So it was time that I treated myself to some new shoes, after looking around at the current selection I was struggling to decided what I wanted, and then I saw that Specialized were releasing a new flat pedal shoe, so I held out, after popping into the Spesh Concept store in Birmingham I was told that certain colours where already available (I was originally told early to mid october) so I cracked on and put a set on order.
Yesterday I made the trip back to Birmingham to pick up my new shoes, they are priced similarly to most of the 5:10 options out there at £90.
These are a size 47 and the fit is really good, plenty of space around my toes without feeling too loose, the sole is a nice stiffness, it feels great on the pedals yet still comfortable to walk around in, the in sole is interchangable too, so if you wanted more support you can just get a new one from Specialized. The overall shoe construction is really nice, the outer material is different to what I have seen before, there also appears to be plenty of ventilation (maybe not so good for winter, I think waterproof socks will be a must!) although I will look forward to wearing these in the summer!
I had my first ride out on them today and was very impressed, they are alot les bulky than my old 5:10 impacts which seem massive in comparison (see pics below) Grip wise I never felt like I was lacking throughout the ride, to the touch the Slip Not rubber compound feels harder than the 5:10’s stealth compound but I was never worried I would slip off at any point today.
Overall I am very pleased with the new shoes and glad I held out for them. For reference I have been using these with DMR Vault pedals.
Cheers for this, by co-incidence I have also been holding out for these, wear a 47, have a pair of ancient impacts and use DMR Vaults. Also been wondering about winter use with all the ventilation. However I am not called Adam. And I was going to get the grey but having seen your photos might just get black now….
What’s the arch support like? With big feet on flats I am partial to a pair of shoes with a good bit of arch support.
I am never much of a fan of black shoes, the colour I did want was only available on the SPD shoe, and I didn’t like the red flat ones, so went for the grey, they were also available now, unlike the black ones. I will definitely be getting waterproof socks as these have a lot of ventilation!
Arch support is pretty good with the standard insole, however specialized will be offering different insoles to suit flatter or taller arches (from what I have read).
I know what you mean about black shoes, hmmmm. How’s the sole stiffness with size 12s? I find my Impacts just about perfect for flat shoes but Freeriders much too flexible
I had heard that about the insoles, don’t come in the box then obviously. I expect you’ll have to buy the standard shoes then pay extra for the insoles if you need them
The sole stiffness seems good, I would say they are marginally stiffer than my impacts, but then again they are pretty worn now so I imagine they are not 100%, I bought them second hand too, so would have no idea what they where like when new.
I used to get pins and needles with the Impacts and they felt like my foot formed around the pedal a little too much, I didn’t get any of this at the weekend.
Riding again tomorrow night, so I will update this thread with any other views etc after.