Specialized 2FO Cliplite Lace review
Lace-up mountain bike shoe for summer riding
GBP £90.00 RRP | AUD $200.00 | USD $120.00 Skip to view dealsPublished:
Specialized’s Cliplite range of shoes has long been popular with our testers, however this time I’m not 100 percent convinced laces do the rest of the shoe justice.
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Ignoring that for now, the shoe is really light, and feels thus on the foot. The sole is also a great compromise between stiffness and feel, with a cleat channel that extends really far back for excellent control on technical terrain.
There’s not masses of off-the-bike grip, but enough that you’re not skating around like Bambi, and should you miss engaging with the pedal, you’ll get away with sticking your foot on top.
I found the upper around the ankle a little stiff, especially to start, and I’d like a bit more ankle protection too. As such, I found it rubbed a bit, but eventually started to soften up. The insole uses Specialized’s Body Geometry shaping, which I found to be very comfortable all day.
The laces are controversial though, especially with winter testing. Getting the shoe open enough to slip my feet in means a lot of threading laces through holes, and to get it tight enough over the top of the foot for effective pedalling is a bit of a hassle. They also get caked in mud because there’s no mud flap to protect them.
Authors
Tom Marvin is a technical editor at BikeRadar.com and MBUK magazine. He has a particular focus on mountain bikes, but spends plenty of time on gravel bikes, too. Tom has written for BikeRadar, MBUK and Cycling Plus, and was previously technical editor of What Mountain Bike magazine. He is also a regular presenter on BikeRadar’s YouTube channel and the BikeRadar podcast. With more than twenty years of mountain biking experience, and nearly a decade of testing mountain and gravel bikes, Tom has ridden and tested thousands of bikes and products, from super-light XC race bikes through to the most powerful brakes on the market. Outside of testing bikes, Tom competes in a wide range of mountain bike races, from multi-day enduros through to 24-hour races in the depths of the Scottish winter – pushing bikes, components and his legs to their limits. He’s also worked out that shaving your legs saves 8 watts, while testing aerodynamics in a wind tunnel. When not riding he can be found at the climbing wall, in his garden or cooking up culinary delights.
