Since March of this year I've been riding the Bontrager RXL road shoes. When Bontrager first introduced photos and specs on these shoes I thought I had to have a pair. I mean I had been running a set of nikes for four (4) years, so Ashley bought me a pair for my birthday. Here's a quick pro/con review of the Bontragers:
Pros: Beautiful white shoe, stiff sole, and comes with decent footbed.
Cons: Cleat doesn't set even on the bottom of the shoe and requires a shim to fix. Cup for your hill is non-existent. Construction of the shoe is a little weak: glue can be seen where the shoe is put together, the buckle system isn't what I would call great, and did I mention the cleat issue?
A personal problem I had with the shoe was the huge toe box. I have skinny flat feet, and this shoe doesn't fit snug enough for my taste. I wear a 12 length with a D width in US size, and this shoe doesn't cut it. Also the e-Soles foot bed is very nice, but it doesn't come from Bontrager with the arch support for flat feet as most companies do OEM. This is only a problem because I'm cheap and didn't want to buy the arch support for flat feet. Neither of these issues can be blamed on Bontrager, but leads me to my next paragraph.
Yesterday my new Specialized Pro Road shoes came in. I have been looking at some Sidi's, some Shimano shoes (which fit well as MTB shoes), and then these Specialized. What sold me on trying a pair of the Specialized was all the options they had for foot size. With width they have Narrow, Standard, and Wide. Half sizes up to a Euro 47. Three different foot beds for flat, semi-arch, and high arched feet. The buckle strap is even adjustable without having to buy any extra parts. What is there not to love?
My first impression of these shoes is they look great. I picked up a black pair in size 45/12 (euro/US). Getting the shoes on is a bit of a challenge compared to the bontragers because of the hill cup that they have. Once I got the shoe on though, it fit like a glove. Perfect length, snug all the way around the foot, and the hill cup was impressive. I don't imagine much foot movement inside these shoes. The foot bed came for flat feet, which saved me from buying another foot bed. That's a plus for me.
Construction is equally impressive. Very high craftsmanship, and that's something I don't give out to many manufacturers.
I haven't ridden with these shoes yet, but I will today and review by the end of the week how they feel on the bike.