Recently in search of a pair of retro / vintage style cycling shoes I came across the William Lennon company online. I've got to admit that against the competition the first attraction was the price - at £61.95 including postage they are half the price of the competition from Quoc Pham or Vittoria. Another factor in the appeal was that they are made in England to order. I had some suspicion that at the price they couldn't be of the quality I wanted but I put that fear aside, got in touch and started enquiring.
The reply from William Lennon was swift and helpful. I didn't want the shoes in standard black, could they be in brown. No problem. Would I like a leather sole? Yes. OK, another fifteen pounds. Still a very fair price.
I placed the order and had to wait a couple of weeks for the shoes to be made and delivered. They arrived and... excellent, proper old school cycling shoes. Well made, a comfortable fit and totally look the part.
The decision for leather soles over hard rubber is a purely stylistic one and one I am glad I made but I had forgotten just how slippery a plain leather sole is. I'll be fitting a stick on rubber sole to avoid any tail over chest incidents. The sole is of the correct stiffness for cycling.
The company seems to be heavily outgunned online by far heavier marketing machines but don't overlook them, seek them out, they are a decent company making quality shoes in England at a far lower price than the competition and for that should be saluted.
 |
| William Lennon Arturo cycling shoes. |
Top banana love them
ReplyDeletePresumably these don't have any cleat mounting holes in the sole? I would love something like this to use with SPD cleats, but I guess they would need to be recessed to allow walking.
ReplyDeleteHi Ian, nope no facility at all for cleats. Very old school!
DeleteDo you reckon the sole is thick enough to install Retrofizt?:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.retrofitz.com/purchase.html
Hi Ian, I'm pretty sure the retrofitz would fit ok looking at the other shoes they fit to. I guess you would have to perhaps specify a slightly more generous fit on the shoes to make sure that you could get an insole in there ok.
ReplyDeleteWhat colour are these, are they just the brown buffed up?
ReplyDelete