Gojohnnygo.

The new 2008 Lake MXZ302 winter shoe

https://www.lakecycling.com/category.aspx?categoryID=36


Strong points

The Boa lacing is simple to operate on the fly and gives you that perfect fit you want.

The full leather shoe is great for keeping the wind and water out.

The Virbam sole is great on all terrain. Walking in the store or hiking the bike over trees.

The neoprene uppers cuffs make for a tight fit around the ankle (but with easy movement for your ankle) keeping out water and snow.

Black leather boots are always cool looking.



Weak points
Heavy
Price $269.00US

If your foot is the least bit wide get the wide MXZ 302 X





I have only 3 rides with them with temps in the teens. 23 miles was the longest. My feet stayed warm over the coarse for the ride and some minor exploring of a wooded riverbank. This were I noticed the positive side of the Vibram soles. They preformed almost as good some mid weight-hiking boots I have. I feel I could use these boots in below zero temps for hours with wool socks and neoprene shoe covers.

edzo

did you have a previous pair of Lake MX300 ? and can you compare the two ?

I have a pair, and they still work, but are getting a little tired in the
neoprene ankle area and the velcro straps have always annoyed me a bit...


also, I do not understand why you would want covers for these shoes. My current
pair of 300's, I only need one very thin sock under one defeet wool sock on the
coldest nights and it is plenty warm for a 40 miler...are you saying the new shoe
is colder than the old Lake 300 ?

Gojohnnygo.

No I haven't had any winter cycling shoes before this. It was always hiking boots and flat pedals. It is early winter and my thoughts might change about this boot. As for your question about if the lake is colder I don't know. but they do make my feet sweat at 24F when riding.

tsl

Mine came last week. I got the wide ones, MXZ 302 X.

The fit is fantastic. I hadn't realized how much my regular cycling shoes were squeezing my feet. They (both my feet and the boots) felt fine with three pairs of socks, yet with only one, the BOA lacing system took up all the extra space nicely.

Walking around the LBS in them I was very impressed with the soles. They're plenty grippy. I doubt I'll slide around the linoleum at the grocery store. They're also slightly more flexible my regular cycling shoes, but on the bike--in the trainer at the LBS, on a test ride and then on the ride home--I found them plenty stiff for pedaling.

I was initially concerned that there wasn't much clearance around the cleat mounting holes, but after my fitter got done, I'm happier with them than I am with my regular shoes.

I can't report yet on how they are in the cold since it warmed up to the 40s as soon as I had my cleats fitted. I am looking forward to dry feet and no more soggy booties in the wet.

Gojohnnygo.

All I can say to that is I have times when the temps drop down to minus 30 below F(my coldest -37F). so I'm doing some testing.

CastIron

Good luck. My 301's crap out around zero without any warmers.

Gojohnnygo.

CastIron
I'll let you and everyone else know. I just want to see what improvements can be made, like what socks or which booties work best with these shoes at below zero temps. Now I need to go shop for some XL mountain bike booties.

Portis

My 300's crap out around 20F for me. It will be interesting to see how these fair.

rufus

maybe it's just me, but they don't look quite as Frankenstein-y, either.

Gojohnnygo.

Well I have a problem with my new Lakes (32 days old) Lake winter shoes MZX 302.

The leather upper ankle where it connects to the lower vibram sole on both shoes is pulling apart. In a big way! It’s pulling away all around the lower back half of the ankle.

I e-mailed Lake Cycling and they gave me an RMA number. They responded in less then an hours time. I’ll send the shoes back and hope for the best. I really hope they can restitch them properly I hope.

I really don’t need this happening a few weeks before the coldest part of the year.
I hope for the best. I’m not saying anything bad about Lake Cycling, but time will tell.


P.S. It' not from rubbing on my crank arms the separation started in the back of the ankle.

BearSquirrel

How cold are your coldest nights? The number one point for these shoes is that they are waterproof and have a higher cuff. You can step in puddle of a couple inches without disaster. This would be unthinkable for a summer shoe as waterproof implies really hot. If some people need a little extra warmth, adding a bootie or a gaiter is great.


A note to lake ... Why have a "road version". Road shoes would be completely useless on ice and snow. That's one point at which the roadies actually need some lug on the bottom. Seems to me you could make larger sizes if you dropped the roadie version. Larger sizes in this shoe are warranted as most people will be using shoes one or two sizes to large to accomodate extra insulation.

tsl

I'm guessing the road version is for roadies who don't want to change their pedals and who ride in the cold, but not the wet, ice, or snow.

As for the larger sizes, this year the 302 comes in a wide version too. I have the 48 wide version (MTB sole). I can wear three pairs of socks without my feet being squished. I only ever did this in testing. My coldest ride to date this season was 12°F. One pair of crew socks in the 302 was plenty warm enough for me.

