Shimano
They are very well made shoes - they look great. The sizing is really strange. I have 5 pairs of Sidi moutain shoes running in size 44, 44 1/2, and 45. The size 45 Sidis are large enough to allow me to wear really heavy wool socks in the winter. The Shimano shoes I bought in a size 45 are really, really tight - barely could get them on wearing the lightest of cycling socks. I've had Shimano shoes in the past that were a size 44 & no problems with the fit.
I use these cycling shoes for XC riding at the local state park and they are light stiff and wide enough to be comfortable on my extra wide feet. They tighten perfectly when I want to power down and can be loosened when I need to relax more. Perfect. This is the third pair of these shoes in this series I have purchased over about 9 years and they never disappoint or fail. The only issue has been a Boa wire breakage and Boa came through with replacement parts quickly. As I stated - What's not to love?! And, they were on sale! RCBird.
The upper boa strap really digs into the top of my foot--I have to be very careful about how much I tighten...too loose and I shift around in the shoe and it becomes unstable; too tight and it gets extremely uncomfortable. Unfortunately the line between too tight and too lose is microscopic--like 1 click on the boa dial, so I'm constantly adjusting while on the bike to find the ideal setting. After over 1,000 miles on the shoes, it's still a source of constant fiddling.
I do like that the toe box is quite generous. The soles also seem to be the perfect level of stiffness. Just the tiny-est bit of give for some level of comfort, but certainly plenty stiff for out of the saddle sprints.
The shoes also look aces--very sharp.
they're an absolutely phenomenal, unbelievable value.
given they're supposed to have an identical rim profile to the dura-ace wheels used by world tour teams, i assume that the design is aerodynamically sound (this is my first carbon road wheelset, so saying they "feel fast" or stiff or whatever isn't really meaningful).
being compatible with both 11 and 12 speed cassettes is great, aero spokes are a nice feature, and the weight is reasonable for the price.
aesthetically, as someone who appreciates minimalism and doesn't like giant banner-like logos and branding, i love the subtle (in practice almost invisible, unless you're looking for it) logo on the wheels, and the very quiet hubs that don't sound like a kid put a baseball card in his spokes just to be loud.
overall i'd say that at full price they're great wheels with decent value, but if you can get them at a discount then they're really fantastic.
