If the science adds up or not, idk.
But the approach Specialized is taking here is efficiency of power transfer, which they say they achieve through ergonomics of the foot, and comfort and hold of the upper.
If it is 7 watts or not, idk, but a shoe that holds you very tight without ever putting too much pressure on the foot is likely rather efficient (because another shoe, that creates too much pressure, you would probably under tighten it, to relieve pressure…)
apparently theyre an absolute nightmare to get clean, and when asked how to clean them, the specialized guys just said
‘don’t get them dirty’
So like any mesh sneaker ever? Pretty easy to clean those…
Haha yeah there was a post on some guy on Instgram that obviously gets sponsored by Specialized, and he has been riding them for 2 months I think he said… He posted this the other day…
Considering that it takes 3 baby wipes to clean my S-Works 7 shoes, and I would have to dip these in Vanish… I don’t know if I think that its that great…
On the other hand, I stopped caring so much about having my white shoes be painfully white all the time, so maybe I have to give these a go 
I have now clocked a few virtual miles on the new Ares and they are … ehhh … shoes.
The fit and roll in these is good, but I have not experienced them to be better than say the EXOS.
Probably it has to show over time, if they are better.
I can only say that the front/ toe box feels more sturdy than it did on the SW7/ Vent.
Verdict: inconclusive 
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Don’t care about looks (liar!)
Don’t care about weight (fat!)
Don’t care about aero (old!)
But i do care about comfort, and on that level, those appealed to me.
I will have to try a pair, I think.
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I just got mine 2 days ago… & I don’t know how I feel about them. It’s only my second pair of cycling shoes (The first being Lake CX238’s in wide). The Lake’s are roomy and comfortable for my midfoot and forefoot but the heel was always extremely loose. If I tightened them up, I’d have a lot of discomfort on the top of my foot.
The Ares are just extremely tight all over the place and after today’s 1.5hr SS workout on the trainer… It made the right side of my right foot feel funny(not sure if hotspot would describe it because I’m not sure what that’s like?) as if I had to loosen them up even though I didn’t tighten down the dials very much. Im using the G8 insoles I had inside the Lakes, so I don’t think it’s an arch support issue. Maybe my foot is just sensitive to pressure.
That being said, it’s only my second pair & I’m not sure what cycling shoes are supposed to feel like as I’ve gone from an extreme end of wide fitting to this pair of Ares which has a roomy toebox btw (104cm wide - 255cm foot)
Gonna keep playing around with it though because I wanna like these, but if they just can’t be comfortable, they’re going back.
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They’re hideous.
Which means everyone will buy them, ala POC sunglasses.
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Or POC Tempor…
Which I have 
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I recently purchased a set of these and I’ve put together a quick review on them… hope it helps for those sitting on the fence 
TLDR: tightness helps power transfer on the upstroke, stability makes sprinting that much more fun
do you answer the question “will they add 100+W to my sprint?” 
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Science says it adds 10w per click on the dial
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That’s a great review, thanks for making it! Just waiting for my size to arrive in the shop.
That mesh and sock area is begging to be died a color.
Thanks for the encouragement! The mesh part so far is surprisingly not the part that attracts the most dirt (the straps are the winner here somehow), but seriously I’ve never paid as much attention to cleaning shoes in attempts to prolong the whiteness than now!
ok, i retract this comment. After watching the video, i don’t think i’d cope 
And i can barely wear white shirts, so white shoes is a catastrophe waiting to happen, my inner 3 yo won’t cope
I have CX241 wide and I have the same problem with the heel. The best front/roomy part of the shoes and the worst heel part (even with carbon molding it does not work). On the longer rides it creating more pressure on the knee and foot plantar… Any ideas how to solve it? I was thinking to find some shoe repair show to add some couching on the hell…
Have you considered S-Works Exos? They don’t have that external heel cup as SW6, SW7 do. They feel as a sock on feet. I would described them as Primeknit shoes for runners.
I question the target audience on these. Comfort is certainly a laudable goal, but is the alleged performance benefit a net gain given the tradeoffs? I guess I am a bad judge as I have never had much trouble with discomfort in my shoes. I used Sidis for years and moved to the S-Phyres last year. I found all of them to be suitably comfortable. They weren’t like slippers, but I can’t say I noticed them one way or another. They simply become a part of my foot and routinely do 5-6 hour weekend rides. My feet are the last thing on my mind.
I’m going to call myself out on some cyclist superficiality here too… those things are hideous. I don’t care if it’s like riding on pillows and they make my coffee for me in the morning, I just can’t.
I am having an issue with my sworks 7 right now, after 4 hours my feet hurt really bad.
One thing that really annoyed me with both the Ares and Exos (both of which I had to sell 
) was that they say that they are the same sole = should be similar fit, but they all fit VERY differently.
The SW7 are the best shoes I’ve ever had, no issues at all.
EXOS = way way smaller over the instep than the SW7, and since there is no stretch in the material, there is nothing to do…
Ares = narrower than SW7 right between the forefoot and heel area, in line in arches.
Both shoes felt super nice when sitting down on a coach trying them, but horrendous on the bike when actually using them. Really wish I could use them.