Thanks for tuning in today we're going to be reviewing the DMT KR0 road cycling shoes.
DMT was one of the first brands to embrace knitted footwear and offer the first fully knitted upper
cycling shoes. This review will be looking at their latest offering the KR0 which dmt says represents
the pinnacle of performance and knit footwear. The KR0 combines DMT's expertise, the latest generation
of BOA dials and carbon outsole. Packaging wise you can see it's their iconic orange color a big
shoe box. DMT logos on the exterior we have the red version here so you can see it's coral and black
and then that's pretty much it on the exterior. So we'll go ahead and take
it out of the box and go over the specs. Retail price on this is $489.99
so one of the most expensive shoes in the current DMT lineup. You can see a really bright color
has a full knit 3d upper construction that DMT is known for. It has dual Li2 BOA dials, these are the
latest generations so sleeker lower profile with the dual direction tightning and loosening.
It has integrated webbing inside the actual structure so very aerodynamic
and sleek construction and an anatomical carbon sl outsole for the latest generation and is designed
to minimize weight and optimize ventilation to provide a very stiff sole. It has eight millimeter
rear and aft adjustment as well with the cleats and these are the standard three bolts cleat setup.
In terms of what comes in the box you can see not too much you get obviously the shoes
you get the dmt traveling bag and again in the bright orange color so it really looks good.
You get a face mask i'm not sure how long they'll continue off for this but free of charge and
considering the current pandemic not a bad thing to have.
You have a little cleaning instructions here and this nice plastic holder.
The mask instruction which is kind of interesting
and then a little informational card as well. Also inside the shoe you will find the little
Look Keo memory Eyelet bolt which is a nice thing to have. There are two of them in here
and we have a separate video on this but this is what the center slot is for and that makes
swapping cleats a lot easier. Now lets take a look at the weight of the shoes. These are the euro 43 size
so the right shoe comes in at 226 so pretty lightweight and then the other one slightly
different at 228 so pretty competitive especially compared to other higher end cycling shoes.
Now let's go over the fit and finish of the DMT KR0 shoes. Even though knitted shoes have
become a lot more popular these days DMT is still one of the best in the business with
over 10 years of experience and their full upper knit construction really sets these shoes apart.
These are available in quite a few colors we have the really bright coral version here or red
they also have white, gray and black if you want something that'll blend in more but if you're gonna
pay so much for shoes i always recommend getting the brightest one just because it really stands
out. Again these shoes really stand out because of that knitted upper construction. You can see
it's almost like a water shoe where it just simply folds away almost like a lycra so this is a their
patented knitted upper. You can see multiple panels here different directions of the weave
and it's really optimized for stiffness and elasticity. You don't want something too floppy
you want something that'll really hold your feet in place while still letting you expand in the
correct directions. Lots of perforations here too you can see a lot of air holes in the front
beautiful texture that's the best part about knit shoe. They have this beautiful texture
to them that you really can't match with leather or other upper treatments.
You have multiple coatings here too so it's kind of a weatherproof wrap around here that
provides a little more structure to it and you can see that around the dials as well. Their webbing is
actually fully visible here so inside they have a little bit of more structure that kind of wraps
down and around and that keeps your feet in place as you tighten down the dials so you can see add
those as those tighten it'll pull the center part in which is a little bit more elastic. You have dual
dial setup and this is really critical for higher-end shoes you really want the dual zone so
you can adjust the fit on the ankle portion and then the toe box separately from each other so
when you're doing a long ride you can let out the toe box or tighten the ankle depending on your fit.
On the middle you don't have a traditional cut out either so it's a one piece upper just wraps around
and you have that little different fabric here so you can see very stiff while other portions
are a little bit more elastic. They have optimized the elastic zones where you need them
and then place stiffer areas where they're structurally needed. DMT branding on the side
and it's kind of raised as well so it almost looks like a raised plastic or rubber DMT on the back
and that's pretty iconic with all their shoes so it really stands out, then KR0 printed on here.
The outsole here is fully carbon and doesn't have a sexy carbon fiber weave instead it has
this gloss black one that's a lot more structural. They don't actually tell you the stiffness index
but being the kr0s these are very stiff and you can see they've really optimized the weight on
these so a lot of cutouts here for airflow. You have the heel and toe pad and that'll prevent the
main portion from getting damaged. Not too much of a pronounced arch but you can do you can see it
extends quite a bit further up on the edge that's a nice thing about again about higher end shoes
they wrap around instead of just having a flat carbon bottom and that keeps your feet in place.
The rear heel pad is replaceable there's a little bolt on the inside so if we pull this out
you can see there's a bolt right there that you can loosen and swap it out.
It has eight millimeters of adjustment foward and aft for Look Keo or SPD Sl
cleats. You have the look memory eyelet which is another nice feature
so that's what that additional bolt is for and i'll link the video to that again
and i'll let you keep the cleat position when you're swapping them in and out.
