Mavic’s Comete Ultimate 2 shoes updated with improved fit. Still cost a ruddy fortune

Three years after Mavic launched the original Comete Ultimate shoes, a full carbon design with a mahoosive price tag, it has unveiled the Comete Ultimate 2 with an improved fit thanks to half sizes, and a slightly more affordable price: £630.

Back in 2017, the Comete Ultimate shoes caused a huge stir on the internet due to the staggering £900 that Mavic was asking for them. They did impress though; in my review I said they offered “unrivalled performance for racing” but pointed to the limited size range as a downside. The company has also used feedback from Romain Bardet to improve the design.

- Review: Mavic Comete Ultimate shoes

The second-generation Comete Ultimate aim to offer a more comfortable fit thanks to a raft of small refinements, shed a bit of weight whilst maintaining the same low stack and high stiffness as the originals.

The underlying technology is largely unchanged. That means the same full carbon fibre outer shell with big cutouts for ventilation, housing a removable one-piece bootie. The carbon fibre shell offers extraordinary stiffness, better than any other shoe I’ve ever tested.

Fit has been a focus of the redesign. A big drawback of the previous shoe was that one shoe was intended to cover two foot sizes with a change of inner bootie, which worked for some people but not others. Compared to the custom fit you might expect given the price it seemed an odd move.

The new shoes address that issue, with one carbon shell now covering one size only with half sizes offered, from 6.5 up to 12. 

Other changes include a new bootie which uses a softer fabric which is strategically placed for a fit that better adapts to the foot. There are updated softer straps using patented Matryx technology which apparently uses carbon yarns and offers better support and breathability.

There are still two rotary dials which now offer a Smart Release function for quicker shoe remove. Low weight has been a key appeal of these shoes, and the claimed 220g for half a size 8.5 is impressive.

The new shoes cost £630, so a fair bit cheaper than the old shoes but still very expensive compared to most of the popular high-end options on the market right now, and will be available on the 1st February.

More at www.mavic.com/en-gb