Shimano S-phyre RC902 shoes
£319.99, freewheel.co.uk
The S-phyre has been a popular shoe for Shimano, mixing fine form with excellent function. With the latest RC902 the S-phyre has been refined further still.
Certainly the RC902S are as handsome as their forebears, and are among the first shoes to use Boa’s slim new Li2 dials. These retain the macrorelease and dual-direction adjustment capabilities of previous versions, but Boa says the adjustment increments are even finer. What’s more the Li2 dials use a new glass fibre and polycarbonate composite so that the dial can be 3mm thinner and stronger than before.
Those dials are attached to a new, glossy, mixed-material upper. It combines non-stretch Kuraray Rovenica (an artificial leather) with
Teijin Nanofront (an ultrafine polyester) and a Pu-laminated mesh to create ‘function specific zones’ over the rider’s foot in the ‘360° Surround Wrapping Upper’. We don’t claim to understand any of that, but it basically means the shoes are comfy without stretching.
Added to that the RC902S are the lightest S-phyres yet at 470g per pair (size 42), although you’d have to be the weeniest of weight nerds to notice the 7g they shave off the previous versions.
Muc-off likes a challenge. In 2015 it set out to create the lowestfriction bicycle chain on the planet for Bradley Wiggins’ Hour record attempt, and in the lead-up to the 2020 Tour de France it set itself the task of building the most efficient drivetrain possible for the timetrial bike of Bahrain Mclaren team leader Mikel Landa. Partnering with Mclaren’s F1 brainboxes, the Dorset-based company came up with this: Lightweight Oversized Precision Shifting, or
LOPS for short.
The jockey wheel system uses a titanium cage that Muc-off claims is 6.57% stiffer than the stock Shimano Dura-ace version and 2.7% stiffer than the similar oversized pulley system from rival Ceramicspeed. The jockey wheels are made of a coated superlight alloy, the bearings are ceramic and lubricated with a special hydrocarbon formula, and the seals have been minimised. The result is a claimed 93% reduction in bearing drag compared to Shimano and 76% less than Ceramicspeed’s premium coated bearings.
At 62.8g LOPS weighs considerably less than stock products too, but just how much faster did it make Landa? All Muc-off will say is that LOPS provides a 39.27% overall saving in watts compared to Shimano and 3.69% improvement over Ceramicspeed, which probably amounts to fractions of fractions when it comes to increased kmh. But every little helps.