Light, and offer some weather protection in muddy conditions

catastrophically fall apart - had them less than a month before the base of the buckle tore completely away from the shoe during a nationals race. emailed northwave - zero response, zero customer support...they must not believe in their products to not stand behind them AT ALL.

stay clear unless you are into paying too much for disposable gear - buyer beware.

well constructed and designed, light and stiff, on the fly adjustability works really well

footbed (insole)

just got these and have used on five 25 mile rides so far. they're great shoes but the thin footbed causes soft tissue numbness to bottom of my feet, just behind the toes. once you replace them with a thicker insole it'll put a bit of presser on the top of the foot too. hoping break in will solve this but I'm just not sure of the value once you've spent more money on new insoles.

stiffness, weight, adjustability, comfort, looks

none so far

I'm a cat 1 racer and am planning to use these on a 100 mile XC race this summer. I wear the Northwave Aerlites for road. These are a little skinnier (not Sidi skinny) but the material is more conforming, so they actually work even better for me. Once broken in they are like slippers.
The soles are insanely stiff! Stiffer than any other mtb shoes I've felt. And with the one piece upper that conforms to your feet plus Superfeet insoles (scrap the ones they come with), my feet have never been happier on a mountain bike. Now I want the Extremes for road as well.
I got the Orange/yellow/green.... whatever it is it looks hot even though it matches nothing!
I wear 9.5 shoes and ordered 43 - perfect fit.

Similar Products Used:

specialized S works mtb