TTW Product Review: Northwave Celsius GTX

There has been a lot of shoe discussion in this blog. You would think that Rider 1 and I have foot fetishes, but I assure you that is not the case. Fetishes, sure, but foot fetishes, no.

If you are close reader of this blog, you will have seen references to my winter riding shoes. This is akin to a grandmother pulling out the baby pictures at every excuse, except my winter riding shoes are neither precocious, darling or future disappointments. At least if their short life with me is an indication, they won't be a disappointment at all. Speaking of pulling out pictures, though . . .

From Product Testing

Aren't they adorable?

This is what my shoes looked like before the first ride. I would show you a picture of them now, but they are covered with mud, sweat and tears. I don't mean this metaphorically. I cried on them last week because our endless winter prevented me from going out to ride. That is not something of which you would want a picture. Speaking of pictures, here are some more pictures of my shoes.

From Product Testing

From Product Testing

Of course I'm proud of them. Just look at them. Yes, their my first.

Okay, enough of my granny imitation. Here is the low down on these shoes.

First, they retail for $179.99. I used to be a Sidi-only guy, so I had been looking at their winter shoe for about $400, so this seemed downright reasonable. The other upside is that I had been telling my wife for two years that I wanted a pair of winter shoes, so she was aware that I was preparing to drop four franklins on some secondary shoes. By picking up the Northwaves, I not only got the shoes I wanted, I looked like a sensible chap in my wife's eyes. No easy feat. For my feet. Anyway.

Second, these are strictly utilitarian shoes. They are not designed to replicate a racing shoe or anything like it. They are designed to be warm and water-proof. I picked the mountain-bike version since the little bit of traction on the shoes might be helpful for a time of year when snow and mud dominate the roads and the extra weight is meaningless. Also, I have mountain bike pedals on my winter/cyclo-cross/rain/commuter bike because I find walking around important and more frequent with all of these activities, so the pedal is compatible with my mountain bike so I can extend both of these riding seasons with this shoe.

A digression. Usually, I just digress and you, the kind reader, are taken along for a ride without forwarning or permission. In this case, I am clearly letting you know I am digressing, so if you dislike this non-linear progression or you are limited in time, skip to the next paragraph. On bikes: I have a reputation for having many, many bikes, but this is unfounded and besides I have good reasons for all of them. The sentence in the prior paragraph which describes one solitary bike as the one I use for winter riding, rainy weather riding, cyclo-cross racing (oh boy, there's a 60-minute plus one paragraph story waiting to be told) and commuting, should indicate to you that I am not overly biked. I do know people who have different bikes for some or all of these uses. To me, winter/rain/commuting all involved a stable and sturdy frame and wheels, a wider tire and room for small knobbies or even a studded tire, and fenders. Cyclo-cross racing, at MY level, involves crying and medical bills, but a sturdy mount, wider tires and canti-brakes are also nice. So, I take off the fenders and Bob's your uncle. How efficient of me. So that's enough smart-ass remarks about how many bikes I own.

The Northwave shoes have a simple internal fastening system with a single cord tightening the loops down the foot. Integral to the fit are also the two velcro straps. They are harder to see in the picture, but one covers the entire top of the foot and the other wraps around the lower ankle. The pull-string closure is not as solid feeling as I would like, but it certainly works and when combined with the large velcro areas, it is easy to get a secure fit. The ankle strap also would help limit the water down the leg issue I identified in a previous post. Any rain pant over the top of the shoe would also do the job.

The shoe is completely comfortable and adjustable. Unlike Mr. Millimeter, my feet are bigger than average but not too hard to fit, so I don't normally have shoe fit issues. For me, these were comfortable right away. The feeling of how loose or stiff this shoe feels is impacted quite a bit by the large straps, which really are a significant percentage of the shoe. So, they are also easy to adjust.

