An international design collaboration yields a stunning road shoe that’s sure to polarise opinion, says Simon Fellows
The Mechanism road shoe is a collaboration between the Danish insta darlings Pas Normal Studios (PNS) and the Italian shoe and saddle brand Fizik. They’ve called it Mechanism because it slots directly into PNS’s performance line of the same name, identifying it as a lightweight racing shoe with a heavyweight price tag.
Yes, that price. At a smidgen below £400, this is about as much as you’ll pay for a pair of cycling shoes; a similar amount can bag you some iconic racing footwear, such as the feature-laden Sidi Wire 2S or Shimano’s slightly pricier but battle-proven S-Phyre RC903. Only the handmade in Italy Nimbl Ultimate makes the Mechanism look cheap.
The trouble is, Fizik already has a near-identical shoe in its range, the excellent Vento Infinito Carbon 2, that fulfils a similar purpose but costs £50 less. Surely, the Mechanism is just an exercise in style over substance for well-heeled fashionistas? As a man of principle, I knew I was going to hate it.
The shoe
My principles held firm until I flipped open the Mechanism’s silver box. B’Jesus, this is one good-looking shoe. PNS has pulled off the impressive feat of delivering maximum bling in an ultra-minimalist shoe. There’s no overload of gimmicky features, splashes of primary colour, curious tongue wrap-overs, or quirky Boa placement.
In fact, in many ways, the Mechanism is a very conservative-looking performance shoe. The tongue is traditional, and the two silver Boa dials are placed where you’d expect them to be, on the outer forefoot and instep. The most noticeable design feature on the uppers, other than the bright, two-tone silver fabric and brace of Boas, is the strip of chevron-style perforations that’s reminiscent of diamond plate steel flooring – very industrial chic. However, they extend solely across the midfoot, and feature only on the tongue and the outer side of the shoe.
The fabric is a fine, flexible mesh coated in a polyurethane laminate so thin that it’s possible to make out the weave. This material is reinforced at the heel and toe but is otherwise supremely flexible.
Inside the shoe, everything is oh so neat and tidy, with barely any seams to cause chafing. The removable insole is a lightly padded affair, and beneath that there’s just the thinnest of felt liners glued directly to the carbon outsole for maximum power transfer.
The heel cup is deep and well-rounded to stop your foot lifting and twisting
