We tested Filippo Ganna's new Northwave shoes to see how they stack up

It's part of our job on the Cyclingnews Tech Team to spot new tech and equipment being ridden by the pros, and we take it pretty seriously. We didn't manage however to spot Filippo Ganna's new Northwave shoes hiding in plain view in the peloton over the last few months.

When the new Northwave Veloce Extreme shoes arrived for me to test along with the attached press release recently I was easily able to find pictures of the Italian star and World Hour record holder racing in the Veloce Extremes this season. A shoe that the Ineos Grenadiers rider has apparently been instrumental in helping to develop along with other athletes this year, and one aimed squarely at the best cycling shoes segment of the market. Watch Ganna sprinting at the end of Milan San Remo this year and you start to get an idea of what his requirements for a cycling shoe might be. 

The new Veloce Extremes sit at the pinnacle of Northwave's road shoe collection, superseding the Extreme Pro 3 model as the brand's top road model. The new shoes are built around a brand-new sole named the Powershape HT (high tail). This ultra-stiff sole and shoe is said to increase power output and stability as well as reduce perceived exertion levels compared to the existing powershape sole. These figures and claims are the product of a biomechanical study comissioned by Northwave which we'll look at in closer detail below. 

I was ready to say goodbye to seeing white cycling shoes until the spring but a mild weather window has meant I've kept the overshoes off at times whilst testing the shoes outdoors lately. It became obvious almost from my first pedal stroke that these are shoes with pretty much a single purpose in mind. 

Design and Aesthetics 

The shoes are available in white and black colourways. The black version is just that, an all-black affair. The largely white option features a black tongue, Northwave logo and mid-foot upper section.  

The shoes look clean and stylish; the only visible external stitching is where the black tongue piece joins the rest of the upper and at the heel. The are two 'NW' logos on each shoe, a small one at the toe box and a large one on the outside of each shoe. This looks quite prominent in pictures and you could be forgiven for thinking it possibly looks a bit overbearing but in real life I think it fits in well and works. 

The upper material is also wipe clean, which should make cleaning and upkeep pretty simple; always a plus point if you are going for white shoes. The Veloce Extreme are also compatible with both three-bolt cleat mountings as well as four-bolt Speedplay, which is handy to see.

Summed up, aesthetics-wise the shoes look sleek and racy, presenting a pleasing silhouette visually without unnecessary bulk or anything to break up the clean lines and smooth uppers.

Design-wise, the standout feature of the Veloce Extreme, which are handmade in Italy, is the new unidirectional, vented carbon fibre Powershape HT sole. Northwave has given it a stiffness index rating of 15 (on their own scale), which is as stiff as it gets for the brand and the same as the Extreme 3 Pro shoes. The patented Powershape sole is according to Northwave designed to optimise power transfer to the pedals and reduce muscular engagement. I'd imagine feedback from a rider like Ganna would possibly focus on power transfer, stiffness and a singular focus on performance. 

The new sole extends a few centimetres up the inner arch of each foot and up the rear of the heel in an asymmetric design on the outside of the shoe's upper. The aim is said to have been to optimise comfort and support for the foot. The Extreme Pro 3 shoes, until now the brand's flagship model, feature the Powerhsape sole, and you can see a slightly raised inner arch in the design. The Powershape HT design on the Veloce Extreme though has developed and moved this design concept forward, and visually there is a clear difference between the two. The take home is a claimed 9% stability improvement, 4% max power output increase and a 15% reduction in the rate of perceived exertion over the Powershape Sole. I haven't ridden in the Extreme Pro 3 shoes but a claimed 15% reduction in perceived exertion between shoes is pretty mind-blowing to me and is probably something I would sign on the dotted line for if I could feel it. 

Yet more faster, lighter, stiffer claims I hear you cry. Yes, but there are some testing claims and data from Northwave on the subject. The two shoes, (to be clear the shoes are the new Veloce Extreme and the Extreme Pro 3) were compared in tests on the road and track, with various analyses using 50 athletes over 100 hours. The testing apparently consisted of an 'incremental test' or ramp test consisting of 3 x 30-second sprints followed by riding at 100 watts and increasing by 20 watts per minute. Max sprint tests, kinematic analysis, muscle activation testing during use, and foot rotation during pedalling were also used to arrive at the performance claims for the new sole. 

