Made to Last - Put Lake at the heart of your cycling shoes

- by Larisa Chinces, October 1, 2022

How We Make our Cycling Shoes 

Here at Lake, 2022 means that we’ve been helping cyclist's feet for 40 years. That a whole lot of information and innovation to put into our future, as we continue to design the best range of road cycling shoes, mountain bike shoes, gravel bike shoes and specialist triathlon shoes. Yes, over those 40 years, we’ve grown to now making shoes for every discipline and style within cycling - on road or trail.  

One thing that hasn’t changed however, is our adherence to form, function, performance and comfort. In order for us to achieve this, we’ve developed possibly the widest range of cycling shoe ‘lasts’ within the cycling footwear industry. Why does that matter - it’s quite simple really, because the ‘last’ is the starting point of every shoe, and it’s rightly been called ‘the heart of the shoe.’ 

A Lasting Impression 

You may well ask “why is it called a ‘last’”. Well, it’s simple really. The word ‘last’ comes from the Old English ‘laest,’ which translates as footprint. Then, it gets a little bit more technical than simply being a copy of a footprint, because each individual ‘last’ is based on up to thirty-five measurements, which are also then structured and modified towards the form and function of the shoe, to give an even closer and more comfortable fit to the user. You’ll notice that shoes like our CX 241 offers the best fitting solution for any foot type. With a heat-moldable heel counter and a uniquely designer upper that has enough adjustability to accommodate feet with any instep height or foot volume without sacrificing comfort. The upper has separated panels that allow for fine tuning the pressure and fit which also allows the upper to conform around sensitive and painful spots on the foot without the same level of constraint that is felt in traditional shoe uppers. All of this is designed onto on a specific last, chosen to provide a stable and comfortable base.  

The Heart of Our Shoes 

When we design our cycling shoes at Lake, choose from more than 11 different shoe lasts, so that our men's and ladies cycling shoe ranges cover a wide variety of foot shapes and sizes, and can be better measured and fitted to your own very unique cycling feet. And, because you’ll be wearing a cycling shoe that’s a better fit, it’ll also be more comfortable, giving you better performance, and it will also be better for the health of your feet too. 

We want you to cycle as much as possible, and that’s why we’ve spent 40 years looking closely at and literally loving your feet. So that we can develop the widest possible range of cycling shoes, producing the very best for men and women all over the world - whatever the size and shape of their feet. We continue to put our heart into every Lake shoe made, so that you can ride in comfort, with your feet wrapped in style.  

Take a Look at Lake 

It’s time for you to visit the wide range of cycling shoes available on our website, where you’ll see that we list and describe the ‘last’ used on every particular product - for all cycling disciplines. Simply click the link below and take a look at our latest cycling shoe design, the CX 177 and you’ll see what we mean.  

It’s taken us 40 years to get here, and that’s why our shoes are built to last - using the widest range of cycling shoe ‘lasts’ to produce possibly the best range of cycling shoes in the world.