• Specialized Comp MTB shoe
• £79.99
• Specialized

When I say long term test, I mean it. I’ve been wearing these shoes for just on a year now. They’ve been out riding in 5 different countries and been abused, almost daily, on my London commute. They’ve weathered rain, mud and snow and ridden with both spd and Time cleats. They’ve been used on freeride bikes, cross country bikes and road bikes.They have sat in a bag still wet for 4 days at a time and regularly left outside. They have never been cleaned on purpose or cared for in anyway. All in all, they have been bloody good.

I moved to these at a similar time as I moved to Time pedals when I was having some knee trouble. I needed some extra float in my pedals but also the Body Geometry aspects had been recommended to me by a friend. Specialized have a whole heap of guff on their website about how ‘BG’ is better for you by arching your foot one way and applying pressure to certain points to your foot. I am far from an expert in the the field of podiatry, but what they had to say seemed to make sense.

The Comps have a ‘sock fit’ upper which means that your foot is reasonably securely held in, even before your apply the three Velcro straps. There still appear to be eyelets for shoe laces even though I personally see no need for them. There is the option to use sprigs as well for that extra traction, though I never used them.
They have small mesh panels on either side and near the front for ventilation, as well as an extra plastic on the tips for protection. The outer sole is very stiff plastic and doesn’t flex at all. This is teamed with a softer tread pattern to assist grip.

Shoes are as specific to riders as saddles or helmets. But for me, the comps have been simply great. They’re comfortable, provide a very solid pedaling platform and are still reasonably comfortable to walk in. I found the shoes to be quick drying, almost self cleaning and reasonably smell free [Could have fooled us. Ed]. My only complaint is they are not great on wet rocks. They are still in good nick after a year with only wear on the soles and I have no plans to change them, not for at least another year.

Positives: Very comfortable, hardwearing, stiff, versatile.

Negatives: Not great on slick rocks

I think they are damn near perfect.

Performance: 5/5
Value: 5/5
Overall: 5/5