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Lake CX403 – High Performance, Comfort with Carbitex CX6

I’m definitely a shoe guy. Not a crazy shoe collector. though I do have some Jordans and other retros, but someone that appreciates a good shoe. That applies to cycling too. Multiple pairs of Giro Empires (two custom painted), a few Bonts, Adidas The Road and Gravel, Pearl Izumi Pro Road 5’s, and even a pair of limited edition Specialized S-Works ’72, just to name a few. That’s why I was excited to get a pair of Lake CX403’s in for testing, which gave me a chance to try my first pair and experience Carbitex CX6. They also became a canvas for an interesting custom project.

Lake Cycling was founded in 1982 in Evanston, IL, a northern Chicago suburb. As cycling grew in North America, they quickly made a name for themselves, especially from their winter boots, the MXZ303, a cycling shoe that was made to take on the cold Lake Michigan winters. They also found a niche in cyclocross with the MX 331, one of the top shoes in the category. Over the last 40 years, they have continued to stay focused on making the best-fitting, and highest-quality shoes on the market.

The Shoe

The CX 403 is one of Lake’s top-of-the-line road shoes. They classify it in their Fit Matrix as a Pro Tour – GC/Sprinter/TT shoe, and for good reason. Starting at the bottom, Lake uses their Custom Fit Carbon Sole with replaceable heel pads. Available in 3 or 4-hole configurations, it is a tub-style sole that is heat moldable to find the perfect fit. From there, they wrap your foot in Klite Kangaroo leather with a Carbitex CX6 carbon fiber support stabilizer in the mid-foot. The inside is lined with perforated kangaroo leather for a breathable, buttery soft fit. To secure your foot in place, they use two BOA IP1-S dials per shoe, allowing for two zones of tightening to find the right fit. Available in regular and wide width, they come in white and black (tested), black, Chameleon Green (light to dark green), and Chameleon Blue (blues and purples).

There is a lot of technology going on with the CX 403. We’ll talk about the sole a little later when we get into the fit, but the upper has some pretty cool things going on.

First, there is the Klite Kangaroo leather. When I hear Kangaroo leather, it takes me back to my Copa Mondials, World Cups, and Samba K’s back when I was in high school and college playing soccer. They were always known for being extremely soft, supple shoes that molded to your feet. The Klite Kangaroo leather is the same. Super supple right out of the box, it gives the shoes a very comfortable feel, yet still remains durable.

The second interesting feature is the Carbitex CX6 Carbon Fiber Support Stabilizer. You can see it in the carbon fiber panels around the arch between the two dials. These are not part of the sole and add noticeable functionality to the shoe. The CX6 material is thin, flexible carbon fiber textile. This material is added as a lightweight, supportive, no-stretch material, but is still flexible enough to mold to your foot and stay comfortable.

Find Your Fit

Someone wants a pair of CX403’s for himself.

As I mentioned before, this is my first pair of Lakes. Before I got them, I checked out Lake’s Fit Guide, which helped me measure both feet as accurately as possible to make sure I found the right pair and fit. This meant standing on a piece of paper and having my wife trace both feet to measure the length and width of both. Using the max dimensions for both length and width, I found that I’m actually a wide in Lakes CX/TX Race last.

By now, you are probably making the connection. The first two letters are the last, or the mold the shoe is built from, and the numbers are the models. If there is an X on the end, they are the wide versions.

Speaking of lasts, Lake has a few of them to help you find the shoe that will fit, no matter how funky your feet are. There are three main categories, and each have subcategories, but let’s make some sense of them.

MX – Mountain

  • Comfort – Comfort and control on the bike, and more of a sneaker feel off the bike, perfect for commuting or bikepacking.
  • Sport – A little more room in the toe box and a tighter heel than the comfort, but made for more aggressive riding and all-day wear.
  • Competition – Again, a little more room in the toe box and a tighter heel than the comfort, but also a little more overall volume than the Sport. These are going to be your racing and performance shoes that you are still able to run and hike in.
  • Race – a little less volume in the toe box and tighter heel than the Competition, and less volume than the Sport, these are going to be your racing shoes.

