Q&A: Ryan Reviews Q36.5 Road Shoes + Exclusive Demo Opportunity

Read. Ride. Decide. 

That’s our challenge to you, Journal readers. Allow us to explain. 

This past spring, we welcomed Q36.5 to the Contender lineup. Based in Italy and known for its ultra premium apparel, accessory and shoe offerings, Q36.5 represents the highest fusion of both form and function in today’s cycling market, with innovative, science-backed technology and fabrics, and classic, timeless design. 

Shortly after introducing Q36.5, we put the brand’s jerseys and bibs through the ringer with this ride review, including detailed analysis from three different folks here at the shop.

With that same spirit and rigor, Contender owner Ryan Littlefield is now weighing in on Q36.5's Unique Pro Road Shoes, via this Q&A style ride review (below). Based on a variety of rides over the past several weeks, Ryan shares his take on what makes these shoes so special and whether they live up to the brand’s lofty claims. 

Even better?

You don’t have to just take Ryan’s word on these shoes. You can demo them yourself. 

Starting today (Thursday, 10/23), Contender is offering a super exclusive, limited time opportunity to test out Q36.5 shoes for yourself. 

Simply come into Contender Bicycles, put down a deposit on your credit card, and the shoes are yours to test for up to three weeks. We’ll have a full run of sizes, for both the Unique Pro Road Shoes, along with the newly released Q36.5 Gregarius Adventure Shoes, which are hitting the market today. 

So there you have it:

✔ Read (this blog)

✔ Ride (Q36.5 shoes via our exclusive demo opportunity)

✔ Decide (for yourself if Q36.5 shoes are right for you)

Q&A: Ryan Reviews Q36.5 Unique Pro Road Shoes

Q: Ryan, before we get into your take on these shoes, can you set the stage on what kind of road shoes have historically worked best for you? Is there a brand or shoe style that you tend to prefer? 

• A: In my past life as a racer and now as a bike shop owner, I have probably tried over a hundred pairs of shoes. By saying “tried,” I mean ridden in them for at least a few weeks. More recently, I have preferred shoes that are normal to slightly higher volume and that have rotational closure mechanisms, like BOA.  Shoes with pointed toe boxes have not worked for me. 

Q: Going a click further into your context, how did you test the Q36.5 Unique Pro Road Shoes? And specifically, what were you looking for in your test rides? 

• A: Honestly, I had not planned to give these shoes a test, but felt compelled by Q36.5 doing some really interesting things from an innovation and fit perspective. The look is also great, and they feature two of the highest end BOA closure mechanisms. I ultimately tested these shoes on 5-6 road rides in and around Salt Lake City, on both out n’ back hill climbs (Emigration Canyon), along with rolling to flat routes along the east bench.
  

Q: First impressions once you started riding in them?

• A: What struck me the most was when I simply put one of the shoes on my foot, as the comfort of the shoe on my foot was instantaneous. After I cleated up and started to ride in them, they did all the things that other high-end cycling shoes do. They’re stiff, light and have great power transfer, but with a TON more comfort than any shoe I’ve previously ridden.  

Q: Per Q36.5, a key feature of the Unique Pro Road Shoes is a patent-pending carbon layup on the sole, and a super low stack height (4.4mm). With these features in mind, what did you find in terms of stiffness, efficiency, and power transfer? And how does Q36.5 balance these features with overall comfort? 

• A: The sole is very interesting. Historically, I have not been one to say you need the stiffest sole on the planet. Low stack height on the other hand has been on my radar since Time pedals came out in the late 80s. How I really noticed the low stack height was in the need to lower my seat. If your position is lower, you’re sitting a bit more “in the bike” rather than “up on top of it." While a handful of millimeters seems trivial, I do feel like there is a difference. I noticed this a bit when I had to go the other direction when I recently moved to shorter cranks. The shoes offer tremendous stiffness and efficiency, things that I honestly do not necessarily seek out. The sole also has the sensation of being more of a “cup” or a “basin” for your foot to fit in rather than a “plank” for your foot to sit on top of. I was a little unsure if I should try the shoe with or without my orthotics. I decided to ride with them, as they fit in the shoe without any modifications and it seemed to work really well.  

Q: Another unique aspect of these shoes is the ventilation, which is made possible by the brand’s use of a mesh panel in lieu of a traditional tongue. How did this play out for you? 

• A: As far as comfort goes, the mesh, sock-type tongue is one of the very best features of these shoes. That said, I haven’t really ridden these shoes in the heat, with it being shoulder season here in Utah. Conversely, I have ridden with them as the temperatures start to drop and that’s also a place where I can see they have pretty awesome ventilation, as my feet were surprisingly a little cold. 

Q: As is the case with any shoe, fit is king. Between the super stiff sole, the mesh panel, and the BOA dials, how did you find the overall fit? 

• A: I can’t stress this enough, the fit of the Unique Pro Road shoes is what sets these shoes aside.  My feet are slightly higher volume and they work super well for me. They’re not a Sidi Mega (super wide) type high volume shoe, but they definitely work better for me than the normal width of a Sidi, S-Phyre or S-works shoe. For Contender customers who take part in our demo of these shoes [see above for demo details!], I’m really curious to see what others think who maybe are more in the normal to slightly narrow range.

Q: Q36.5 is known for its design and aesthetics. Obviously a subjective topic, but how do you like the look of these shoes? 

• A:  Like many cyclists these days, I have fallen for the trend of white road shoes.  I especially like the clean aesthetics and silver BOA dials and laces, and I also like that they do not have a huge logo on them. 

Q: Big picture, what kind of cyclist is right for these shoes? Who would benefit the most from what Q36.5 is bringing to the table? 

• A: 100 percent, these shoes have all the marginal gain features like low stack and stiff soles and the highest-end alloy BOAs.  To me, the fit is the key feature, and I’m confident the shoes will shine on longer days in the saddle, as they are incredibly comfortable. For hot summer days, I’m also confident the ventilation will play a role there too!

Q: For customers who might take the plunge on our Q36.5 shoe demo, any advice or tips on what to watch for as they ride? 

• A: For me, it was important to spend some time getting the cleats dialed and trying to "translate" the cleat placement from my current shoes to these. If the rider is going to take the cleats off their other shoes, make sure to trace them with a Sharpie, so you can get them right back to where they are. It took me a couple of rides to get this right. Plus, another ride or two to figure out I needed to lower my seat 3 or 4mm.  The comfort of the shoe definitely encouraged me to deal with these set up issues. I've also found that tightening the BOA after a few minutes of spinning out of my neighborhood has worked well at getting my foot really “settled" into the shoes.