XC Mtn Biking and Gravel shoe

I really love my S-Works Recon shoes. Perfect for me for gravel. Paired with the Assioma/Xpedo hack and am super happy.

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Iā€™d love to try those but theyā€™re pricey.

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whats the difference between recon and sworks 7 mountain shoes?

I thought shimanos offering was more of a road shoe with a mountain base. It has less protection then the mountain shoe.

I have ridden dura ace pedals for all my gravel rides and looking to swap over pedal platforms for 2021 for gravel. As ted king said, if there is no chance of a dismount why ride a mountain shoe, this was my logic. But after a gravel race that was supposed to be no dismounts, I ended up having to walk a few hills and well that sucks with road shoes.

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The Recon ARE the S-Works mtb shoe

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This makes some senseā€¦ but not from a stiffness perspective.
The shoe isnā€™t shaped for your footā€¦ or rather that size of that shoe isnā€™t shaped for your foot. These shoes donā€™t have any padding/give like youā€™d have in any other type of shoe. Keeping in mind these are 3d shapes, you canā€™t size the shoe in a normal way. Iā€™ll bet youā€™d have the same issue in that stiff shoe without the insoles in, with the shoes full loose, sitting at home, working from a desk or watching TV. Try this before committing to a new shoe

I had a similar issue. Moving to a larger size put the arch more forward, in a better spot, fixing the whole problem. Maybe, on the same theme try an insole with a big forefoot button (Sole brand) or loosening up your shoe.

If that theme doesnā€™t work, try a different brand that is flatter or more curved, buy a few of them, and repeat the fully loose experiment mentioned above.

I tried the Recon 2.0 a few weeks agoā€¦the fit was awful for my feet adn the shoes were HUGE. I can go anywhere between a 42 and 43 depending on how a particular show is constructed. I opted for the 43ā€™s in these and it was a total miss for me. My daughter even looked at them on me and said ā€œwhy are you shoes so big?ā€

Tried two different rides with them and the front of my ankles were killing me at the end of a 2 hour rideā€¦thankfully Specialized gives you a 30 day return policy on stuff bought from their website, no matter if you use the product or not, so I was able to get a full refund (great policy, BTW). Unfortunately, they were sold out of the 42ā€™s when I returned the 43ā€™s so never got to try a smaller size.

Hence he reason I got the Shimano CX7ā€™s noted above.

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I got the Lake MX237ā€™s for my gravel and MTB shoe. Put in the blue specialized insole and itā€™s got to be the most comfortable bike shoe Iā€™ve had. Rides 3-5 hours and never think about my feet which is a rare for me. Also did quite a bit of hike a bike in Leadville on the test ride. Never gave me any issues. Works for me but YMMV.

Ron

Did you have to adjust the Recons to fit the Assioma pod?

Yes, I had to cut

Ok thanks. Iā€™m in a search for good gravel bike shoes which would work with the Assioma hack. Not keen on spending $$$ for the recons and having to cut themā€¦. Great shoes though apparently

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Iā€™ve got the Recon 3.0 and they feel great in a 42. The SWorks XC race shoeā€¦not so much. Iā€™ve tried to like them, but they always feel weird.
I think the stiffer and more race oriented, I may need to go up a little bit on the size.

Ordered some XC7s and those in 42 feel too small.

Hump