S-Works Recon gravel shoe review: Testing Specialized's flagship off-road race shoe

The S-Works Recon is the top-flight off-road shoe from Specialized. This is a top-tier blend of stealthy, sculpted carbon fibre, sleek uppers and premium aluminium BOA dials.

The shoes come in at a fairly monstrous retail price of £350 / $499 / €390. A certain Olympic mountain bike champion by the name of Tom Pidcock also just used them to take the European XC title. These are top-tier race shoes.

The Recon features in the gravel and mtb sections of the Specialized website. It’s a two-bolt cleat off-road shoe, and you can of course use it for mtb, gravel or on the road if you prefer to ride with SPD-style pedals. I have used it to ride gravel exclusively, however.

This is big money for any shoe, and generally anything bearing the S-Works wordmark is a top-tier product in the Specialized range. Amongst the best gravel shoes, this is one of the most expensive shoes on the market.

The Recon got its last update in 2023, and this version of the shoe has been on the market since then. It’s available in three colours: Black, White and a grey/blue - fluoro colourway. I’ve been testing the black colourway you can see in the pictures.

The S-Works Recon is the range topper, but for context, the shoes sit above the Recon 3.0 shoes, Recon ADV (laces) and Recon 2.0 and 1.0 models. The S-Works Recon is over $100 more than the shoe directly below it, so what's it packing under the hood?

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Design and aesthetics

Specialized owns Retül, the bike fit database and fitting platform. The brand claims that the design of the Recon was guided by more than 100,000 foot scans, meaning hopefully the shape has been informed by plenty of cyclists' feet.

The Recon is available in one standard width. It can read like there's a standard and wide option online at times, but I checked with Specialized, and there's a single width. The shoes got wider during their last update, but there's only one option.

The shoes are wide enough in the forefoot to accommodate my feet, but still may come up short for riders needing a really wide shoe. For the price, an even wider option might be nice.

Sizes range from EU 35-50, including some half sizes across certain key sizes. In the UK, for example, there are 8.6, 9.25, 9.6 and 10 sizes available. I swapped out my test pair from an EU 43, which is a UK 8.6, to a 43.5, which is a UK 9.25, after somehow screwing up my foot measurements using the web fit tool. Pay attention to the Specialized sizing if you might fall in between sizes.

For the US, there are, as an example 9, 9.3 and 9.6 size increments available. There’s the Specialized shoe size tool on the website if you aren’t familiar with the brand's sizing, and concept stores or similar will always be able to help you try some on. It’s important to get any shoe fit right, but especially so at this price point.

The stock insoles are polystyrene and are similar to a lot of other stock cycling shoe insoles, but they are stiffer than some I have seen from road and gravel shoes. There's some stiffer arch support and a raised metatarsal button, which is there to ideally prevent hot foot and boost comfort, though they don't work for every rider. Specialized also sells aftermarket Body Geometry footbeds on site with a claimed 7-watt power increase; make of that what you will.

The shoes also come with shims, which can be used to space the rubber lugs or 'pontoons' that sit on either side of the cleats to fine-tune your clipped-in pedal feel. Remove the insole, pull back the tongue, and you can access two pairs of small screws to do this if needed. I've kept things stock, though and haven't had an issue with my Shimano SPD's.

The Recon’s are made in China and feature a carbon fibre sole, with non-replaceable moulded rubber treads and two pairs of two-bolt mtb cleat holes to tune your fit. Visually, the sole looks great, stylish, sleek and purposeful.

The shoes have a straighter and, in theory, more comfortable last than plenty of cycling shoes that are slightly more curved. I'd say Specialized has been a little ahead of the curve generally with this.

The shoes share quite a few similarities and design features with the S-Works Torch road shoes, such as the asymmetrical external heel cup. I’ve also included an image of this, as they are regarded as some of the best cycling shoes around.

The largely smooth, wipe-clean uppers have a few perforations for ventilation, and the tongue is comfortable and padded on the inside. Branding-wise, things are subtle; there’s a silver Specialized ‘S’ in the middle of the toe box and an ‘S-Works’ wordmark on the heel cup. It certainly isn't shouty or brash.

