Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Specialized Comp mtb Shoes


I bought these shoes as replacements for the Specialized Tahoe (see review in this blog) which had soles that were too flexible. These are a very different proposition to the Tahoe.
First thing to say is that these shoes fit my feet perfectly. This is not due to Specalized claims of 'BG' comfort as I tried the 'Sport' and 'Pro' versions before buying and neither of these fitted very well. The moral for shoes is to try-before-you-buy.
The sole has nylon reinforcement plates to help keep everything rigid which seem to work as there is pratically zero flex. The plates do make a creaking noise when pedalling but this may be the design interacting with the Crank Bros Mallet pedals that I use. The material of the shoe is very soft synthetic leather with lots of mesh panels that do a great job of ventilating the foot, although they do let water into the shoe. The velcro straps are just the right length and provide a snug fit right across the foot, finally the ratchet is very easy to use and keeps everything secure. I find that after 1 hours ride I tighten the ratchet a couple of clicks and all is well again. In use the shoes feel a lot less racey than they look. Altogether a superb shoe that fits both my riding style and most importantly my feet. Fantastic piece of kit.

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