Real Men have velcro shoes

After a month of riding with broken shoes, followed by two weeks of forced rest when my knee rebelled, my new shoes came in. Thanks to the team's sweet new Specialized sponsorship, these aren't just any shoes. These are, hands down, the best cycling shoes I've ever owned.

If you're not a cyclist, I can probably save you a lot of headache by simply saying: They are very good shoes and they look good too. Enjoy the pretty pictures.

So, here they are, my beautiful new toys! The Specialized BG Pro Carbon Road Shoe and the Specialized BG Pro Carbon MTB Shoe. The names may not be creative, but the shoes more than make up for it.
Let's start with the road shoe. I've already been using Specialized's Body Geometry (BG) shoes, albeit the Comp make (two or three notches below the Pro Carbon), for three years. This gives me a unique basis for comparison, since I'm not new to the BG feel - that is, the shaped insoles in the BG shoes that wedge the feet into a more "neutral", allegedly-better position. I'm a fan.


The first thing about the Pro Carbons that strikes me is the carbon. This is probably old news to most of you, but I've never ridden with carbon-fiber soles before. They're AMAZING. So stiff, so comfortable! It begs the question, how much power have I been losing with my loosey-goosey plastic Comps?

The MTB shoes are similarly designed, and once again, the stiff carbon-fiber soles just blow me away. Lord knows it's my handling skills than limit my performance on the MTB, not my power output, but this upgrade can't hurt!

Actually, maybe it can hurt. I do a lot of passing on foot during MTB races, on those stupid-steep climbs where one person bobbles and causes everyone behind him to dismount. It's the same thing in cyclocross, where barriers and runups are my bread and butter. My old, low-end MTB shoes were so flexy that running was a cinch; the Pro Carbons, on the other hand, are so stiff that I wonder if I'll be able to run as fast.

I guess I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. Besides, if I really cared about running, I'd probably still be a runner or something. Running is stupid. Two legs good, two wheels better.

My favorite aspect of both shoes is the adjustability. Specialized calls it the X-Link, which feels just comic-booky enough. If Wolverine raced bicycles, he'd use these shoes. Not only can you adjust the baseline tension of the ratcheting mechanism, you can also set the fore-aft location of the strap.
This is huge. HUGE. Since the Pro Carbons don't come in half-sizes, I had to get a larger shoe than I've been using. They fit well, but not perfectly... until I adjusted the straps a few millimeters towards my ankle. Smooth like butter.

So I've been riding pain-free all week, including 2 quad-busting hours on the Single Speed in the deep, peanut-buttery mud. It's good to be back on the bike, I'll tell you what.

Is there anything quite so satisfying as the shiny newness of a shiny new shoe?
Then again, there's something to be said for ruining that bling with some mucky adventure.