Exustar Stelvio Shoes Review

First Impressions

The first thing that struck me about these shoes was the build quality. They are solid shoes, thick, rigid leather, quality stitching and a very inflexible and thick sole (I think it has a metal plate in it). This is all good (at least for riding).

On the Bike:

The rigid sole is great for riding. I tend to ride pretty hard, I get out of the saddle a lot and trash the pedals – these shoes stood up to the punishment admirably. It is, however, important to make sure that you lace them up well (tightly). Furthermore, it is very important to tuck the drive-side laces into the shoe to ensure they do not get caught in the mechanisms! I am strongly considering cutting the laces shorter, they are quite long and are a hazard near the front cogs.

I have worn these in wet weather and they are surprisingly water resistant. I have not tried them in incredibly hot weather.

Off the Bike:

These are most certainly not walking or running shoes, they are cycling shoes that ‘can’ be walked in. The rigid sole is not great on un-ever surfaces, and I would hate to think about walking in these on slippery rock surfaces. Having said that, these are in a totally different league to my sidi’s (with the giant cleats out the bottom) which are practically un-walkable over distances exceeding 100m.

The cleats I have used (Time ATAC) sit within the sole, however, they do occasionally knock the floor when walking. I would not recommend running around polished wooden floors with these on!

Fit:

I bought these online without trying a pair on first (thanks to there being NO distribution in Australia). I have numerous pairs of shoes, ranging from 43 to 44.

My Sidi shoes are 43 and fit perfectly (if a bit touchy on the width). I have fairly broad, short feet too. I decided to play it safe and get 44’s and I’m glad I did. The fit on these shoes is not very accommodating for broad feet. The width is perfect for me in the 44 but I have a spare 1-2cm of space in the toes (not ideal). These shoes are also quite tall, though correct lacing should fix this – if not – an inner sole!

I expect the leather to soften a bit with wear, and the fit could improve with time. I will update this post after 6months or so to see how they go.

Recommended use:

These shoes look normal, that is their key benefit. They are competent riding shoes with good walkability off the bike (for cycling shoes) but their real bonus is that they remove the need for a second pair of shoes. You could easily wear these shoes to the pub, to a mates place, social occasion or casual workplace and no one will notice.

If you are after a pair of cycling shoes just for cycling, there are better and cheaper options out there. If, however, you want a pair of incognito cycling shoes that don’t ‘clipety clop’ but give you the advantages of cleats, rigid soles and tight fit these are your shoes!