Northwave (Italy) - The innovative PowerShape arch support meets a revamped and updated XFrame 2® technology: cycling road shoes have a new benchmark for performance.

What makes the difference between winning and losing? Where does the decisive watt come from? While the actual answers to such questions might prove elusive, there’s no discussion that in competitive contexts like today’s cycling at any level, innovative (and effective) technical solution can actually make a big difference, even on the short run.

The drive for performance and desire to innovate has characterized Northwave’s approach to high-end cycling shoes for 25 years, in both offroad and road branches. Two years after raising the bar in terms of fit and overall effectiveness on road shoes with Extreme RR and the introduction of the patented XFrame® system, Northwave takes another significant step forward with Extreme Pro, the new top-end road shoes of the 2019 collection, bringing in the best of its breakthrough technological solutions on its highest-performing shoes ever.

Xframe2: the perfect fit. Perfected:

The Extreme Pro upper is designed with the new XFrame 2® concept, the evolution of the famous XFrame® system that succeeded in eliminating pressure points on the upper while providing the snuggest and most even fit.

The most demanding riders challenged Northwave to take it to the next level: make the fit even more customizable. To comply with that, Northwave implemented a double SLW2 dial, to allow riders to tighten the fit around the instep and forefoot to different degrees for custom-fit adjustability and even finer adaptability.

A new-generation microfibre even softer and more adaptable but without the stretch, means a guaranteed snug fit, greater stability and a perfect connection between the sole and closure.

XFrame 2® retains all the same cool features that put the first-generation XFrame® in a class of its own, like plastic inserts replaced with soft tapes, and the soft, flexible Dyneema cable that naturally conforms to the shape of each foot. That means: perfect fit for any kind of foot and ideal power transmission – further enhanced by another innovation making its debut on Extreme Pro.

Powershape carbon 15 outsole: Unleash your potential:

What lies beneath: after two years studying pro riders, and dozens of prototypes created to find the perfect shape and thicknesses to adapt to all feet, Northwave is proud to introduce Powershape® Carbon 15, its newest top-performing outsole featuring the exclusive Powershape® arch support.

100% made in unidirectional carbon – the stiffest on the market – with a stiffness index of 15 (the highest in the Northwave’s scale) Powershape® Carbon 15 shows a tubular-inspired design for maximum possible stiffness, not to surrender a single, valuable watt.

There is more to power transfer, though: the Powershape® arch support’s patented shape has been developed to maximize the efficiency of your pedal stroke. The arch support is meant to avoid hard pressure on the sole during the downstroke, in order to make the pedalling smoother and – above all – more effective: the foot – and the push – goes exactly where it needs to be, without collapsing all over the sole. This means ideal power transfer – of course – but also no waste of energy.

Powershape® Carbon 15 is also Speedplay compatible, thanks to Northwave’s patented Speedplay adaptor, to reach the shortest possible distance between foot and pedal.

Everything for power:

Making a performance shoe is actually a matter of mixing and synchronizing elements and technologies to work together and maximize their differential. Extreme Pro makes no difference.

While the upper/outsole system has been designed to provide the ideal mix of fit and performance, Northwave’s integrated heel system – containing directional fiber – makes sure the heel does not sleep away, hence maximizing the benefits of XFrame 2® and Powershape®.

Even the Pro Regular Fit footbed was conceived with power transfer in mind, with its stiffened dual-density design being set to provide the ideal reactivity on pedals.

Northwave Extreme Pro also features a WMN version, with Woman-dedicated fit and shape.