The insoles here pretty basic just foam piece you can see it's ventilated too and that
takes advantage of the ventilation holes on the inside if you can see them down near the front.
Also on the inside of the shoe you'll notice this little rubber material that's attached to
it and that keeps your feet in place and has a little more cushion to keep you comfortable.
You can see put it on the shoes a little bit harder you have this little raised portion
and then there's no cut out here so to put them on you really have to pull back and this is very thin
elastic material. That's a nice thing a lot of the other shoes they hurt at the ankle attachment
because they're too thick with this I don't see any problem it's almost like a sock instead.
Now let's take a look at the KR0 shoes out on the road. As you can see here the coral red color
is almost blinding in person it also looks this bright so it almost hurts to look at in the sun.
You can see a very distinctive exterior with a knitted construction
and nice vents on the bottom. The dual boa dials are very easy to adjust and with that thinner Li2
design they're sleeker and still work with gloves and you get that micro adjustment both directions.
You can see here there's a lot of flexibility with that knitted upper construction
unlike the shoes which we previously reviewed which are almost too soft
this one has a great combination of stiffness and flexibility so you don't really feel like
you're moving around in the shoe and don't feel like you're locked in place.
Here you can see them on the road during a descent with our Specialized Tarmac and they're great on
the road. So very stiff in the carbon fiber sole and even with all that ventilation inside it
there's no flex to it and then knitted upper construction really gives you that custom fit.
It doesn't feel quite as good as say the Bont Cycling Vapor S which actually have carbon molding
but it's very close to that and with a sock-like fit really conforms around you. We do recommend
sizing down though so we have the EUR 43 even though we typically wear EUR 44
for Shimano, Bont Cycling and other brands so do be aware of the sizing guide.
Now let's compare the KR0 with some other shoes on the market. We actually have another DMT shoe
here the KR3. As the name implies the lower end on their product line so more affordable at
the more affordable price point. You get a single dial setup instead of the dual direction boa dials.
It has a knitted upper and they're both quite soft but with the KR3 you can see
it's more of a single piece and it's a lot more flexible in all directions
and that was one downside to the shoe. It almost felt like your foot could move around too much
while the KR0 has this structural webbing so you can see still soft
but has a little bit more structure to it so you can only really expand in certain directions
so that should translate to better ride feel. The outsoles are similar but you can see the
KR0 has the higher end carbon fiber one while this one has a glossy carbon fiber version.
This one has a lot more air ventilation too with the KR0. So you can see front middle back that
reduces the weight and helps with stiffness as well. At the high end of the market there's also a
lot to choose from. The Bont Vapors are one of our favorite shoes on the market and you can see a lot
stiffer and as with any Bont shoe you can see the profile is pretty different it's a lot wider.
This is the wide version as well so it's a little bit more exaggerated but you can compare the
profiles. The Bont Cycling are less attractive because they're just wider all the way through and they
really match your actual foot profile and you can see how it widens up and around.
So different shoe but something that's very comfortable and cost very similar but not quite as
lightweight or pretty as the DMT. They also have a new version with the Li2 dials i will be reviewing
soon but very similar otherwise. The other top shoe on the market are the Shimano S-PHYRE you can
see this is the beautiful Shimano blue color so almost an iridescent finish it really looks great.
You can see putting side by side the Shimano goes with more of a wrap around upper construction
instead of a knitted construction. So you can see it's a two-piece design where this wraps around
and comes around here and as you tighten it. You can see it really hugs your foot while the DMT is
more of a one-piece sock-like fit that stretches around your foot. It's a little bit different there,
the Shimano is also more of a modular design a single piece than a modular design you can see the
dmt has a sole and upper attached to it with the Shimano it's not as obvious where that distinction
is the sole is really blended into the exterior so it makes it more of a one-piece construction
for a more optimal fit. You have the dual BOA dials and you can see similar profiles. They both
have fairly wide toe boxes as well so you're not really scrunched in there a little more
pronounced arched on the Shimano so i'd recommend definitely trying them both. They both have the
ventilation on the bottom as well and you can see vents on the front with the rubber pads.
Now let's go over the scorecard for the DMT KR0 shoes. We're going to grade on four
different categories: design, closures, comfort and value. For design we'd give it an A, it has a
very distinct knitted exterior that looks really premium and has a one piece design.
Closures would also give it an A, the dual BOA Li2 dials are the best dials you can currently get and
with the dual zones you can really adjust the fit. For comfort also an A this is a sock like fit
very thin knitted upper that has nice structure. That keeps you in place yet it's still flexible.
For value we'd give it an A- at almost 500 it's very expensive but if you really want
that 110% shoe the extra performance feel and look it's kind of hard to beat a knitted shoe like this.
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