Udog Cima Pure Black

The Udog Cima Pure Black shoes are designed primarily for climbing, but they'll work anywhere you want a stiff, lightweight shoe with a very comfortable upper. The fit is great, as is the performance, and they compare well with others around this price.

Launched in 2021, the Italian brand Udog has kicked off with a couple of pairs of shoes, the Tensione, for £150, and this Cima model for £220, both available in black or white (the white ones looking slightly less school plimsoll-like, in my opinion).

> Buy now: Udog Cima Pure Black for £220 from Udog

The Cima boasts a full-carbon fibre sole, as you'd expect at this price, and a knitted upper, a trend we've been seeing for a few years now.

Straight out of the box I found the Cimas to be a very comfortable pair of shoes, the upper moulding nicely to the shape and movement of my foot, while the laces give a good level of support, minimising lift while spreading the pressure across the top of the foot.

Laces on road shoes comes in for some criticism but I don't really have an issue with them. True, you can't tweak them on the fly like a strap or dial system, but I rarely need to do that anyway.

Udog has developed what it calls a Pocket Tongue System, or PTS, which stores away the lace ends, giving a clean look and stopping them from getting near your chainset.

The upper is impressively breathable, making the Cima a great shoe for warm days as you can feel the cooling wind blow into the toe box. On its website Udog claims the upper is waterproof, but while the fabric used for the knit might well be, the holes in the knit pattern will let water through quickly.

The full-carbon fibre sole has a stiffness rating of 11, but as there is no industry standard for sole stiffness there's no way of comparing it to the stiffness index ratings of other brands.

Let's just say that it is very stiff. Out-of-the-saddle efforts showed no signs of flex, and I found the shape to be supportive with a subtle curve for the arch of your foot.

It'll accept any three-bolt cleat system and there are markings to help realign things when it comes to replacing the cleats.

The toe and heel bumpers are minimal, but the rear does at least aid walking on slippery surfaces.

Sizing is about right. These are a EU45 which Udog equates to a UK 10.5, and with size 10 feet I found this to offer a comfortable fit without being too big. Udog does include length measurements on its size guide which helps as well.

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The company says it has given the Cimas a roomy toe box and I'd agree with that. They aren't massively wide shoes but there was definitely plenty of wriggle room for my tootsies.

At 560g for this pair, they are similar to much of the competition and feel light in use.

Priced at £220 they aren't cheap, but compare well against some of the opposition such as DMT's KR3 knitted shoes at around £235 (depending on the colour) or Fizik's Vento R2 Aeroweave shoes at £334.99.

Conclusion

Overall, the Cimas are a very comfortable pair of shoes whose uppers adapt well to the shape of your foot, and the sole can't be faulted on the stiffness front.

Verdict

Very comfortable shoes with an impressively stiff sole and plenty of breathability