Specialized S-Works 7 Lace road cycling shoes review

Stiff soled, lightweight, and very stylish shoes

Image shows the Specialized S-Works 7 Lace road cycling shoes.
(Image credit: Andy Turner)
Cycling Weekly Verdict

Stiff soled, lightweight, and very stylish shoes. The fit is the same as the previous S-Works 7 shoes - so if that worked for you, so will these. Lacing may also not suit everyone, as adjustment on the fly isn’t really possible and it’s hard to tighten them enough for full gas sprints. But for anything aside from maximal sprints, these are great shoes and incredibly comfortable so their four star rating is well earned. Their price is competitive for lace up shoes and they are available on good deals online at the moment.

Reasons to buy
  • +

    Lightweight

  • +

    Highly adjustable

  • +

    Super stiff

  • +

    Looks great

Reasons to avoid
  • -

    Material can rub on ankle

  • -

    Difficult to really tighten the fit for sprinting

You can trust Cycling Weekly. Our team of experts put in hard miles testing cycling tech and will always share honest, unbiased advice to help you choose. Find out more about how we test.

There are quite a few brands that have tried to expand across categories, but perhaps none more successfully than Specialized. From bikes to saddles and shoes to helmets, Specialized isn't just up there with the best - in many cases it is leading the trends. 

Focusing in on the best cycling shoes, Specialized's S-Works range has continued to expand, with sprint specific and super ventilated options backing up the core Boa dialled model. We've reviewed all of those, so now we're turning to the most affordable model in the range: the S-Works 7 Lace. 

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