Thanks to Mavic for the products used in this video. All views expressed in this video are the presenter’s own.
Following on from the GCN Unboxing of the new Mavic Comète Ultimate Shoes, Simon took a visit to Annecy to check out the R&D process into making a pair
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Simon escapes the office and goes to the Mavic HQ in Annecy to check out how the Mavic Comète Ultimate Shoes ended up being produced.
First up, Simon takes a look at the prototypes that were produced and trust us, there were boxes and boxes of them.
Eddy shows the finishing touches to the framework of a pair of shoes, which is cut by hand after it exits the mold.
After that Simon visits Andrea and Isabelle to check out the inner bootie of the shoe, this is a very complex piece of engineering, comprising of 14 separate pieces. Each bootie takes approximately 4 hours to produce. Mavic have worked closely with Dan Martin of the professional team Quick-Step Floors. Professional rider feedback being a vital part of the design and refine process.
The skeleton of the shoes are tested for stiffness and stability, professionals demand the stiffest possible and for a shoe of this type, it is essential.
Bio-Mechanical gains are where these shoes really do excel, the low heel cup allows greater flexibility of the foot and according to test results reduce the usage of the calf muscle, therefore wasted energy. Claims are that there is an increase of upto 4.5 watts through the “deadpoint” of the pedal stroke.
Mavic’s test results showed that 70% of subjects performed better in a test “until exhaustion” in these shoes!