Submitted by
Yourmom
a Cross Country Rider
from Dgo, Colorado, USA
Date Reviewed: November 11, 2011
Strengths: Comfortable
Stiff sole
Weaknesses: Durability
In less than a season of riding both of the ratcheting straps ripped of the inside of the shoe, which is pretty much not repairable. Also, if you do a lot of hike a bike, the carbon soles will likely wear through and crack. Both of these flaws happened to a friend of mines pair in under a season as well. Specialized should be ashamed of this product!
Bottom Line:
Comfortable, but the durability is a major issue. Save you reciept if you have purchased these shoes. Only buy them if you enjoy using tape to keep your shoes on.
Submitted by
Randall in NC
a Cross Country Rider
from North Carolina, USA
Date Reviewed: May 10, 2011
Strengths: -Stiff
-Ratcheting buckles
-Nice fit
-Great traction when a Hike-a-Bike is required
Weaknesses: -Weak buckles: The buckle leaver broke off after the first month of use.
-Quality: After about 1.5 years of use, Carbon fiber on the bottom of the shoe began to crack at the cleat. The top portion of the shoes began showing signs of wear much earlier than my previously owned Specialized shoes.
Size: The size seemed to run a half size small and shoe seems to have a wide heel.
Bottom Line:
Participating/training for MTB endurance events, these shoes have been tortured from many long miles on the bike, wading thru rivers, and several hike-a-bikes up rocky rooty trails. If the shoes were used for cross country racing/training, they would have held up much longer (except for the buckles). Overall I thought the shoes were good, but not durable enough for endurance training & racing. Like most racing components, lightweight = less durability...
Similar Products Used: Specialized shoes with non carbon fiber soles.
Bike Setup: 2011 Specialized Epic Carbon Comp 29er
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
onegymrat
a Weekend Warrior
from Southern California
Date Reviewed: April 20, 2010
Strengths: Light, stiff, easy to clean, very cool looking and cost half of a pair of Sidis. Offers "wide" sizes as well.
Weaknesses: Buckle seems flimsy but still working on mine even after some damage in a crash.
Bottom Line:
I wore the Tahoes for about 3 years...which had a soft hiking type sole. I had no idea what I was missing! These Pro shoes are super stiff and no more arch pain after a ride! The velcro straps take a while to get used to, meaning the right amount of clicks on the buckle to give enough support without numbing your feet. Same for the straps. Once you have it dialed in, set it and forget it. I crashed on the first day of wearing and damaged the buckle. They still work so far...but can be replaced if necessary. I also like the idea of the BG outsole. I actually took out the footbed and using Superfeet inserts. They are easily cleaned up after a mudfest...just use a wet cloth and good as new. Great mtn bike shoe for $200-$250.
Submitted by
Superbiker
a Racer
from Marysville,Ca. USA
Date Reviewed: January 17, 2010
Strengths: Stiffness.Light for a shoe of this price.durable-have had mine for over 3 years and so far it's held up.have had no problems with the buckle at all.Great for cold-weather riding.I like the design.
Weaknesses: Even though it's generally a comfortable shoe--It felt a little loose when I first tried it--but this might be because I was used to the feel of a Performance shoe.
Bottom Line:
I like this shoe for it's stiffness and durability.Like I've said I didn't have any problems with the buckle.It took some time to get used to the fit though but this might be because I was used to a Performance.Overall a great deal for the price.
Strengths: comfortable foodbed, generally good fit, acceptable weight, good traction, stiff sole
Weaknesses: crap buckle, too much volume in shoe, bad drainage when wet
Bottom Line:
I actually use this footbed in my sidis and these, because the sidis are horrible and these are great. Unfortunately, this shoe has a ton of volume so the fit is so-so. Most of what has been said about the buckles is very true. Compared to the sidi, these buckles suck. My next MTB/CX shoe will be a Sidi, but I'll keep these footbeds around (or buy another set of them from Specialized).
Submitted by
ziconater
a Weekend Warrior
from S.F., CA USA
Date Reviewed: June 19, 2009
Strengths: Very well constructed, EXCEPT for the buckle, which I've solved. Stiff soles.
Weaknesses: The buckle is a piece of junk!
Bottom Line:
This is a terrific shoe which transfers all of your energy back to the pedals. But, after just three months of use, one of the buckles sheared right off when tightening down.
So...being a guy who likes to solve problems, I shaved down the plastic humps on the shoe itself (located on either side of the buckle). There is no reason to have these humps on the shoe, it is only intended to prevent people from going out and using SIDI replacement buckles, which are wider, and thus can not be used unless removing the plastic humps. btw- I used a Dremel to shave it down. Now it's perfect!
I have thrashed 2 pairs in less than 10 rides ripped the buckles from the shoe threads poor design If you are a powerful rider which can put down some wattage avoid at all cost.
Submitted by
Jeremy
a Cross Country Rider
from Beardstown, Illinois, United States
Date Reviewed: February 1, 2009
Strengths: Great fit. I have a pair of Sidi Ergo 2 Carbons for my road bike and the Specialized shoes are far more comfortable at half the price. All day mountain bike rides are no problem for me in these shoes. The buckle has never loosened while riding. Here is a tip for using the buckle. The main flaw of the buckle is that when you release the strap and go to pull it free of the buckle you are actually pulling the strap up into the teeth of the ratchet mechanism inside the buckle. The fix for this is to push the strap down against the shoe while simultaneously pulling it out of the buckle. This way the teeth on the buckle and strap don’t snag each other.
