Looking to treat myself to some carbon sole shoes for XC racing and Cyclocross,

have convinced myself that a stiffer carbon sole is what’s needed to elevate me into the top 10% of the field 😉

what have you been impressed with?

If there on special it would be good, thought it might be a cheap time to buy summer style shoes!

Specialized S-Works. End of.

S-works or Giro Code.

Specialized S-Works. End of.

Thread closed. Next!

Specialized carbon soled velcro shoes for me

Specialized S-Works. End of.

He’s right.

Yup.

Shoes are rather personal. Very much depends on the shape of your foot.
I tried all the main brands, settled with Shimano M315 and M310 before those which are superb.

Bont

what is this ‘end of thread’ nonsense.

The s works are nice, they do have great soles but there are shoes with nicer uppers and, maybe, a better all round shoe. Sidi’s are good. You might find some suplest cross country at a knock down price. Imo, they’re great.

Basically, any shoe beginning with s.

As said above though. Fit is paramount so try before you buy.

My S Works ones would randomly undo themselves when I rode through a bush/clipped against a rock etc. Probably means I should have taken better lines an avoided the wildlife but I’ve not had that problem with a proper ratchet. I use M315s now.

GB

Nah, had s-works shoes for six years or so and loved them, until the 2010> shoes. Just could’t get on with them. So back in sidi dragons and egros…… miles better shoe, heal retention, support, closure system and durability are far superior….. Down side is there a bit spendy, so look out for discounts at merlin or planetx. Won’t be going back to s-works.

Sidi dragons MTB and Ergo road over here too. More comfy than Spesh or Shimano as long as they fit your feet

My specialized’s have lasted ages and I would buy again. My road sidi’s are an amazing fit but I could never imagine MTBing in sidi’s – just couldnt imagine them being that comfy off road and walking about (unless they are a lot more flexy than the Ergo 2’s)

Another vote for the S-Works from me, can’t fault them and they’ve lasted better than mot other shoes i’ve had too

new s works

yep, mine should be here any day now

Raddy, thats a link to some ‘Road shoes’

yeah i know, still, there mine, its a xmas gift and i’m marginally excited. Do have s-works mtb shoes with lovely pink boa dials. Very street

I prefer Sidi.

Sport pursuit (a sign up sales site) have them on just now. 3 days left,
http://www.sportpursuit.com/sales/sidi-road-mtb-shoes

Just register. The Dragons are down from £320 to £190.

Bont Vaypor XC

Specialized shoes are just that, a bit too “special” for my liking but then again i dislike anything specialized just because they seem to be the generic mtb high street brand – just my totally unscientific reasoning and i realise i may be missing out on the best shoe since Dorothy danced along the yellow brick road in her specialized ruby heels but hey-ho. I prefer sidi’s, they fit extremely well, very comfortable and i’ve rode with them for 16yrs and only had 4 pairs of shoes in that time, albeit i’ve only owned their high-end shoes so can’t speak for the cheaper versions.

Another vote for the S-Works here

I use Sidi Dragon 2’s for MTB and s-works for road, prefer the s-works though and will get some for MTB when it comes time to replace them. Sidi insoles are totally pants so at least budget replacements into the overall cost.

I used to use Sidi Dragons, and whilst they were slipper-like off the bike, they weren’t very good on the bike, which is a pretty big down fall for a cycling shoe… That and the ‘replaceable tread’ seemed to mean ‘stupidly soft so we can con you into buying spares’, whilst not actually offering any more grip (do people really struggle with grip on race shoes due to hard tread?!).

I’ve had 3 generations of S-Works shoes, and they’ve got gradually better, the latest ones, with the shiny uppers are absolutely brilliant – really light, incredibly comfy, decent retention system.

I just bought a pair of the bont triathlon shoes, they are amazingly stiff and light, nothing else I have picked up comes close. I will defiantly be buying the vapour xc for next year. They are just in a completely different league to specialized, sidi etc IMO they have moved the game on the other manufacturers now have to respond. My only decision will be do I go for the full custom fitting.

They are a full on race shoe though, wouldn’t want to wear them for anything that may involve getting off the bike at anypoint between the start and finish line.

ps I have owned sidi, lake, specialized and shimano shoes.

I’ve been using S works for a few years. They had a fault at first where the early versions had plastic internal ratchets that bent / wore out over time, later models replaced the inards with metal edges which solved the problem, hence why some people might be coming out of them too quickly.

Having done TP in mine I found they werent great for walking in, but are fab for riding in. If you’re doing CX there might be a better choice out there as you’ll be on/off the bike a lot. I also got blisters with mine from walking.

Despite the negatives above they are still great shoes for most XC riding.

If you’re doing CX there might be a better choice out there as you’ll be on/off the bike a lot.

Used mine for cx for this season and haven’t found them a problem at all.

It’s all about fit. Spesh no good for me, sidi/shimano good. I can get a deal via a friend who is sponsored by Bont and will be having a look at them in the spring.

I’ve just switched to Sidi after using Mavic & Bonty. Mavic were too tight across my toes & the ratchet was very fragile & broke off after a crash. The Bontys I wore out. The Sidis seem very nice so far!

If you can’t stretch to the S-Works go for the PRO MTB, I’ve got 4 pairs now (long story) and they are comfortable, relaible, carbon soled, and look Ace in white!

But as has already been said it’s down to fit, thing with Spez kit is you can get different footbeds if you under or over pronate.

I bought a pair of DHB carbon soled road shoes, which I can’t really find fault with.

They do a MTB version which appears to be the same but with a lugged sole.

Maybe worth a look at the cheaper end of things?