CHPT3 Transit 2.0: Urban Cycling Shoes That Work

Today CHPT3 has a new urban cycling option called the CHPT3 Transit 2.0. This isn’t the first urban cycling shoes to hit the market. It’s not even close.

This time though, CHPT3 is trying to correct for past sins of the industry. Currently the major options include Chrome Industries and Adidas. Both attempt to thread the needle that is cycling while clipped in but still remaining walkable and stylish.

Despite that attempt, the reality in the past was that a jack of all trades is not a specialist at any. Other urban cycling shoes are stiff and difficult to wear for long periods of time. The usage leaned towards on the bike with only minimal usability off the bike. Often a better solution was a urban cycling shoes like the CrankBrothers Stamp Street Fabio. In other words, give up clipping in. The CHPT3 Transit 2.0 changes the conversation.

CHPT3 Transit 2.0 — No beauty shots here. I’ve been putting these to the test! (Photo Josh Ross/Velo)

The two sides of CHPT3

One one side of the equation there’s ex-pro David Millar. He obviously understands what it is to ride hard but he’s also moved on. CHPT3 looks for that balance in everything with Millar saying “my hope had been to tap into and share the experience and ethos I’d gained from a life in the professional peloton to a cycling life beyond racing.” More recently he’s embraced life in Girona Spain and riding a Brompton everywhere. He’s also started to find a bit of passion again as gravel cycling has exploded in popularity around him.

The other side is co-founder James Carnes. Carnes is a co-founder of CHPT3 as well as “former Global Creative Director at Adidas.” Carnes comes from an art education but he’s honed it towards sustainability and functionality over the course of his professional career. He understands both the need for a urban cycling shoes to look good and the need for a shoe to function.

CHPT3 Transit 2.0 details

This isn’t a full review. I only have a brief window of experience with the CHPT3 Transit 2.0 but they’ve impressed me so far. The first time I wore them I covered 15,000 steps in them during a day at the recent MADE show. I had no blisters and managed to cover a 100 miles on my bike a day later. I’d call that a success but Millar also talked to me a little bit about the 3-year journey to get to that result.

The top of the shoe is a shoe. Millar refers to it as a “premium fashion trainer” and says “you can wear them in the city without looking like a commuter.” Construction is leather and suede and there’s a lot of padding. The ankle padding in particular is thick and cushy plus there’s a synthetic cork insole. The tongue is, again, heavily padded but it’s also got a mesh upper for breathability. The only cycling specific detail is a bit of reflectivity at the rear.

What really makes the CHPT3 Transit 2.0 unique is the lower portion of the shoe. The midsole is a thick chunk of EVA foam. According to Millar that’s unique in this niche of fashion/cycling shoe and it creates space for an SPD or Crankbrothers cleat to sink into the base of the shoe.

the EVA and the floor or a pedal

The other thing it does is isolate flex in the upper shoe from the lower portion. When off the bike, there’s give at the upper portion that your foot interacts with. At the base of the shoe there’s a molded rubber outsole that limits the give between the EVA and the floor or a pedal. That outsole also helps keep you connected to the pedal if you prefer to use the cleat cover and ride flat pedals. I won’t lie and I’ll also tell you that since I’m 5’9” and my wife is 6’ the added height works for me also.

For those that do decide to ride clipped in, there is still a plate buried in the foam as well. What sets that piece apart from Adidas and Chrome Industries is that CHPT3 uses “a smaller plate so there’s not the full length rigidity that all other urban shoes have.”