PEARL iZUMi X-Project P.R.O. Cycling Shoe - Men's for Sale, Reviews, Deals and Guides

my last bikepack trip trashed another pair of Shimano shoes (tore the michelin sole free from the rigid 'last' if that's what its called). I've generally been stuck on Shimano and FiveTen shoes for riding. Decided to try something different and these Pearls made the cut. Time will tell if my riding style and the care (utter lack) I give them will result in long-term durability. But--here's why I chose these. Rigid and heavily lugged sole--should work on and off bike and if/when walking briefly on pavement (no clinking cleat). Fit was great and adjustable with a sleeved insole and a couple sizes of arch and tarsal pads that gave me a semi-custom fit at setup. Lets be clear here--for me, I could get a comfortable shoe just with the insole and cranking the boa's appropriately. But messing with the sole inserts seemed to get me something ever so slightly more comfortable (?). One of the biggest reasons for choosing this shoe over others is the dual boa's mounted on the top of the shoe. I've tired of laces, speed laces (salomon style used on some shimano etc), and velcro on my bike shoes. Ratcheting buckles are AOK but I've ripped the side mount buckles off a couple shoes in my mtb riding lifetime so far (ripping a narrow line with boulders at pedal height) that BOAs on the top seem to make a lot of sense.

I’ve been riding Sidi MTB shoes for nearly 20 years and wanted a change so I tried these. I have a slightly narrow foot and the Sidis fit me perfectly there, but they fell short in hike-a-bike sections. Many times I have seen my life flash before my eyes while scaling sketchy rock sections shouldering my MTB while wearing Sidis with hard plastic soles. SO... I went searching for a new high performance MTB shoe that was more hike friendly and I rolled the dice on these. What I love: great traction on rock while hiking (although I wonder what will happen when the rubber part of the sole wears out). I love, Love, LOVE Boa closures. That’s the main reason I bought these and am not disappointed in that aspect. The BEST! I also loved the ORANGE, but not for everyone. They are comfortable once I found the right combination of insole inserts and the fit seems true to size with the slight exception that the toe box is wider than standard (narrow) Sidis. If if you have a really narrow foot, probably not the best choice for you. What’s not-so-hot: the 1:1 insole system is cool, it has wedges that slide inside the insole to change the toe varus angle and wedge height- but mine only came with the biggest/highest option. The varus wedge under the ball of my foot (3 deg I think) felt good as I am used to riding Specialized Sworks road shoes with built-in varus wedge, but the high arch insert felt like a marble under my foot. I contacted CC to see if the medium wedge piece was accidentally omitted from my shipment, they said it’s not included and they didn’t carry the wedge pieces. I was advised to purchase a $50 after-market Giro footbed kit. Really?!? Isn’t it the point of adjustable footbed to be adjustable? Not possible with missing pieces. Good thing I’m chill AF So... I contacted PI and politely asked them to send me the medium arch supports, but they politely sent inserts for a completely different shoe. so... I politely contacted them again to politely request the correct wedges and they politely sent me the same wrong arch inserts again. See correct (grey=high) and incorrect (black=medium) wedges in attached pic. So... I trimmed the wrong wedge insert and shoved it in so I could actually try these shoes. Bottom line: after a ton fiddling around with customizing the wrong inserts I like these shoes. Was it easy? No. Are they overpriced? Yes, well... maybe... when you compare to high end Sidis $500 ?!?! I bought them with a 20% coupon so I can live with it. Don’t pay $350 and make sure they fit you while you’re still able to return. I just feel like it shouldn’t be this hard to buy top end gear. I’m exhausted and need a beer. Cheers!

Super stiff shoe. New BOA configuration is an upgrade from the X Project 1's. If your rides have hike-a-bike sections I would not recommend these. The rubber lugs do not wear well, but no worse than the Project 1s. 2 weeks in and I have already have significant wear on the rubber. They also feel heavier than all my previous shoes. These run a 1/2 size bigger (I fit a 45.5 in the Project 1s and I would get a 45 for the Project Pros).

Great shoe. The toe box flexes, which makes it easier to run over barriers and up hills in cylcocross races. They are quite comfortable. I would not buy these shoes at the $350 retail price. That would be just too expensive for a pair of shoes that will get battered in cyclocross racing conditions. I was, however, able to catch them on sale at a more affordable sale price from CC. Then I bought a backup pair from CC at an unbelievable after-season sale price!

...under warranty! The loops on each side of the shoe that hold the Boa laces started wearing out and eventually broke on my X-Project 1.0's after a few months of regular use. Presumably, the tightening/loosening action of the laces sawed through the loops over time. PI was nice enough to replace them with the Pro's under their lifetime warranty policy. Unfortunately, the new Pros seem use loops of the same material and design, so there's a chance they might wear out and break once again. At least PI assured me that they would be covered again under warranty. On a side note, PI seems to have revised the sizing. Whereas the older 1.0 ran small, these seem to have similar sizing, at least relative to Shimano (who owns PI, but make/design shoes separately) shoes. I had to downsize by 0.5 when I went from the Pros to the 1.0.