Knit shoes

A shoe built unlike any other, with performance to match

- Words Sam Challis Photography Lizzie Crabb

Most of Trek’s parts and accessories have traditionally been marketed under its Bontrager sub-brand, but over the last year or so Trek has been reserving the Bontrager name for components, while its apparel and soft goods get the Trek name alongside its bikes.

Trek has used the rebrand as an opportunity to overhaul its performance road shoe line, releasing four new models last year that covered the mid to high-end categories. Unsurprisingly given their £400 price, the RSL Knits sit at the top of the new tree. Compared to the cheaper shoes in Trek’s lineup, the RSL Knits come with flashier materials, the best Boa dials and top-grade carbon soles, but there are some consistent themes across the range.

All four models have insoles made using Rise By Bloom, which is an EVA foam alternative created from algae rather than oil derivatives. The models also share a similar last and all come with MetNet pressure relief zones.

'Through the research we did developing this new range, we identified that the most common areas of discomfort were on the outsides of the

Summer 2025 first and fifth metatarsals,’ says Trek’s Brian Turany. ‘So we introduced MetNet, which is sections of shaped perforations that give the upper the ability to conform to the rider’s foot in these areas.’

The way the RSL Knits go about employing this MetNet tech differs from other shoes in the Trek range because the way the upper is constructed is fundamentally different. Instead of a conventional TPU-based upper enclosing a tongue, the RSL Knits use a one-piece woven upper, not unlike a sock, attached to the carbon sole. For security, the upper is stitched to a reinforced suede heel cup, and the Boa dials are mounted on otherwise free-floating ribs of non-stretch material that enclose the sock in an exoskeleton-like manner.