Shimano S-Phyre RC9 review

It is because the Shimano S-Pyhre RC9’s, the dream shoe of choice, seems to fit a variety of foot shapes it secures a place in Cycling Weekly’s Editor’s Choice two years in a row. Its latest update has only served up better security and breathability.

The Shimano S-Phyre RC9 shoes have been a favourite of many testers on the Cycling Weekly Tech Team. For 2019 they've been updated to be better fitting and more breathable, has it worked?

It isn't a redesign, more a tweak, and you wouldn't notice much different if it wasn't for the new very loud green colourway that the new Shimano S-Phyre RC9 shoes come in.

Thankfully for those with a little more subtle nature, the updated RC9's come in a very nice pearlescent white, another nice sparkly update to the 2019 versions.

Other than colour the update consists of a better ventilated upper, which is now more perforated to offer greater breathability, not something I ever struggled with in the previous version. It remains comfortable temperature wise; neither getting too hot or too cold, something Bont has struggled with controlling in the past.

Something to look out for is that the latest version of the Shimano S-Phyre RC9's is that they come up slightly smaller compared to many brands at the moment. So if you are a solid 42 size, you can actually fit into a 43 very comfortably as I have found. So if you are at the larger end of those round sizes, you might want to look to size up.

As for fit it is much the same as previously stated. Comfortable! The big USP going for the RC9's is that the through my testing comparing that with other riders in the office (all of which have different preferences and shaped feet) we all like wearing and using the Shimano S-Phyre RC9 shoes. No one experienced numbness or tight spots; that was in a number of different sizes and testers.

That is why we love the Shimano shoes at Cycling Weekly, unlike the other dream shoes on the market; Sidi, Specialized, Northwave, Bont, to name a few, one of the team found something they didn't like in the fit. Whether that was a hot spot, or a niggle that meant the tester couldn't ignore them and reach the Holy Grail of cycle testing. forget you are using the item you are testing.

You get a new material at the rear of the shoe for grip around the ankle, you get an updated Boa cable routing too, which has increased total security of your foot when pedalling.

That said, at 537g for a size 43, the Shimano S-Phyre RC9 is by no means the lightest road shoe out there – as a comparison the Giro Empire SLX weighs 175g but it still is lighter than the Sidi Shot shoes.

Shimano would argue that shedding every last possible gram can have the adverse effect of diminishing performance in other aspects and the S-Phyre shoes can not be found guilty of that.

I’m a fan of the uppers on the Shimano S-Phyre – they achieve a good balance of stiffness and comfort. All too often I find shoes have supremely comfortable uppers that are too floppy for sprinting. You get a stiff carbon sole too, which has a rating of 12 from Shimano - of course we can't compare that number to anyone else.

For £319 they are expensive but look at any dream shoe on the market and you are paying top money, although you can get other performance lead shoes a little cheaper than these.