News & Reviews
twmp Superstretch Overshoe Review
"Such a simple product should present no problems for the experienced rider/reviewer; unzip at the heel and pull them over the day's road shoes. except that, in this case, there is no zip. in fact, other than two holes in the reinforced sole and a rubber edge hole for the ankle, there seemed to be no way to get the reflective equipe logo'd overshoes onto a pair of shoed feet. of course, the clue is in the name: superstretch thermal overshoes.
Putting the ankle opening over the toe of the shoe (in this case, a pair of dromarti sportivo leather; more on those later), and simply wrestling with the stretchy neoprene, eventually results in an impressively close-fitting shoe/overshoe interface. it's worth pointing out at this stage that subsequent fittings have been a lot easier than the first, and assisted by a cleverly sited pull-tab on each heel.
Like most neoprene overshoes, these are water-resistant but definitely not waterproof. to qualify this, if used in the manner of my initial outing on the cyclocross bike, stepping in muddy puddles is wont to let water in through the cleat slot. however, simply riding in the rain for several hours failed to even allow water through the rubber ankle seam. they are, however, very cosy. it's hard to decide whether the industrial strength stitching down the centre, round the sole openings and the ankle top, as well as joining the neoprene to the reinforced sole is to provide an impressive level of robustness for regular use, or to stop the fitting wrangle separating everything into its component parts. it will be interesting to see how these survive through repeatedly being taken on and off. at this point, build quality is impressive, and i can see why this method of operation was chosen (a very close fit), but i can't help thinking that a rear zip fastening would have been a touch easier.
Throwing them in the washingmachine after two days of gathering road grit and agricultural output made them bright, sparkly and just like new. a quizzical, perhaps confusing addition to endura's equipe range, but a very welcome one at this time of year. endura have visibly raised their standards over the last year or so and with the equipe range, are now the equal of anything the rest of the world can offer."
17/01/2011