A decent shoe it its time, the Specialized Sport Mountain Shoe is showing its age.
Written: Feb 03 '04 (Updated Feb 03 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Strong shoe that is quite durable, good traction for foul weather, easy cleat entry/exit.
Cons: Insole isn't very comfortable, inner "sock" does more harm than good.
The Bottom Line: This shoe has served me well, but the times they are a-changin'. I would recommend the newest Specialized Body Geometry or Sidi shoes over the older Sport and Comp models.
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| openroad's Full Review: Specialized sport mountain |
----- My Comments -----
It doesn’t matter if you’re a casual recreational cyclist or a hardcore racer, you will benefit from biking shoes. Clipless pedals are the way to go for control and comfort, but the sheer number of shoes out there makes finding a good pair daunting. Specialized makes quite a few models of shoes, from their low end model to the top-of-the-line Body Geometry Pro Mountain Shoe.
Almost all Specialized biking products are labeled as Sport, Comp, or Pro. This is how Specialized separates their model line, and markets models with higher quality and feature levels with the Pro at the top.
I purchased this shoe in 2001 as an overrun '00 model. The price was right, and it was my first foray into cycling shoes. The Specialized Mountain Shoe came in several colors including tan/gray and black/red. I would have chosen a different and perhaps newer shoe if I had the choice now, but read on to see why.
The exterior of the Sport shoe is very rugged, with a hard plastic sole that wraps up the outer sides and a heavy-duty toe cap. This “armor plating” keeps your feet relatively protected from sticks and rocks, although a hard crash can still hurt. The sole of the Sport shoe is made with a hard poly material, and while it does wear very slowly it also lacks in traction on hard surfaces such as pavement, wood, and rock surfaces, and can be downright dangerous if these surfaces are wet. Each pair of shoes comes with 4 metal tipped spikes/cleats (two for each shoe) for extreme conditions. I installed these on my shoes and can only say great things about them. For climbing steep hills and scrambling over obstacles the cleats give you great traction. Riding or racing in the rain is also easier with cleats, since mud traction moves from pathetic to acceptable. However, walking on wet cement with cleats is not so good and may cause bruises and painful knee injuries.
Inside the Sport shoe is the removable insole and the neoprene rubber “sock”. This sock is built into the shoe and cannot be removed, which is unfortunate. The sock makes shoe entry quite difficult, and the sock must be laced separately from the shoe. While the purpose of the neoprene sock is to keep water and mud out of your shoes, it doesn’t help that much. When your feet are drenched by puddles or muddied on a dismounted hillclimb, the socks merely hold the muddy water IN the shoes. One thing I must give them credit for is the insulation they provide. When your foot is wet the sock deflects the wind off your feet and toes, keeping them warmer than they would be otherwise. The insole included with the shoe is removable for cleaning. It doesn't offer very good arch support or padding, and is essentially a very thin layer of dense foam.
When used with Time ATAC cleats, the Sport shoes are easy to clip in and out even in muddy conditions. There is a large channel between the tread which provides extra clearance for pedal cleats. This shoe does shed mud well and is also easy to clean except for the sock inserts.
----- Bottom Line -----
After 1200 miles of riding with these shoes, I’m definitely ready to upgrade. They seem to be a good shoe at the time they were released, but now they are quite dated. I’ll be purchasing a new pair of Specialized Body Geometry Comp mountain shoes this spring, and I hope they are more comfortable but just as durable as my old Sport shoes. The dreaded "sock" problem of the old shoes has been replaced with a heavy duty upper tounge. This blocks the mud and water in a similar manner yet makes entry and exit much easier. As of fall 2003 I have STILL seen bike shops with brand new 3-4 year old mountain shoes in stock. I wouldn’t recommend purchasing the older Specialized mountain shoes, since the newest models have really gained points in the comfort and ease of use categories.
Thanks for reading, and feel free to comment!
Openroad
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