Shimano  XC7 Mountain Bike Shoes - Men's

Great fit for a wider foot. Feels stiff, yet not impossible to walk in. I did upgrade the insoles to accommodate for a higher arch. The standard insoles are cheap and thin. Hard to justify the price of the Sphyre given how well these fit.

Love those shoes. Rigid yet comfort enough I can spend my whole day in them when commuting.

I have the prev. generation XC7 that I use for trail riding and is nearly perfect for my needs. The new generation is more focused on XC so 1) the fit is tighter 2) exterior finish is shiny and more plasticky 3) rubber sole is no longer made by Michelin but new tread pattern is an improvement 4) carbon reinforced sole would be stiffer but less comfortable. I'm not a fan of the silver exterior graphics (which might appeal to an XC racer) so looking to switch brands.

Great shoes - light, comfortable, closure is secure and smooth.

I love this shoe. I came from Giro shoes which i liked but i desperately needed to update my shoes to boa. I will say i have experience with the XC3, the XC5 and these XC7's. Here's the deal, you need double boa, none have double boa except the 7's. Why? because you need to tighten the toe and mid fit independently, its just critical. Would you want laces to only tighten one area? heck no. So these double boa are great for fine tuning tightness. These shoes are also mildly stiff. Great for hammering down into a sprint. I prefer stiffer shoes, of course these are like a 8/10 for stiffness. Not totally rigid but pretty stiff. I really like how comfortable these are to walk in, although i don't need to walk much in bike shoes, these are very comfortable if i need to trot around downtown vail in the walking only sections for example. Very comfortable to do so. The recessed clip makes it very easy to walk even on gravel or rougher terrain. They are very breathable. Actually to the point where when its cold outside my toes get a little cold if i'm wearing thin socks. I'm talking like 50 degree F riding or below. Only thing i'm not fond of on these shoes is the color, I have gray, at the time of purchase they didn't have any options. Its honestly really ugly how they did the color on the gray ones but whatever, i'm over it.