CX/TX – Road and Triathlon

  • Sport – A closer fit than the off-road lasts, with a fitted toe-box, high arch, and mid-width ball girth.
  • Competition – A more curved profile than the Sport, with increased toe pitch and heel lift, tighter heel, and slightly wider ball girth.
  • Race – Narrower toe box and tighter heel than the Competition, and less overall volume than the Sport, these are going to be your high-performance race shoes.

Winter – Cold temperatures

  • Winter – Much wider and taller toe box to allow for proper circulation with thicker socks.
  • Winter Extreme – The largest and tallest toe box offered by Lake to allow for proper circulation while wearing thick socks, but also maintains a cycling-specific heel, instep, and arch shape for proper support while riding and walking.

On The Road

So now that you know all about the shoes, what did I actually think of them? Well, they have replaced my Empires as my go-to road shoes. 

The soles are extremely stiff, similar to Bont’s that I have reviewed in the past. Even when pushing 1200-watt sprints, there was no flex whatsoever. In some cases, this can make for an uncomfortable shoe, but the CX403 is supportive with a comfortable insole and never felt harsh over rough roads. I did mold them to my feet, which was a straightforward process to do, and I was able to get the fit just right to manage the bunions I have on both feet.

The Klite uppers with Carbitex CX6 feel like they were just about custom-made for my feet. They are soft and lock my foot in without having to cinch down on the Boa dials. In fact, I’ve found that they just barely need a click or two after the slack has been taken up on the IP1-S dials. Between the Carbitex CX6 support band and a well-molded heel cup, my foot always felt locked down. It feels like it molds to my foot just as smoothly as the rest of the upper, but didn’t stretch, even when tugging hard on the pedals. About the only complaint I had was that I felt like I could have used just a touch more volume in the top of the toe box, and I’m talking just a touch. Keep in mind, I have Morton’s toe that pushes up a little, so if you have normal feet, you probably wouldn’t notice. 

A Happy Accident Custom

When requesting the color I wanted to review, I went with white with plans on painting them once the review was completed. I created a few customs in the past, but this time, I wanted to try a camo paint job using Angelus Acrylic Leather paints. Angelus paints are the choice of top customizers. They are durable and when applied correctly, won’t crack as the leather flexes. I started by brushing on the Angelus Leather Preparer and Deglazer to prep the leather and help the paint adhere better. Then I started brushing on the various colors to create the camo, but it wasn’t quite turning out how I had envisioned it.

I grabbed the Leather Preparer and Deglazer to try and start over, and as I was trying to strip the paint back down to the base leather, something cool happened. The worn finish created something pretty interesting, and I decided to embrace it. After finishing creating the worn look on both, I sealed them using Angelus Acrylic Finisher, and there you go.

Conclusions

The CX403 definitely fits the bill of a top-of-the-line cycling shoe. The full carbon tub sole, heat moldable, buttery soft upper, supportive Carbitex CX6, BOA IP1-S dials, it all combines to make a very luxurious and high-performance shoe that does its best justify the $549.99 price tag. Maybe not a Bugatti Veyron, but definitely an Aston Martin DBS. It might not be the lightest at 708g (size 44.5 wide before painting), but it’s like the Aston Martin grand tourer, it’s performance-focused while retaining luxury.

Available in sizes 39-50, with half sizes from 39.5-46.5, there are plenty of options for both regular and wide feet.

www.lakecycling.com

Tags: Angelus, BOA, Carbitex, carbon, Custom Fit Carbon, custom paint, CX403, CX6, cyclocross, Felt, Fit Matrix, heat moldable, IP1-S, Klite, Lake, Look, MX331, MXZ303, North America, off-road, Pearl Izumi, pro tour, Specialized, style, triathlon, tub-sole
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