Founded in 2006 by Diederik Hol, Cádomotus began as a company focused on speed and inline skates. hol developed a special “clap” skate design while studying industrial design at the Delft Technical University in the Netherlands during the 90s, and he used that knowledge to develop his own brand of skates a little over a decade later.
Hol had long been an avid cyclist,so it wasn’t much of a stretch for him to branch out into cycling and triathlon – especially as global warming has decimated the outdoor skating world in the Netherlands. (Outdoor skating marathons, once incredibly popular in the Netherlands, have mostly moved indoors or to other countries.) By 2020 Cádomotus had its first cycling shoes on the market, and the company has been pushing hard over the last few years to make inroads into the triathlon market, with large booths at various IRONMAN and other major triathlon expos.
Photo: Cádomotus
Developing fast cycling shoes was an easy next-step for a company that specialized in high-end skates. Speed skates, like cycling shoes, need to be stiff enough to be able to transfer huge amounts of power – in one instance to a blade, in the other to the pedals. The other thing that Hol was bringing to the party was aerodynamic no how. We all know how much speed skaters care about aerodynamic performance – they were decked out in aerodynamic suits long before Greg lemond won the Tour de France on a set of Boone Lennon’s Scott DH aerobars.
It’s not hard to see the speed skating roots of the Cádomotus triathlon cycling shoes. The unique design features a wraparound upper with a Boa closure system that allows you to literally dial in the perfect fit. Once you’ve done that, you zipper up the top flap to streamline the whole shoe. Cádomotus claims that the aerodynamic design of the flagship Aero model can save up to 1I met with Hol at one of those expos at Challenge Roth last summer,where he introduced me to his innovative shoes and sent me off with a pair to review. I had hoped to try out the flagship Chronos Aero shoe,but the sizing they had available didn’t quite match my foot,so Hol sent me off with the Chronos 4E. While the Aero features a heat-moldable carbon shell that wraps around your foot, the 4E has a more customary carbon sole.
In the end I was really happy Hol sent me off with the 4E – I think it made more sense for me to review this model. The 4E is highly likely to be a much more popular Cádomotus model for most triathletes,retailing for 274 euros versus the 471 Euros you will have to dish out for the Aero model,all while providing excellent comfort,support and performance. (I do still want to try the Chronos Bianco model with its Wahoo/ Speedplay direct mount, but that will have to wait!) While the Aero’s wrap-around carbon sole is said to provide decent power transfer even without being fastened (due to that snug-fitting heat-moldable carbon shell), reports are that they’re not as ventilated, which, as you’ll read below, was vital for me based on where I was planning to test the shoes.
## Comfort
While it’s tempting to begin with the aero benefits of the Cádomotus shoes first (they kind of look like aero booties, right?), I can’t help but start with the sheer comfort. The shoe somehow manages to provide excellent support without feeling notably snug. I kept feeling like my foot should be moving around and wondering when I’d notice some loss of power as I pulled up and through the pedal stroke, especially while climbing, and it just never happened. I have really narrow feet, so I was really surprised that even though my foot never felt compressed, the shoe really did feel like it was wrapped around my foot, providing excellent support.
*Photo: Cádomotus*
The carbon sole is certainly extremely stiff, so you can push down on the pedals with confidence knowing that your effort is sending all the energy into moving you forward.
## Ventilation
I felt certain that the shoes would end up feeling hot (remember that bootie comment?), and was prepared for that as I took them out for some hot summer rides here in Canada and even over to Kona for the IRONMAN World Championship. somehow that just never happened.There’s excellent ventilation through a coup