Reviewing the Specialized Comp MTB Shoe

This story is going to provide the moral right in the beginning: Don't cheap out on footwear.

Really, I already knew better. I'd worn the same pair of Sidi Dominator 3 mountain bike shoes for 10 years. No, that's not a typo. Not a single thing broke. I only replaced them because the soles were worn to next to nothing. They still fit perfectly and were in serviceable shape otherwise.

So what would follow a full decade of riding in clownish-yellow Euro-trash Sidi Dominators?

I turned to Specialized. They're stuff is always a good value, I reasoned, so I could save some clams. Plus they looked really cool and had a nice ratcheting closure just like the Sidis. With $140 sucked out of my coffers, they were mine.

It didn't take long for bits to start unraveling. Just extraneous long bits of the ratcheting mechanism.

Here are the real deal-breakers, though: First, the ratchet is weak. It barely seems like its catching and buckling my instep in very securely. Even worse, the heel slips around.

I've been wearing the Specialized Comps for more than a year, and they have not warmed up to my feet at all. I've tried adjusting little the little screwed-in bits, but nothing has worked. I'd replace them, but I haven't exactly been impressed with the new-fangled closures on the current generation of Sidi Dominators, either. My wife tried a pair that's a few generations newer than mine, and I was underwhelmed.

So I'll just have to watch for some other brands. I may even give Shimano a try.

In the meantime, I feel a bit bad hosing Specialized with invective about the Comp shoe. It's actually my favorite of the big brands, with a solid lineup of bicycles at all price points and usually decent soft goods. I can't blame Specialized too much for the heel slippage, I suppose, because everyone's foot is different. But seriously, a company that rarely gets anything wrong should be able to get a decent racheting buckle on its shoes.