- In Lance's book "It's Not About the Bike" he explained how quickly his sponsors abandoned him when he got his cancer diagnosis. Only three stuck by him -- Giro, Oakley, and Nike. This loyalty meant the world to him, he said, and so he'd be a Giro, Oakley, and Nike man for life. Loyalty is awesome. And grudges are awesome, too. We support Lance in both emotions. But we'd suggest that he get his cobbler to work, because the shoes shown in this photo from a recent time trial in Texas are Rocket 7's, not Nikes.

The landscape for Nike on the bike industry is considerably different now than it was during Lance's heyday, and therein might be the explanation for Lance's shoe choice. In the 2000-2005 era, Nike was still busting its hump trying to penetrate the bike industry. They had Giordana make its clothing; they had DMT make its shoes; and all distribution was done through Trek. If you wanted a Discovery or Postal jersey, or if you wanted a pair of Lance-replica Nike shoes, you had to buy it through your local Trek dealer. That agreement ended about 18 months ago, and as far as I know Nike cycling clothing and cycling shoes are history. Surely Lance is wearing Rocket 7's because they're really freaking nice shoes. But shouldn't someone stitch on some swooshes? It's one thing to see the Nike logo on clothing, but shoes is where they belong…

well, to be fair, Nike doesn't currently offer any cycling shoes. They exited the cycling market last year.

I still don't understand what the original author was getting at in his first post.

I have a pair of Poggio 4ULs. They aren't a bad shoe at all.

I just started wearign a pair of Bont's though, and I'll say Lance's change is justified. Nike shoes aren't bad, but god there is so much better.

Bonts (and I'll guess any custom/semi-custom shoe) are leagues ahead.