Shimano

I have an older pair of Shimano S-Phyre shoes with 18,000 plus miles on them. I think they are the first-gen S-Phyre shoes, so my following comparison is with these. They are super comfortable, but my left one is ugly due to serious scuffs from a bike crash I had a couple years ago. I chose the RC703 for a replacement since it adopted much of the design from the S-Phyre model. After 600 miles of use, I can say the 703's foot comfort is almost the same as my old S-Phyre. I personally can't tell any difference in the stiffness between the two models. The 703 toe-box is similar, but the S-Phyre's might be a little better form-fitting on my feet.

Shimano seems to have saved costs on the interior of the shoe and its footbed. The 703 doesn't tout the Silvadure treatment, but I used a nanosilver spray on the inside of the shoes and footbed for an antibacterial and odor guard. So far, the bright white outer surface seems to clean up nicely with a mixture of Simple Green cleaner in a spray bottle. Hopefully, the heel pads will wear longer than those of my S-Phyres. Although they have two BOA closures, they are not the LI2 BOAs that can both tighten and loosen without pulling up on the dial. That's a small sacrifice to put up with in order to save a lot of money. I do recommend these shoes for anyone wanting the feel of an S-Phyre for much less cost, especially when on sale.

Bought these on a great sale to replace existing set of supposedly Ultegra pedals i bought on Amazon last year from some obscure seller. Make sure what you are buying is from a trusted seller like biketiresdirect. The pedals i bought on amazon literally fell apart in less than a year. Suspect they were counterfeit. Biketiresdirect only sells genuine products! New pedals are great; no need to upgrade to dura ace , these are just as good

In the past I sometimes bought aftermarket cassettes, and when I'd bring the bike in to get help smoothing out some janky shifting, the first thing that I would hear from the mechanic is do you have a Shimano cassette you can install? The advantage of shedding a few grams for a uniblock cassette don't seem so great when you can't get a clean, reliable gear change.

When I was racing, I would spring for the DA cassette for my race wheels, and if money were no object, I'd probably spring for that, but nowadays. Ultegra is the go-to.

I ride a lot. 70+ yrs old and raced for 50 of them. Only 200 miles, but plan on follow-up after 6 months. Had a lot of shoes and these are very well thought out. I have a C width foot but was glad for wide option as normal width would cause problem with foot surgery site. Like the large strap over instep and deep scalloped heel cup. Don't like the blinding white color but riding time will fix that. Black is too boring.

I tried Sidi S2 and DMT Krono. Disliked the Sidi ratchets, DMT was too narrow. BOA closure on 903 works great because of wide instep strap. I rotate between three pairs. The 903's replaced some Giro's. The other two pair are a little known brand.

I would consider buying these again. BTD was very easy to deal with as I tried different shoes. Return was about as easy as you will get for web purchase. I don't give 5's very often.