I have no idea at this point what they will cost to make. My goal is to be able to sell them for $250-$300. Hopefully I can make that happen.

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Ed O'Malley
www.VeloVetta.com
Founder of VeloVetta Cycling Shoes
Instagram • Facebook

I'll let you in on an interesting nugget: Bont makes most of their shoes to order (if you order from their website). They say "in stock" on their website but the soonest you'll ever get a pair of shoes from them is three weeks (I've bought three pairs from them now with delivery times between three and five weeks).

So the rounded part of the sole is not meant to be used for training, walked in, or to put your foot down while waiting at a stop light? That portion is expected to be easily removed for training purposes, and only put on during races? If so, how is the rounded part of the sole attached to the shoe? Clips? Screws? I suppose they'll need to be tested for security when going over pot holes and such.

I like the idea though, very clever. Not sure I buy the 10 watt savings at 22.4 mph over normal shoe, but we'll see. Even if it's 5 watts at 30 mph, that's still very significant. Best of luck on this going forward.

That removable part of the sole will be plenty strong to walk in and I plan for there to be a little rubber strip on the back to provide some grip. I have not decided out it will attach/detach yet but it will be very sturdy. A few screws, probably. You can train with it or without it as you choose. I actually think it is easier to talk in than a normal shoe because you are not pointing your toes to the sky.

Thanks!

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Ed O'Malley
www.VeloVetta.com
Founder of VeloVetta Cycling Shoes
Instagram • Facebook

That's interesting about Bont. While working on this project and learning how shoes are made, I have postulated that the reason Bonts are constructed in the unusual way they are is partially that they do not want to spend the money on heel and toe lasting machines and they want to have their own manufacturing facility.

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Ed O'Malley
www.VeloVetta.com
Founder of VeloVetta Cycling Shoes
Instagram • Facebook

Ditto #3. I am all in for easier to get into and more aero. I just need a wide toe box.

These look great. Any Aero gains are great but the idea of the shoe staying somewhat open, allowing my foot to get into the shoe is great.

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Coach at TriForce Triathlon Team: https://www.triforceteam.com

I assume you know that aerodynamically-designed cycling shoes have been around since at least 1984 (Puma/Cavanagh/Kyle collaboration), and have been proven to provide significant benefits?

I'm thinking of your possible patent claim... surely Cavanagh and/or Lamson in 1996 filed something? Even if they did, perhaps the closure system is still patentable?

We reviewed lots of aerodynamic cycling shoe patents before embarking on the patents for this design.

edit: Also, as far as I can tell there are no patents on those project 96 shoes, but they would not be a concern for me even if there were. Their existence also does not affect our applications.

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Ed O'Malley
www.VeloVetta.com
Founder of VeloVetta Cycling Shoes
Instagram • Facebook

I’m in!

At which "angles of attack" have you done simulations and to what degree does this vary the amount of Watts that can be saved? Since pedaling style may very from pointing the toe quite a bit to keeping it near horizontal for some people. Not doubting your simulations, just curious on how much this has an impact and if you have some simulations on this :) Very nice design and certainly salable at that price point!

Congrats, very nice work! Really like the idea.

I assume these are static RANS simulations? What turbulence model are you using?

I thought about the same thing - the angle of you simulations look like some peoples highest point, while others will be parallel to the floor, and the angle of the feet (and with it the angle of the air coming at it) varies quite a lot. I guess you have taken yourself and your pedaling style as "model"? Have you tried others?

Those really look promising, congrats,
Not sure if it has already been sugested but for those that like to train in race shoes, make a sort of protection for the sole that is removable.

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S�rgio Marques
When it hurts is when it feels good ;-)
Sergio-Marques.com

Hi Ed,

This is awesome work - I wish you the very best pushing the project through to the market. Although I`m not an aerodynamics expert by any means, I am really interested in the factors that you found to affect shoe drag the most through CFD. It looks like the rounded heel delays separation and reduces turbulence behind the shoe. Does the bulge under the sole have the same effect? Did you consider adding any texture to the shoe surface - something similar to the golfball surface on the aero speedplays?

Niall

~250-300$? A narrow-looking heel with a wide-looking front? Aero? Easy entry and closure? Count me in!

...but I'm just here for the CFD porn (currently running my thesis simulations)

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ZONE3 - We Last Longer

x2!

You won't get 10 watts out of these. You might get half that against a super bulky shoe with lots of big buckles, but against the likes of laced shoes like the DMT Pistas, Spec Sub 6, and Empires, they'll likely be about even. Bont Cronos tend to be 1-3w faster than even those options, no I don't see this tri shoe being able to beat it in real world testing.
Also worth keeping in mind that shoes are incredibly personal, so having the fastest shoes on the market doesn't mean much when only a handful can tolerate it for a 70.3.

Yeah, it's the k-omega SST model.

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Ed O'Malley
www.VeloVetta.com
Founder of VeloVetta Cycling Shoes
Instagram • Facebook

Results will vary for people based primarily on how toe-down their pedaling style is.

These results are for someone with a pretty normal toe-down position - being flat at the bottom and fairly toe-down at the top.

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Ed O'Malley
www.VeloVetta.com
Founder of VeloVetta Cycling Shoes
Instagram • Facebook

The rounded heel allows for the air to fill in the space just vacated by the foot in a more gradual manner, allowing for less turbulence, higher pressure behind the shoe/leg and faster air speed.

The rounded portion under the sole primarily serves to do the same thing with the heel is in the toe-down position, but it also fills in the space behind the pedal/cleat when the foot is completely level.

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Ed O'Malley
www.VeloVetta.com
Founder of VeloVetta Cycling Shoes
Instagram • Facebook

Hah - thanks for the confidence! The Bont Cronos get their design wrong in a few important respects for aerodynamics. I expect these will be significantly faster.

Your last statement is quite right though. Shoe width plays a HUGE role in aerodynamics of the shoe. If this is really just a triathlon shoe, it may be difficult to get the volume high enough to make lots of different widths.

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Ed O'Malley
www.VeloVetta.com
Founder of VeloVetta Cycling Shoes
Instagram • Facebook

Glad you like it!

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Ed O'Malley
www.VeloVetta.com
Founder of VeloVetta Cycling Shoes
Instagram • Facebook

Looking great sorry I couldn’t make it up a couple months ago. Being a dad is pretty busy who knew? Haha