Weaknesses: The buckle could use a few refinements, but works fine overall for me.
The visible carbon inlays look nice when the shoe is new, but were trashed in a single ride. They also make staying on the pedals a bit more difficult when not clipped in because the pedals slide around on them. I would have rather had rubber in their place as it would have looked better in the long run (after one ride) and made the pedal shoe interface seem less clunky. Plus how much weight are we really talking about here for covering two small carbon panels? 5 grams maybe.
Bottom Line:
Stellar fit - buckle needs some refinements - the visible carbon inlays on the bottom of the shoe should have been rubber
Submitted by
mikemikemike
a Weekend Warrior
from Moscow, Idaho, USA
Date Reviewed: October 19, 2008
Strengths: Carbon sole, well constructed
Weaknesses: Buckles suck ass. Really tragic that they screwed up the buckle so badly.
Bottom Line:
I bought these for the carbon sole, because I trust Specialized high end stuff, and because a pair of sidis with carbon soles costs over twice as much.
The carbon sole really makes a dramatic difference, as compared with my 8 year old sidis. The power transfer difference is readily noticeable, so performace wise the shoes are great. unfortunately, the buckles are awful. They are difficult to ratchet, especially when trying to snug down for a nice tight fit when you need it most. The teeth just don't seem to engage and need to be fiddled with. Since I usually find myself a couple climbs into a ride and needing to notch it down for a bit more power, this is inconvenient for me. The fit is fine for me, but not great - the carbon fiber seems a bit less flexible, but that's a price I'm willing to pay for the stiffness. That said, I've ridden a 50 miler in them and was fine. They just don't feel comfy like the sidis did.
Overall, a good product, great value for a carbon sole, but the buckles really blow the package.
Submitted by
Stephen Seeber
a Cross Country Rider
from Bethesda, MD USA
Date Reviewed: September 10, 2007
Strengths: Comfortable
Weaknesses: The buckles loosen during rides and are easily broken. The replacement buckles do not work much better. The shoe treads have steadily broken off. These are now nearly road shoes. The entire left buckle stitching pulled out.
Bottom Line:
These shoes, while comfortable, have been nothing but trouble. I have been through two pairs, but no more. I must constantly tighten the ever slipping buckles. The tread loss has resulted in poor traction when walking. The final straw was when the buckle pulled off of the shoe. Very poor durability for such as expensive shoe.
Strengths: Light, comfortable- mostly due to very nice footbed and wide front section.
Weaknesses: Buckle, what it joke. Plastic piece of something that has bent in my hand the first time I was trying to ratchet it up. $230 shoes and specialized let's this go into production with this buckle. The whole buckle is very poor- dollar store quality...; loose and very long threads inside the shoe under the footbed, when you remove the footbeds and re-insert you have to make sure all of them are under otherwise very annoying. Harder to get in and out with eggbeaters than my Shimano sh-n221 carbons.
Bottom Line:
They fit well, but not worth $230. The price does not reflect the price. My old shimanos were much nice and more solid, only I could not get the right size so I tried these. If you buy only the high performance footbeds and insert them into most of the good shoes you will have similar fit and for 1/2 price and better quality.
Submitted by
Nunyabiz
a Weekend Warrior
from Raleigh NC
Date Reviewed: August 2, 2007
Strengths: Very comfortable, seem to be very well made, work great, look good
Weaknesses: None so far
Bottom Line:
I haven't had these shoes long enough to give a reliability rating/review but so far they are great, very comfortable. Unlike it seems most everyone else I personally am having no problems whatsoever with the buckles. Mine are working perfect, I just touch the little red button and it releases instantly and the ratchet works perfect when tightening them. Literally takes 2 secs to put these shoes on or take off. These shoes are very well designed and I'm glad I found them for $100 instead of the MSRP of now $235 not $200.
Strengths: fit and function are perfect. even with a very stiff sole you can still hike-a-bike if needed with no effort. longevitiy...these shoes last.
Weaknesses: buckle, it is stuck while the shoe is on my foot,
Bottom Line:
if you can get them at a reasonable price go for it, you wont regret it. I have used mine for rides and races atleast 4 days a week every week for the past 2 years and they are just now needing replaced because the egg beaters have dug into the sole. Other than the buckle, these are nearely perfect! I give it a 4 over all for the buckle.
My old Nike Cairns finally wore out and I was looking to replace them with a stiff, light race shoe. I didnt start off wanting to spend $200, but after trying several brands/types, I decided to buy into the carbon/body geometry hype. It was worth it! What a great shoe, noticeable improvement in power transfer. As soon as I can save another $200, I'm going to get the carbon road shoes!
Strengths: Fit, very light and over all durability
Weaknesses: BUCKLES
Bottom Line:
These are great shoes in every way except the stinking buckle. It simply will not loosen while on my foot, while this does not concern me during the ride it is agrivating. Overall great shoe with a very stiff sole thats possible to hike-a-bike with. they fit great and have lasted fore more than 2 race seasons. Get these shoes, just know the buckles will become very hard to release.
