Shoes: Specialized Carbon Pro's (Women's)

[Starfish]

Hey everyone, this all does help, very much.

I am confused about cleat and pedal compatibility. I currently have SPD cleats and pedals, and I'm wondering if the cleats and pedals I have can be used with the Road Carbon Pro shoes?

The online specs say the shoes are compatible with SPD-SL setups, but I don't know what that means...don't know what the SL means.

Has anyone had mountain pedals and SPD cleats on mountain shoes, and just switched to the Road Carbon Pro shoes without buying new pedals and cleats?

Just curious. I'm thinking I will treat myself to some new, lighter pedals (probably the Look type Shimano pedals), but just wondering.

Thanks again. This really helps a lot.

[GLC1968]

If you are looking at the Carbon Pro for women, it looks like they don't take the SPD mountain cleats. The picture on specialized's website shows the bottom of the shoe for what I am guessing is the 2008 version, and there are no holes in the middle where the SPD cleats would go. I don't know if older versions are the same or not. Mine also don't have the holes for SPD (my old, non-carbon, specialized road shoes did have the SPD holes).

SPD-SL are the look-type shimano cleats. I forget what the designation is for the regular SPD cleats... It's so confusing! The look-type ones have three holes spaced in a triangle pattern kind of around the ball of the foot. The other mountain-type SPD's have two holes in a vertical pattern near the center of the shoe.

Lets see if this pic works - from Specialized:


The three holes you see are for the SPD-SL cleats.

[Starfish]

GLC, thank you. That answers that...new pedals are also in my future!

Dang!

[Starfish]

Just the final note to this thread. Yesterday, I ordered the Carbon Pro shoes and the Ultegra road pedals. Soon I will have a new pedal system to learn. Only fell over once when I got my first clipless system...hope to improve that for this go 'round!

Thanks for all your input!

[Starfish]

Another follow-up here. I have had these shoes a couple weeks now, and I am experiencing some knee problems in my squirrely knee. Now, I know there might be many factors going into this. But, for anyone who is considering these shoes, you might want to consider carefully how you might be affected by the varus wedge they have built into the outsole.

I felt from the outset on the bike that it might be rolling me to the outside of my foot in a way that is not right for me. Now we are working on shimming the outside of the foot via shoe insert and cleat shim to flatten it back out.

Interestingly, today I watched these videos (at bottom), and either #2 or #3 specifically addressed this development that Specialized has done. John Howard doesn't agree with it. At least for some people (I think me), the varus wedge is not a good starting place.

The shoes themselves, though...the fit of the shoe, the stiff sole, etc, is great. I am hoping we can get this dialed in so that you all aren't reading here that I am selling these shoes and pedals! For now, I am back in my old shoes/pedals until I get this taken care of.

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=21797

[itself]

Bringing this thread back to life as it may be time to change from my Sidi Dominators to something new. I am trying to debate on a road or mtb shoe, carbon sole. I like the versatility of the mtb shoe as I'll have one shoe for both the mtb bike and the road bike. But I'm concerned about compatibility with different pedal systems, like the Frogs and the Bebops.

Sounds like you gals are really happy with the Specialized Brand? I think one weakness of the Sidis is the narrower shoe, which causes more hot foot.

Lisa

[Eden]

I switched from Sidis to Specialized recently - love, love, love the new shoes. They have a much more square toe box. No more pinched toes. I also like that I can actually get a high end shoe, unlike Sidi that doesn't make several models in my rather small size. I understand that they will even be bringing out the uber high end S-works shoe in women's sizing this year - its on their web site, but not available yet.

[redrhodie]

Funny this thread came up. I just ordered a pair of the Specialized BG Pro Carbon MTB shoes, which should be coming today or Monday. I've been using Specialized shoes for years, and love them, but I wanted to give carbon soles a try. My guy at my lbs got me a deal on last year's model (about half price).

I'll let you know what I think next week after I try them for a few rides.

This is the model:

http://www.specialized.com/cn/en/bc/...jsp?spid=26199

[GLC1968]

I'm still a Specialized fan! Wide foot here - Sidi's were never an option for me.

Since my last posts on this thread, I have now also bought the Specialized BG Pro Carbon MTB shoes (mens version for more width). I wear these when I ride my commuter bike (which is essentially a touring bike). I wanted the ability to walk around in my shoes but my old MTB shoes were still giving me foot trouble for rides longer than 25-30 miles. When my commute became 40 miles round-trip, it was time to upgrade the shoes. I wasn't sure if my SPD pedals/cleats would allow me to ride those distances with my foot issues even with carbon soles, but so far, so good. Due to fitness issues, I don't commute as much as I'd like, but I have definitely worn this combination for long rides and had no foot trouble at all.

I think for me, the pedal system is the least important in terms of foot comfort. The bigger contributors are sole stiffness and toe box width. That said, I do still have pedal preferences for other reasons of course.

[redrhodie]

Just found out my shoes won't be in until next Tues, so I'll update later in the week.

I'm glad you like the shoes, GLC! I can't wait (but alas, I must).

[radacrider]

Funny this thread came up. I just ordered a pair of the Specialized BG Pro Carbon MTB shoes, ....

I just rode home on a new pair of these today from my LBS. Very comfy, (finally replaced a pair of extremely old Nike Nguba shoes). (10 mile round trip). Good toe box room, firm pedal pressure.

Need to still do some fine tune cleat fitting, but very nice shoe.

[redrhodie]

I just came from the lbs, where the shoes were tooooo small. Sadness My other shoes are also Specialized mtb, so ordered the same size (40). Go figure. The same size is smaller.

On the bright side, a new pair was ordered a half size larger, and I will have them soon.

I've noticed it's becoming more and more unpredictable as to whether shoes will fit, even within the same brand. For years, I could buy an 8, and they pretty much fit like an 8, it didn't matter if they were boots or sandals. Now, an 8 might fit like a 7 or a 9. Anyone else notice this, or is just me? I'm a bit of an Imelda with Keens, and I have them in a range from 7.5 to 8.5, that's 3 sizes for the same brand of shoe. Don't you think they should be able to standardize it? How hard can it be?

Okay, rant over.

[redrhodie]

I gave my new shoes, which came yesterday and fit perfectly, a try this morning. I love them. When I first put them on, I was a little unsure about the length of the tongue, but since the top strap is adjustable (fore and aft as well as length), it turned out to be fine.

Right away I felt like I was using different muscles, but I'm pretty sensitive to any changes I make on the bike, and these are much stiffer than my old shoes. Since it was already in the 80s, with 75% humidity, I decided to keep it an easy ride. I still noticed a slightly faster ride for the effort, and the headwind sections felt a little easier, which may be psychological, but I'll take it!

I had good toe room, and no heel slippage. The "x-link closure system" was great. At first I made them a little too tight, but I didn't have any trouble loosening them one small step. They stayed put for the ride, and if they weren't brand new, I wouldn't have noticed them at all. Very comfortable, stiff, and easy to walk in. They also feel lighter to me than I was expecting from the weight listed on the website. They're definitely much lighter than my Keen "commuters".