I've done about 2000 miles in these shoes since I got them and as I've never done a review before I thought these would make a good first subject.
The first thing you notice about these shoes when you pick them up is how light they are (that is until you fit Speedplay cleats to them), Specialized claim that they weigh around the 520g mark for a pair.
The uppers are made of a material called Micromatrix which despite the patent leather/shiny plastic appearance is a comfortably soft but tough material and I haven't suffered much scuffing. This material also has the advantage of being easy to wipe clean after the usual British summer ride. The mesh panels are highly breathable and keep the temperature down during the rare hot summer days but the down side of that is the they let in water and cold air when the weather isn't so nice. Compared to other shoes I tried on these did feel a bit minimalist to be honest and less inviting for your your foot but as you appreciate how comfortable they actually are as your ride goes on.
The shoes use 2 Boa S1-M closures for tailoring the fit to your foot - there is no putting these in the oven to mould to your feet. The Boa's work in a very simple way - turn them one way to tighten and the other way to loosen and for each click they pull in a couple of millimetres of cable. I have heard of people complaining that they have broken the dials but I've had no issues whatsoever with them. I do find that if you tighten the upper closure too tight it can dig into your foot and Specialized have move the location of the dials on the 2013 shoes.
The soles are high modulus, unidirectional carbon fibre and are very, very stiff - they're not shoes that you'd want to walk far in. The soles have the 3 bolt cleat pattern to accept Shimano SPD-SL, Time and Look cleats and also Speedplay cleats with an adaptor kit. There is a mesh vent in the sole under the toes and the heel is replaceable should you wear it out. Insoles are the BG+ High Performance foot bed featuring a 'metatarsal button' which is ridge running down the centre to help support the foot and I've certainly not experienced any hot spots on long rides with these shoes.
£200 may seem a lot of money for a pair of shoes but compared with the likes of Sidi they are extremely good value and with them being stiff, light and comfortable what else could you want?