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As mentioned, the external plastic heel counter or cup is asymmetric; there’s less material on the outboard side compared to the inside of the heel, which Specialized claims allows for a lower shoe collar.

The shoes use a pair of S3 aluminium BOA dials, which look premium and stylish. They will allow you to tighten or loosen by rotating them clockwise or anticlockwise whilst riding. I also really like that you can slacken them and just unhook the Boa lace from the holder opposite the dial, making it very easy to take the shoes off, especially when you're knackered.

As I pointed out in my Rapha Pro Team Powerweave gravel shoe review. Rinse under a tap and turn if the dials get gunked up with mud or grit; resist the urge to blast them with a lubricant, Boa doesn't recommend this.

There is also a tough plastic scuff guard on the toe box, which should protect from bumps and grazes. A recent spill saw me scuff mine, it did its job well.

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Performance

The S-Works Recon's feel purposeful. They are stiff and, whilst being soft and comfortable, the shoes have structure and a sort of firmness which makes what they are about quite clear.

I'm investigating feet and shoes in depth at present. It's such a personal one, but I like the straighter last and shape overall. I do feel it helps keep my knees and feet tracking that bit straighter overall.

I've tested a UK 9.25, and I think going up another size notch again would absolutely nail the fit for me. I have a slender foot, but a wide forefoot, and whilst the shoes are wide enough for me. I think one size bigger would be perfect.

The heel cup has offered a very good hold; it's on the narrower side for me, and I've certainly felt locked in to the shoes. The BOA dial location has also provided a firm, even hold when I've tightened them down, no complaints there.

Walking is also grippy and the shoes are comfortable, and perfect for short sprints uphill, the kind you might do in a 'cross race or when caught out off road, in part thanks to a little bit of flex at the very front of the shoe's sole. There is no option to add toe spikes though, for the 'cross crowd.

For more relaxed riding or walking off the bike, generally, there are more comfortable, yielding shoes out there for me. The Rapha Pro Team Powerweave, for instance, I think, are more suited to doing a bit of everything than these top-flight race shoes.

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Value

These are really expensive shoes aimed at delivering peak performance off-road. I think with an offering like this, it will pay to do your homework, check the sizing and fit and try to find out if they will work for you and what you want from your off-road shoes.

If they do suit you, and you want some top-end gravel or mtb shoes, it very well may be money well spent. For what it’s worth, I also think construction is better than the similarly priced Powerweave Gravel offerings from Rapha, which are a bit more relaxed and are all-rounders overall.

More and more riders ride gravel now, and for most (that I know at least) it's a more relaxed affair. If you just need some off-road shoes, I think there are more flexible and potentially more comfortable shoes around for less money that might offer better value.

Why spend over $100 more on these shoes over the Recon 2.0? Well, the key difference is the shoe's weight. The S-Works have a lighter sole that is stiffer, and there's the extra shim tuneability. If you aren't looking for the stiffest, lightest option, you could spend less and still have a very capable shoe in the Recon 2.0.

Verdict

These are serious off-road shoes; light, stiff and purposeful. They look fantastic, and it's hard to deny that any product from Specialized with an S-Works logo does have a slightly special feeling; it does for me anyway, though of course that gets set aside when judging products.

These shoes haven't put a foot wrong for me; they have been very stiff, stable and comfortable off-road and walking, and the grip in them is good.

For me, this is a pair of shoes best suited to really dropping the hammer off-road, for a flat-out cyclocross or gravel race. I'd reach for them knowing I was wearing one of the lightest, stiffest off-road shoes on the market.

For an evening of gravel bike riding and mucking about in the woods before rolling down to the pub with friends, which I regularly do in the summer, I think a cheaper, more flexible and potentially more forgiving shoe would fit the bill better.

If you want a stiff, aggressive race shoe, look this way; if you want a more relaxed gravel all-rounder, I'd perhaps move lower down the Recon line.