Northwave Veloce Extreme

The Northwave Veloce Extreme is the Italian outfit's latest high-end race shoes – and while it has to be said they're pretty extreme in terms of price – thankfully that also extends to their comfort, stiffness and foot retention. These are a stunning pair of shoes and while the cost will put them out of reach for most of us, if you can afford them, you should buy them.

> Buy now: Northwave Veloce Extreme for £359.99 from Northwave

Our best road cycling shoes buyer's guide is the place to head if you're looking for new shoes, ranging in price from under £50 to over £300.

The thing about the Veloce Extremes that differentiates them the most from other shoes is the shape of the sole, especially at the rear. Northwave calls this Powershape HT – HT as in High Tail.

Look at them from the rear and you'll see that the heel cup is asymmetrical. On the outside of the foot things look pretty traditional, but look inside and you'll see that the full unidirectional carbon fibre sole comes halfway up the heel. It drops from there but rises again under the arch.

It creates a kind of tub for that side of your foot and with it loads of support for when riding hard or getting out of the saddle. I found it to be very comfortable indeed, and, well – supportive.

Northwave rates this ruthlessly stiff sole as 15 out of 15 on its own stiffness index. That bears no relation to any other stiffness rating, with all shoe brands having their own (of course they do) – but basically this is Northwave's stiffest sole, and its stiffness feels like it's up there with those offered by other brands.

Putting all of my power through them when sprinting or hitting a short, sharp climb I could feel absolutely nothing in terms of flex. That has a slight impact on comfort, especially if you are on a firm race bike travelling over vibration-inducing broken road surfaces, but crucially this wasn't to the point that I suffered from any hot spots or numbness.

The curvature of the sole along its length suited me well, with the shoes' overall comfort boosted by Northwave's insoles. Northwave includes two different insole options, along with a very cool shoe bag, when you buy the Veloce shoes, and I found the regular fit my go-to choice, with slim fit the other alternative.

The arch support section isn't high at all, so unless you have completely flat arches, you'll find plenty of support there without discomfort.

You get some venting too, with a couple of slots at the front and a couple more running under the midfoot – entry and exit ports if you like.

The shoes have fittings for all three-bolt cleat systems and you also get dedicated mounting points for Speedplay, without the need for the usual four-bolt to three-bolt adaptor.

Replaceable rubber toe and heel pads help when you're walking on slippery surfaces.

The upper feels more substantial than is the case on many lightweight race shoes. They only feature minimal fabric sections that I found easy to keep clean by just wiping them over, and the uppers feel durable too. You don't need to be too precious about them, and I ride them over winter without any extra protection from overshoes.

They're available in matt black with a gloss black logo or the white version with a large black 'NW' logo that we tested.

There is no tongue as such, just a switch to a lighter-weight material that creates a tongue effect from the inside of the foot. It wraps snuggly over the top of your foot before passing under the outer and once you've tightened the dials the whole upper wraps nicely over your foot. And while it is something of a cliché when writing about cycling shoes, these really do deliver a cosseted feel

The SLW 3 dials are made by X Dial and while their micro-adjustability is brilliant on the fly when both tightening or loosening them, undoing them fully to remove the shoes is a lot more faff than with something like Boa's offerings.

Here you have to use the silver lever on top – a quick flick offers small adjustments while you have to pull up and hold it to fully slacken things off to get your feet out. It's not a quick solution and while it's definitely a First World problem, it's not the solution I'd have chosen.

The twin dials and cords do at least spread an even pressure over the top of your foot, which increases comfort.

I have found that some of Northwave's shoes can be a bit on the generous side when it comes to sizing. I wear a UK size 10 for non-cycling shoes, but with most cycling shoes specified only in EUR sizes, I find I take either a 44 or 45, depending on the brand.

Northwave sent me a pair of EUR 44.5, which the label describes as UK 10.75 – and (cliché alert!) I found that they fitted me like a glove.

For reassurance before you buy, Northwave does offer a comprehensive guide on its website, which will direct you to the correct size depending on various foot measurements.

Value

But, the big question is, does this all add up to a near-four-hundred-pound shoe?

Well, I suppose it does against the opposition. Scott's Road RC Ultimate shoes will cost you a cool £439.99! But Ben found them stiff and comfortable and liked the twin dials, though he blanched at the price.

I found the Northwave's soles more supportive and that they provided a more 'inclusive' ride feel than my current daily shoes, the £369.99 Suplest Edge+ 2.0 Road Pros that I'm a big fan of.

If you can't quite stretch to the Veloce Extremes, then Ben was also very impressed with Northwave's Extreme Pro 3s. They're still not cheap, but at £296.99 they are at least a little more affordable.

Conclusion

If we take the price out of consideration for a second, then these Veloce Extreme shoes are some of the most supportive and race-orientated shoes I have ever worn, and if you spend a lot of your time putting a lot of power out, I think you could well notice the benefits of the sole design.

And while they're definitely a lot money, they're not stupidly priced when you look at the competition. That price is also backed up by the use of expensive materials and Northwave has finished them to a very high quality. If you've got the budget and you want performance and comfort, then the Northwaves won't disappoint.

Verdict

Extreme by name, performance and comfort – and some would say price