What are your favourite track shoes?

The R088's are only a tenner more on wiggle, maybe I go for those for a budget option. Must try on the size though. So used to trainers and cages, I don't want numb toes or any real movement in the shoe.

What has put me off the Bont Zero's is that the cleat holes are positioned too far back for my position. I run my SPD-SL cleats fully forwards but the Zeros have them positioned further back which may require some DIY drilling :-) by me. Anyone tried this personally?

I may consider the DMT pista as it looks like a proper aero shoe and should hopefully put up with a sprinter like me OK. How does the cleat position compare to Shimano on these?

Tony

Has anyone here tried drilling into the soles of their track shoes to alter cleat position?

Tony

You must have your cleats very far forward - I find the bonts holes are well positioned. Try the s-works shoes instead, the holes are drilled pretty far forward on them.

I take the cleats pretty far forward yes, partly because I personally produce the most power with a greater hip angle and even with my saddle as far forward as it can legally be it is still not enough when tucked in an aero position.

Moving the cleats forward effectively opens up the hip angle slightly by moving the feet and legs back relative to the rest of the body. Unfortunately the Planet X track I race on has a very short Front-Centre and wheelbase meaning that my body position is right over the front of the bike and this is an issue for me as either I hold my body back and can't produce as much power as I can or I try to go for it and the back wheel lifts up as the weight balance is too far forward.

The reason I am after a DF3 frame is that it has a longer Front-Centre and will to some extent solve this issue, the other bikes with a longer F-C which I have tried have been fine for sprinting and I will need to change frame before an Intl comp in July. The BT sprint bikes in particular have an extremely long F-C and long wheelbases, I saw one last week at a track here and even for a short rider and a small frame it had very different geometry to the Planet X and was likely a lot more stable with the added length.

I hope all that makes some sense, it's clear enough in my head anyway.

I have seen that a few people have tried drilling their own cleat holes mainly for a more midfoot position so it can be done but I have not known any track sprinters to do so.

Cheers

Cleats pushed back for sprinting.

^^ Sounds OK however it doesn't work for everyone though for the reasons explained above. It is a difficult one as I would hate to drill a set of £200 Bonts only to have them give way in a sprint. The DMT pista does not seem to be available anywhere in my size (43) unfortunately, a few few places have them advertised recently but soon informed me that they were out of stock.

Cheers

I got the DMT Pista and I'm happy with the decision. They are very much suited to the track and they can be laced up very tightly, most importantly for me the cleats can be positioned very far forward just as I like them.

The toe box area has stacks of room, way too much for me in fact as my feet are narrow up front not that it is a real nuisance however as they felt fine when sprinting - superb in fact. Another track sprinter I was up against also has the same shoes and finds them pretty good however they certainly look beaten up on the outside after a year but then again these are track shoes and not for the commute.

The only design flaw if that it is even that is that the aero cover "tongue" does not sit as smoothly as it should do in my opinion but a bit of DIY should be able to fix that. They do come up a bit short too (I'm a size 43) but with a pair of thin socks thrown on I was sorted for the day. Yes they were a little bit uncomfortable after a while but as a sprinter I did not care as I was after a very tight shoe and they felt great sprinting.

I suppose when it comes to shoes individual fit is paramount and so everything is to be taken with this in mind, I do think that the quality and race orientated design put this shoe well above the shimano ro87s that I used to race on for track use and sprinting but then again most race shoes would be more suitable than them.

+1 the DMT pista. Very robust and comfortable