The biggest question for me ahead of my first ride was "How long until my toes are numb?" I didn't really expect that they would keep my toes from being numb, but I certainly expected a longer period of time than my shoe and neoprene booties combination had been giving me. I was therefore quite surprised to find that after my inaugural ride I made it through the entire ride without numb toes. That day was a bit warmer than than the rides just prior, so while I was pleased, I wasn't really sold on them yet. Now, however, I have taken a number of rides in these shoes ranging from soaking and miserable to cold and miserable. Throughout each of these rides, these shoes performed as well as I could have hoped. They kept my feet warm and, except for rain running down my leg for over an hour, dry.

I have an annoying but not otherwise problematic medical condition that causes what is basically an occasional overreaction to cold, wherein my fingers and toes become completely white from lack of blood flow. This is one of the reasons my wife was willing to let me strongly consider whatever winter shoes would help with the onset of this problem. While appreciating her understanding, I was hesitant to spend $400+ versus my occasional suffering, particularly when there were other cycling items on which I would prefer to spend the money. Having found a solution for under $200 (and this time of year most shops with inventory probably have them on sale), I can't believe I waited this long to get a pair.

Unlike Rider 1's forthcoming review of his D2 shoes, I am not going into details about weight, fastening, heel cups and stunning good looks. Instead, these Northwave Celsius GTX shoes are just solid workhorse shoes for anytime the weather is bad. They will keep your toes warm and dry, provide a secure and reasonably stiff (but not too stiff and adjustable by wrapping down the top tightly or not) and do all of it with a minimum of fuss and at a killer price. What more can you ask for in a winter shoe? Nothing of which I can think.

D2 Shoe Review

The superginormous secret is revealed!

I know many of our readers have had trouble sleeping lately as they wondered what the fancy-looking box I posted about earlier this week contained.

Well, all of your questions will now be answered. The container is actually a crush box from D2 Shoes (FYI, this is pronounced D squared). So today I’ll fill you in on the ordering process, and also a bit about why I’m ordering them.

First some background
As Rider 3 has referenced at least once on this blog, and virtually every time we ride together, I am particular about certain things about my bike and gear. The key words in this previous sentence are “certain” and “things.” For whatever reason (maybe it’s the four knee surgeries I’ve had?) I’m very sensitive to changes in my position, and I acknowledge that I am especially picky about the gear that represent my link with the bike: namely my shoes, my handlebars and my seat. I also like a helmet that fits and vents well. As Louis Sullivan said, form follows function. Then again Frank Lloyd Wright said that function follows form. Anyway, one or both of these dead architects is right.

Years ago I was in the fortunate position to get a lot of equipment for free. Shoes, bikes, clothing, helmets, glasses, etc. Free stuff is great. Mostly. I  say mostly because I can guarantee you that there isn’t a single pro team that doesn’t have riders that complain about the fit of their clothing, their chamois, their helmets, their saddles, and more. A delivery of new equipment to the team was often followed by riders taking part in practices most manufacturers preferred not to know about. Dremmels and files were taken to helmet vents to make them bigger. The inside of shoes were sliced to allow  for toes to be jammed in comfortably. Stock insoles were replaced with orthotics to make shoes more comfortable (or shoe covers were used to mask another manufacturer's products, even in 90 degree heat), arm holes on jerseys were tailored to fit freakishly skinny riders, and more. And still the complaints followed. One person would be mad because the jersey zipper with big teeth was too obtrusive. So new jerseys would be made with smaller zippers. Then another rider would get upset because the smaller zippers would jam. And on and on it went. I don’t blame the riders. Putting in big miles with an uncomfortable saddle (or shoes or jersey or helmet) isn’t very much fun.

So what does this have to do with me? Well for years, and when I write years I mean like 10 or 12 years, I have really wanted a set of custom cycling shoes. I’ve heard riders high enough up on the athlete food chain to have sets made for them by Sidi or Northwave gush about how amazing they were. And while I’ve had some shoes I’ve liked/tolerated, nothing has ever fit me exceptionally well.

