Mark Adams If you’re looking for the perfect all-rounders, Northwave’s Spider Plus 2 MTB Shoes are the all-mountain shoes for you, offering high-quality grip and a highly practical, comfortable design, ideal for MTB riders and trekkers alike
Northwave’s Spider Plus 2 MTB Shoes come with a X-Crossbow Michelin sole that delivers superior grip from enlarged edges and self-cleaning tread blocks. This gives you great traction over uneven terrain.
For the ultimate in comfort the shoe comes with a Thermowelded Layer Construction that combines multiple layers without overlaps which produces excellent ventilation and reduces the weight of the shoe. Ensuring protection against abrasions and impacts the interior of the shoe’s construction is reinforced with thermowelding.
Delivering a stabilised fit the Spider Plus 2 MTB Shoes are developed with the SLW2 dial plus a Velcro over strap which can be fully released with the press of a single button. Additionally, soft fabric tape loops for the laces reduces pressure points.
Features:
- X-Crossbow Michellin sole with self-cleaning tread blocks and enlarged edges to provide excellent grip
- Thermowelded Layer Construction combines multiple layer without overlaps for excellent ventilation and reduced weight
- Soft fabric tape loops for the laces reduce pressure points
- Internal thermowelded reinforcements for added protection
- SLW2 dial plus a Velcro over-strap: the only one with step-by-step and full release in a single button
Northwave Spider 2 MTB Shoes Review:
So when Northwave asked me if I fancied trying out the Spider Plus 2 MTB Shoes here is what I said
[quote style=”boxed” float=”none”][b][size=3]So when Northwave asked me if I fancied trying out the Spider Plus 2 MTB Shoes here is what I said [/b][/size]
I’m not normally a cycling specialist as I have been riding road bikes for many years, but I will happily give these a review as I love new gear and this is one of the best (and most practical) MTB shoes I have ridden in.
I have always worn shoes for comfort and protection as I have small feet, but not the biggest calves. I have a narrow foot and wide forefoot. I rarely wear anything that is a specific MTB shoe and normally use normal shoes with the grips and breaking systems that work.
I have not spent nearly as much time on my MTB as I would like to this year, so I have been looking for a decent MTB specific shoe for a long time now.
The old gripe was always that I would not find something comfortable and hard core that had protection for my little feet.
I did try a pair of Northwaves a few years back, but thought they were very hard and uncomfortable which put me off them for a long time.
The Spider Plus 2 MTB Shoes are different, so what do you get?
1/ protection – these have a STUBBORN insole, so you may want to check that to start with, but after a half day’s ride I didn’t get tired feet and I liked how they bonded to my sock. You can upgrade the insole to a super thick one which is more like a walking shoe, and if you’re not a walker I wouldn’t bother.
2/ performance – these have a unique Michelin rubber sticky sole that just grips and in the wet they are super grippy even stopping me up to my mountain bike standards (I would have scored myself a massive ‘U’ in the event of a crash when wearing these).
3/ grip – the grip is crazy and also looks smart with a mostly grey tight fitting upper that looks like something you’d find on a road bike. They are not massive but give me the feeling of a solid and well structured design with no worry of the soles lifting when you point them downwards.
4/ comfort – I wore these across the UK in warm, wet and dry conditions and they were fantastic for comfort. The only ‘but’ would be that I would say, they are far from a light shoe in terms of weight. I could not really tell carrying them, but it wasn’t the most comfortable characteristic about the shoe for me. They felt like a bit of a heavy clunker, but I’m sure that is just the extra comfort they bring.
5/ protection – I felt protected on descents with these, and I am not into descents at the moment as I do not like being comfortable in them, but these give me confidence that I am protected on those hard edge hits in the mud and gravel.
6/ grip – these are solid on the ground and you can definitely feel the quality in the design.
7/ lacing – I find that my laces get all frayed up and worn out over a 6-8 week period when I ride, but these do not seem to have this problem at the moment (although I might have been lucky when I applied tongue and lace protection to these).
8/ style and comfort – these come up with a cool grey with yellow laces design, and I love it. They don’t look “snake bitten” and they are not bright colours, even though they have some orange accents to show they are MTB shoes.
9/ effectiveness – these also have a bit of a hard edge in the heels, and I felt very confident that they were not going to let me down in terms of performance, and I felt like a proper MTB guru.
10/ longevity – I don’t know if these will last as they are so new, and I have only used them on wet ground so far.
Inside the Northwave Spider Plus 2 MTB Shoes
If you have small feet the Spider Plus 2 should work, unless you want to walk home, or have particularly wide feet (as is my case, so I have had to get the Velcro strap width extended).
The shoe will only be available until the end of August, and you can find out more from the Northwave website.
