.
The tidy lace enclosure has a flap over it and even the end of the drawstring has a velco tip to ensure it stays in place.
The footbed is quite comfortable and built up well. If you have to run orthopedic inserts you may run into challenges here as their included footbed is a big part of the system.
Another nice thing about this system that since there is minimal padding in the sole of the shoe, it should dry very quickly. You can also see the torsional ribbing after you remove the footbed. The low-profile buckle is off of their high-end road shoe and gives a lot of clearance as well to stay out of harms way.
Slotting into the middle is the M163 at $150USD. It shares a lot of similarities to the M200 but lacks the lace closure system, uses a dual density sole, a more economical footbed with one durometer, and other tweaks to hit this price point. The video above articulates the more minute details as well should you want to learn more.
Last but not least is the M089 that comes in at $120USD. The features on the M089 are reduced slightly again from the M163 but still retains some of the benefits like the Torbal system. It lacks some of the advanced armoring around the sides of the shoe, has less detail in material on its tread design, and uses different materials in key areas.
At the heart of the all these new shoes is their Torbal (torsional sole) that allows the sole to move with the rider slightly in engineered positions and the increased cleat adjustability.
Be sure to check out the gallery for more detailed pictures and the video for a thorough run-through of these shoes.