During my time riding I’ve had a lot of shoes. How many? Too many to count or at least to remember. A quick recollection though includes shoes from Detto, Vittoria (with wooden soles!), Diadora, Time, Brancale, Shimano, Northwave, Carnac, Sidi, Nike, Duegi, Specialized and a few others. I even had a set of absolutely hideous Alpinestars kicks way back in the early days of mountain bikes.

Part of my shoe fitting challenge is that I have a very wide forefoot, but a narrow heel. So a wide shoe often means I experience heel lift. But shoes that fit my heel are typically too narrow up front. And I’m sure you’ve noticed how expensive shoes are. I don’t have a problem spending money on shoes (or saddles), but I do have a problem spending a lot of money on shoes I’m not happy with.

The D2 process
So a couple of weeks ago I finally decided to plunk down for a set of custom shoes. But which ones to buy? The two brands I considered were D2 and Rocket7. I know people with both. I liked the way the D2 shoes looked more, but initially I was going to order the Rocket7s. They’re in Washington state, and I like the idea of supporting a semi-local company, and they get great reviews from people I trust. If you’ve seen the new “Nike” shoes Lance is wearing, you’ve seen Rocket7s (allegedly). Unfortunately they didn’t return my calls or e-mails.

D2 on the other hand were, and continue to be, exceptionally responsive. This is important to me, especially when I’m plunking down this much money on a set of shoes. Plus, like I said the D2 shoes are very cool looking. I love the sailcloth they use for the harness of the shoe. Very slick stuff. 

I ordered their shoe fit kit online. Two days later it arrived. In between that time I picked colors for my new shoes using their handy little online shoe designer.

Opening up the fit kit revealed two large pieces of foam, a set of instructions, paper for tracing your feet, and a series of tools and guides for said tracing.

From Team Two Wheel

My friend, and rolfer extraordinaire, Jake McBurns, helped me with the process. In all it took about 30 minutes to complete. We first traced both feet using one of the tools, and took some relatively simple measurements with the included paper tape measure to record the width of my feet, circumference of my arches and heels. Then it was on to the crush box.

The foam is pressure sensitive so it’s important to follow the instructions very carefully. It was a straightforward process. We made a couple of marks on my feet with the included depth gauge to ensure we made a consistent impression, then I sat in a chair while Jake pushed my feet into the foam.

From Team Two Wheel

I planned to include a couple of additional pictures, but when I looked at the pics I realized I haven’t trimmed my toenails in a while, and they looked kind of disgusting. Trust me when I say skipping the photos is all for the best. Plus, the D2 site has plenty of good examples (of what to do, not of nasty toenails).

Then I was off to work, where I used this ancient thing called a “fax machine” to send off the tracings to D2 to make sure they were appropriate. 30 seconds later, Dan Kurtanich (one of the “D’s” from D2) called to say they looked great. He also freaked me out by telling me I should have the shoes within 6 months. He was kidding.

From there FedEx came to pick up the fancy box. Three days later Don Lamson (the other “D”) called to talk through the specifics of what I was looking for in a shoe. He said he was very surprised I was wearing a size 45.5 Sidi, because according to what he measured with my foot molds I should be wearing more like a 44.5. But because I have such a wide foot his guess was that I was more comfortable in a bigger shoe to get the width I needed. He said they’d use a EEE last for my shoes. My take on Don is that he’s obviously done this a lot and is a very quick study. He pretty much nailed my situation by reading an e-mail and studying my molds and foot tracing.

By the way, D2 has 9 different widths they choose from, and 42 sizes. It sounds like they also make a completely custom lasts and patterns for people with freakishly odd feet.

Don also suggested I use a new shoe they don’t have information about on the D2 site, called the Super Criterium. Sounds fast, eh? It’s their most performance-oriented model. I’ll take any help I can get...

Don was friendly and professional, and it turns out we have a few people we know in common, so it was fun to make that connection too. He’s been in the industry a long time. And while I’ve been out of it for many years, it’s a small world.

So, the shoes should be complete sometime next week. D2 is in Colorado (where they have weather I have been desperately missing lately!) so I should have them in hand within the next week and a half. I’ll certainly post some pictures and initial thoughts once I get them.