FLR F-XX Strawweight Road Race Full Carbon Sole Shoe

The FLR F-XX Strawweight Road Race shoes are pretty good across the board, with a decent weight, great fit and super-stiff soles making them ideal for the type of rider who puts power transfer and efficiency above all else. For some, though, those soles might be a little too harsh.

• Pros: Atop lacing system is very comfortable, stiff soles
• Cons: Erm... stiff soles

Starting at the bottom, the F-XXs use FLR's elite-level R500 sole which is very stiff indeed. They're certainly one of the stiffest pairs of shoes I've currently got in the house, including the Shimano RC9s and the Giant Surge Pro Road shoes.

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You can feel that nothing is being wasted power-wise; they are ruthlessly efficient. FLR says that the sculpted footbed and supportive heel are designed to aid blood flow to reduce hot spots, which mostly works very well, although I did have a few instances of pain after prolonged hard efforts.

This mostly happened when I was riding on rough, broken road surfaces, those type of lanes where the top layer of tarmac is pitted and cracked. The stiff soles send the vibrations through the soles of your feet, and it's something worth bearing in mind if comfort is more important to you than performance.

The full-carbon sole is marked for cleat alignment and will accept all three-bolt cleat systems.

The upper is still made from a lightweight microfibre but FLR has tweaked the design a bit over earlier models to create a sleeker profile (well, that's what it says in the description). The material is soft but still pretty scuff-resistant and easy to wipe clean with a cloth, and comes in either this matt black finish or white.

Closure

For fastening, the F-XXs use Atop dials, with one tightening the top section and the lower tensioning the middle and bottom lace guides together.

They draw the tension evenly across the top of the foot with no pressure points, and with the upper being so pliable the shoes wrap comfortably around your feet, so you don't need to overtighten them to stop your foot moving.

Ventilation

Ventilation is taken care of by vents above the toes, up the tongue and either side of the foot, plus one extra on the sole directing cool air below your foot.

Bearing in mind how cold my feet were in these during the February frosts, I can vouch for how much air they let in, so they should be fine when it comes to the summer months.

Value

The price of the latest models hasn't changed, and although £179.99 isn't exactly cheap, it's not extreme for a pair of carbon-soled race shoes, especially with this level of fit and quality. Everything looks very well put together, with no stray threads or excess glue around the sole.

> Buyer's Guide: 18 of the best performance road cycling shoes

They are stiffer than the £200 Bontrager Ballistas and are only about 5g heavier.

The FLRs are a fair bit lighter than the Rapha Classics for the same money, and look to compete on stiffness and comfort, too.

Overall, if you can cope with the stiff sole and want a pair of no-nonsense performance shoes then the F-XXs are a great choice.

Verdict

Very good all-round race shoes with loads of stiffness in the sole