Aside from the new sole, the shoes feature SLW3 dials developed by X-Dial. The same can be found on the Extreme 3 Pro. The standout feature here is the ability to release tension easily and accurately by pushing the silver dial tab down, allowing the wearer to easily reduce, and thus fine-tune dial tension whilst riding. Spares are all readily available on the Northwave website, the heel pad for the shoes is replaceable too should you wear it out. 

Two pairs of insoles and a nice shoe bag arrive with the shoes. Regular and slim-fit footbeds are supplied one being 3mm and the other 5mm thick. Both insoles have firm arches and dual-density foam construction.

I've only had one niggle so far with the shoes - The left-hand shoe from my test pair had a small de-bonded section at the rear where the carbon sole high heel section hadn't quite adhered to the upper material. I can imagine a fair amount of effort (and force) is required to get these two materials to bond properly but if I'd paid €400 for a new pair of shoes, I would expect everything to be perfect.

Performance 

It was obvious from the off that, as you might expect, the Veloce Extremes are all about performance. The shoes, whilst being comfortable, are stiff and unyielding. 

Holding a pair of cycling shoes in your hand gives some idea of what they are about, and whilst you can't flex a rigid carbon sole, you can somehow get an idea of how things will feel. I felt the Northwaves would be very stiff holding them and slipping your feet into them strengthened this impression. 

The opening itself for the shoes is on the narrow side for me, and a little effort is required to push your feet in. The uppers on either side here are, again, fairly stiff and give the shoes strength and structure. The edges of the shoes that contact the ankles are soft and comfortable; there aren't sharp edges sections that dig in, it's all just quite firm. The ankle and tongue padding is minimalist and reminds me of the Quoc Mono II. The padding is light but provides support in all the right places. I'm interested to see if the shoes will feel the same in six months and then a year or whether the uppers will retain their stiff, structured feeling. From the off, though I haven't experienced any discomfort or rubbing and the padding around the ankles has done its job well.

Once the shoes are on your feet, tightening is taken care of by the SWL3 dials, which I really like. They really tighten the shoes down securely and you can get them seriously tight with your feet really locked in place. Pushing the silver tab down on each dial once undoes each dial with a single ratchet click. It's a quick way of fine-tuning fit on the fly. Pulling each silver tab up loosens the dials off completely, pretty much all in one go. It's an easy-to-use and effective system and spares are cheap should you need them.  

I've used the shoes on indoor rides, club runs and even a road bike scratch race at my local outdoor velodrome over the past few weeks. They feel stiff and purposeful, and I agree with Northwave's claims. Your feet, or at least mine, really did feel locked into place. I ride with Shimano pedals and yellow cleats on a medium spring tension setting so my cleats aren't locked in, but my feet are held very securely in the shoes. Power delivery does feel excellent and I can imagine myself reaching for the shoes for racing easily. 

I did finish a three-hour ride recently with the outside of my feet feeling slightly sore in the shoes and this feeling did melt away pretty much as soon as I removed them. I feel these are shoes that will take some time to get used to, and your cleat setup absolutely dialled in with them. Given their very stiff, performance-focused approach any out-of-kilter cleat setup or fit issues will be magnified I think.  

Fit and shape-wise, my EU 43 / UK 9.5 shoes fitted me well. The 9.5 didn't really feel any bigger than the EU43/UK9 shoes I have tried this year like the Rapha Pro Team Lace Up. The 'Italian sizing' conundrum doesn't really seem to apply here, the shoes aren't hyper narrow and the rounded toe box, which is more rounded than the Rapha Pro Lace-ups linked above felt roomy enough for my own feet. 

Price wise, €400 is a lot of money, but is in line with other top road offerings in this category. It's over $100 less than the popular Nimbl Ultimates and a little less than the Q36.5 Unique shoes. 

Verdict 

The Veloce Extreme shoes are going to be best suited to racers and performance-focused riders who want a stiff, rigid shoe to help get all of their effort down onto the road. 

The shoes, whilst relatively comfortable, are less forgiving than others and I suspect may beat up riders who desire a little more comfort, especially over longer, or more gentle rides. 

However, if I was going hard, or racing I'd be happy reaching for the Veloce Extremes and would feel pretty comfortable that as long as I'd dialled in my cleats and had everything spot on they would really help transfer all of my effort to the pedals and hold my feet very securely. If they can deal with the pure horsepower of Top Ganna they can easily cope with power from a mere mortal.