Gojohnnygo.

TSL have you looked at your boots to see if they are separating from your sole? before I send them back I was told by a local cobbler(shoe repair dude) it would be better to use shoe goo(Brand Name) Then to have them restitch.

Mazaev

Just got these on Monday and while they've been rather warm, today was the first day they've seen some rain. Here's the thing: I had a pair of tights (polartec) on, with the bottoms over the shoes. Nonetheless, as soon as the rain started coming down, I felt a stream of water going inside the shoe. By the time I got home (10 miles or so later), my socks were soaked.

I do notice that there is some slack in the top around my ankle when velcroed up. Does anyone have particular experience in the rain with these? Would some kind of gaiter be able to keep the water out completely, or should I consider using a bootie?

tsl

Johhny: Yeah, I've checked mine. No apparent trouble. I'm keeping an eye on them though.

I don't know if you read the papers that came with the boots, but at the bottom of the warrany page it says to use shoe goo to repair outsole delamination.

tsl

Ride faster than the rain. I haven't experienced any trouble with that. I have a couple of longer rain rides in (one hour or more) along with several shorter ones. Just wearing regular Nashbar tights too.

Gojohnnygo.

Yes I have. It's been two days and the shoe goo stays ply-able and holds strong. This is a better option for me then sending them back to have them restitch. It's winter up here now! (you already know that) with the snow and very cold temperature forecasted we have for Sunday and beyond.

Mazaev

Well, it's been under two weeks of everyday use. As of this morning, the BOA lacing system snapped on one of the shoes. Upon inspection, the rear out sole has also separated from the stitching and is coming loose.

About to hit the LBS to see what they say.

NealH

Probably not surprising. Trade them in for a pair of Northwave Fahrenheits. They are not heavy, they are warm, and they don't leak because they seal properly. Here is a discussion from another forum on good winter boots.

https://www.serotta.com/forum/showthr...ight=northwave

Mazaev

Thanks. Unfortunately, with Lake's customer service, there won't be any trading in. I made it known to my LBS guy that I would rather return them as I had a couple other complaints about these and was overall dissatisfied. He's usually great at dealing with vendors at such issues.

Just for comparisons sake, when one of the straps ripped on my 6 month old Specialized shoes, it was an almost no questions asked, give the customer a new pair of shoes type affair. Frankly, I though it was a bit overkill, but it certainly didn't detract me form buying quite a bit more Specialized stuff afterwards. Lake didn't exactly work like that. At first, they offered a $15 credit for me to go get them fixed at some shoe repair place. Then they hiked that up to $30. After being appaled, and stating that such a defect would more then likely rear its head again (nevermind that we're dealing with an almost $300 pair of shoes), we asked for a new pair to be sent which was met with a firm NO. After some hold time, the best option they could offer was to send in the shoes and have it repaired by them, which would take something like 2 weeks. Never mind that winter is here and this is when these are most needed.

Aside from the downright silly initial offer, the Lake rep also mentioned that the stitching used for the heal was indeed inferior and that they would re-stitch with something better. This, I guess, should serve as a warning to any other potential buyers.

Has anyone else had similar experiences with their customer service?

rufus

that's pretty crappy initial service. but if it was me, I'd send them back and have them fix 'em.

And hopefully, them acknowledging that the stitching was bad, will lead them to make changes to the shoe for the future.

Mazaev

Precisely what I'm doing. Curious to see the result.

This would all be OK if these were the 300's we were dealing with. This is their third attempt at this shoe; you'd think they'd get the point by now. I've seen quite a few people mention this problem when reviewing the 301s.

rufus

it's possible they had a different vendor make these shoes for them this season, and things just didn't work out. You know how it is, cheapest bid usually wins.

Gojohnnygo.

The shoe goo is holding on very strong! That says something about the stitches in the 302MXZ Lake winter shoes. Lake cycling should have got it right the first time! At almost 300.00 for a pair shoes! We are talking about frostbite and the possibility of missing toes. What happens to my feet when out on a trail and your shoes stitches decide to fail and it's 20 F below zero? Are you going to ask me to ship them back feet included? If so I'll ask my brother in advance to do so!

Gojohnnygo.

They do fail right about zero F degrees. The PI Xl shoes covers do add a few of degrees of comfort maybe five or ten at best.

Last night at my house it was 19 below zero F. My feet started to go numb with in 3 or 4 miles from the house. The Shoe covers did little in adding warmth. Next time I be putting the flat pedals on with the Lakes and my Neos shoe covers they are insulated. The shoe goo is still holding.