Submitted by
Grant Thomson
a Cross Country Rider
from Bonhill, Alexandria, Scotland Date Reviewed: November 14, 2007
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$206.00
Purchased At:
Evans Cycles Glasgow
Strengths:
Lightweight, Extremely Stiff Sole, Warm, Good shedding durt
Weaknesses:
Neoprene cuff around ankle has potential to let a bit of water in
Similar Products Used:
Diadora Summit Shoes (15 year old) and Northwave Overshoes
Bike Setup:
Using with Shimano SPD's
Bottom Line:
I have seen many comments around the net stating, "Specialized are American, how can they make a waterproof winter shoe, it doesn't rain there!", well, quite clearly those individuals were rather badly misinformed, look at tyre technology and you see that some of the best mud handling tyres are made by Specialized and to make mud you need rain, so don't judge this book by it's cover.
I have only recently purchased these shoes and they are without a doubt the comfiest cycling shoes I have ever worn, The sizing is the same as what I would need for most trainers.
Initially I got sore feet for the first hour or so using these, partly because of them being new shoes, partly because the sole is rock solid. When you are used to other manufacturers shoes you instantly notice that your feet are staying glued in the optimum position giving both a high level of stability whilst pedalling, and also a power delivery to the pedal which still amazes me, for the first time ever I very nearly enjoy pumping out the saddle going up steep hills, these shoes make it effortless.
The shoes have been through rain, they've been ankle deep in mud, did my feet stay dry? well apart from being sweaty from the thermal sock like warmth they were bone dry!!! The only potential for a bit of leakage is the ankle cuff, I don't have any problems as I use waterproof trousers which wrap over the cuff, though if you leave the cuff exposed I would expect the odd trickle of water to creep in.
These shoes prove to be excellent value for money, I tried Northwave, and Shimano shoes before I purchased these and none of them fitted my broad feet, so if you have wider than average feet these shoes are perfect.
Off the bike these shoes seem somewhat awkward if you try to walk normally, you find yourself up on the front of your feet in order to get a semi-normal walking motion, but the grips are excellent at finding traction on every surface I have hit them with including wet rock and ankle deep mud.
To sum up, these are excellent high quality, light weight, extremely warm, waterproof winter shoes, well worth the 100 pound spent on them, and all from a manufacturer based somewhere that it apparantly doesn't rain!!!
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