Which shoes? (Mavic vs Specialized)

spasypaddy

Mavic Zxellium Road Shoe


or
Specialized BG S-Works 2010


Now im going to get one of these when i get paid i just cant decide which.

I'm not a particularly good climber (which i understand the mavics are very good for due to low stack height). And i dont have any kit that would match the mavics which is obviously the most important point. All my socks are black. I already have a pair of entry level SP road shoes and a pair of Northwave winter boots. These will be bought to replace the old SP shoes.

Common sense obviously says get the SP as my feet already get on with the design/footbed but its a nagging thought that the Mavics might be the right decision.

Decisions decisions.

Anyone ridden both? Anyone got any advice?

dennisn

Buy the one that fits you best. It's grasping at straws to think that any one high end road shoe will power you up the hills any better than another. That's were legs come in. Now,
if you find a place to buy a better set or thighs please let me know. In the meantime get the ones that FIT.

spasypaddy

they both fit.

softlad

I currently have a pair of Spec BG elites and the fit is excellent. However, I'm not a fan of the 'fishing wire' fastening systems, having had a pair of Sidi Technos some years ago with a similar set up - I broke a wire once while doing the shoes up before a race (not ideal) and I think I had to change the winding systems on both.

EIther way, you can't really go wrong with ratchets and velcro, so out of those two, I would get the Mavics....

agnello

I have Specialized BOA (S Works 2009) and I will never buy anything else again.

It feels like someone is pushing my heels uphills.

Wings of Mercury

Lou_m

I have the S-Works shoes. Brilliant fit and very light. Best shoe I've used yet.

DaSy

I have a pair of the Adidas Adistar Road Pro which are pretty much the same shoe as the Mavic (as they used to make the shoes for Adidas), and they were the most uncomfortable shoe I have ever had.

The build quality and look were great, but they had a wrap around tongue design; rather than a split up the middle and separate tongue as a normal shoe, one side wrapped over inside the other, and the ratchet buckle held it all together. The problem was that the ratchet strap would press into the skin at the front of my leg just above the ankle joint when pedalling and really used to irritate it. I persevered with them for about a month before retiring them to the wardrobe, a shame, as they looked good, and being white were clearly a very fast shoe.

Sidi Genius would be my recommendation for a quality road shoe...

CamR

You can get the Mavic shoes in White. I tried some on this morning and they felt very comfortable, but with my Orthotic insole in, the heel moved too much so I will probably end up going for some Shimano's because they fit me better on the heel.

I am also considering a pair of Lake shoes, they use the Boa system but the shop has not got any in to try.

Garry H

If they both fit, buy the ones that are most pleasing to your eye.

Wheelspinner

I have a couple of pairs of the Adistar shoe (in pillar box red, lovely!).

They are superbly comfortable for me, best fit I've had yet. Light and cool too.

My *only* recommendation is that you take your cleat to the shop to see how well it sits. The Mavics have a particularly flat sole plate both lengthwise and across. I found the Look Keo cleats (and to a slightly lesser extent the old Look deltas) did not sit perfectly flush on the soles, and I ended up grinding the cleatdown a little on the outside back corner to get them set properly. That's caused by my preference for a fairly wide "Q factor" as I like the cleats set as far in as I can put them on the sole (feet as wide as possible effectively).

gsk82

i've got mavic pro roads (a model or so down from them) and they seem spot on aftre a couple of rides.

sonny73

DaSy wrote:

Sidi Genius would be my recommendation for a quality road shoe...

+1