Meet the Team: Lake Cycling Shoes Germany

Joerg Schmidt – A driving force of energy

Joerg Schmidt doesn’t just lead the Lake team in Germany – he does so with a burning passion that is unequalled. This seemingly quiet and methodical man has a fire in his heart for cycling and adventure, and achieving perfection is the ultimate goal for him – in everything he does. For over 20 years, he’s worked with many of the world’s top sporting brands, helping to develop them and take them to the cycling consumer; and he ensures that the products he works with are the very best possible... because he uses them himself in 24-hour endurance races on his own mountain bike!

I’d say that this is true passion, wouldn’t you! Yes, Joerg has taken the N+! Formula to extremes and has more bikes than is natural for a normal cyclist – but this is no ordinary cyclist. This is Joerg, and he lives and breathes cycling; which is why he’s the ideal person to lead Lake Cycling Shoes in one of the most competitive sporting markets in Europe. Germany is filled with athletes on 2-wheels, on tarmac, on the track and on the mountain trails, and each and every one of these riders expects the very best from their kit and equipment – they expect the kind of performance, comfort and style that comes with every Lake cycling shoe. Yes, Joerg and Lake is a marriage made in heaven, and despite being a veteran rider, the flame of adventure still burns brightly in his cycling soul.

A desire to be the best

As a young man, Joerg was a petrol-head, who drove a car to the Nürburgring – he lost car! Aged 30, this and a trip to Lake Garda changed his life. Whilst holidaying at Lake Garda, he saw people on mountain bikes, heading across the mountain trails that lay like random ribbons across this spectacular area of the Alps. He’d found his passion – and it was on 2-wheels, not 4. To this day, the lakes and mountains of northern Italy remain his favourite place to ride. 1995 saw him enter his first 24-hour mountain bike race, in the mountains close to Munich; and, over the years, Joerg has continued to seek adventure on the trails, testing himself and his endurance in these epic off-road races.

With over 20 bikes at home though, Joerg also rides road and gravel, wrapping his busy feet in legendary Lake comfort. His wife once questioned Joerg an why he had more than 15 bikes! He responded by asking her why she has more than 50 pairs of shoes!

He tells me about riding the 100-year anniversary Tour de France event for grass-roots cyclists, along the Champs Elysee in Paris before the pro peloton. Joerg tells me that he ‘feels born to be involved with cycling, with bikes and all things related. It burns in me to do these things – not just on bikes, but also in making things with people.’  Yes, the passionate German cyclist is driven to be the best version of himself, and to help others, like you, to join the cycling revolution and to live a life within our very special sub-culture – with Lake looking after your own unique cycling feet.

Helping cyclists with Lake and GebioMized

Being driven to help cyclists achieve the ultimate riding performance, Joerg also works with bike-fitting brand, GebioMized. It’s a computer-based system of sensors that enables bike fitters to find the perfect unity of rider and bike. Central in this regard is the individual perfect balance of performance, comfort and aerodynamics. To do so, they use high-definition video technique and pressure measurement on all points of contact, using their special saddle pads, to conduct a detailed analyses of the rider under realistic conditions. Since 2001, Joerg and the GebioMized team have been developing their technology in cooperation with the University of Muenster, and their technology is now used in more than 25 countries throughout the world.

GebioMize allows the team to identify that, in most cases, cyclists’ problems often lie with the feet and not the knees. As Joerg says, many bike fitters find that the Lake Cycling Shoes fitting process is an ideal accompaniment to a GebiomIze saddle and bike assessment. Generally, when doing a specialist fitting, the inner soles are usually not wide enough for the foot. GeBioMize, along with Lake, make a wider custom insole. It’s made from pressure mapping and has so far fitted over 50000 cyclists! Data from the pressure mapping can say how people are pedalling, and it’s an excellent tool to see what is happening on the saddle and how this translates to the feet.

CX333 $499.99

Joerg’s choice of cycling shoe

In terms of his own cycling shoes, Joerg is currently using the new CX333, which is a great shoe for racers. Previously using the CX332, Joerg says that the new 333 model is better suited to racers with a wider foot. It has more fitting options and is super-stylish and comfortable, whilst retaining a race optic.

The most popular Lake cycling shoes within the German cycling scene are currently the legendary CX and MX238 models, for road and off-road, along with the CX242, which is an excellent shoe for bike-fitters. Along with the new Lake CX333, the evolution of the cycling shoe, Lake has the most extensive range of high-performance cycling shoes for cyclists of all genres. When you consider that Joerg is driven to deliver the very best, it’s a happy place for him – on and off the bike, at work and at play. Ultimately, this cycling-mad German wants you, the cyclist to be wrapped in that perfect trilogy: performance, comfort and style. Take a look for yourself at the complete range of Lake Cycling Shoes, and book yourself in for a fitting with GebioMize and Lake. If they keep Joerg riding in comfort over a 24-hour mountain bike marathon, then there’s every chance that Lake is also the shoe for you!