Review of Pearl iZUMi Men's X-Alp Drift Cycling Shoe

Customer Ratings:

First of all, the overall design and build quality seems to be pretty good. These are well designed for hot weather, with lots of fairly light mesh and a tongue that doesn't fully cover the food.

The downsides: Firstly, the sizing is about half a size off compared to most other shoe brands which I have tried (Mavic, Scott, Northwave, 5.10, LaSportiva). Take half a size up with the Drifts (only the Drift doesn't come in half sizes).

Secondly, the soles of these shoes are not stiff in the slightest. They are about as stiff as walking shoes, so are pretty mediocre for power transfer to the pedal. Great for hiking, great for hike-a-bike, but not so great for any real biking.

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Don't get me wrong. I only gave them 3 stars but I liked them enough to keep them.

I purposely ordered two (EU) sizes larger than normal and they fit after inserting an arch support. I don't care for the fact that they are a little stiff and therefore difficult to walk in. I was hoping for something better for when I need to hike a bike. But I'm a little weird, too. I would be happy if my tennie-runners or hiking boots had a clip on the bottom so I could hike and bike with the same shoes so I obviously don't care if the bottom is ultra-stiff for power transfer or if the shoe is lightweight. I'm a casual rider who occasionally works hard to get up a hill without walking. I like the clips so that I can work more efficiently on the bike and keep my feet on the pedals, otherwise I'd just use my boots or tennies. In fact, I did for a while, but got tired of my feet slipping off the pedals when riding on rocky terrain.

I recommend these to anyone who wants a descent, relatively lightweight bike shoe that can be modified (arch support) to make it work better, has a rather stiff sole, and inaccurate sizing (start one to two sizes up).

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These shoes are awesome. But note they fit small. So if you wear normally wear a size 10, order an 11.

Only unfortunate, the seller is not amazon and when I sent it back because it was somewhat small, they sent a bill for additional mailing charges for returning a shoes that did not fit. If I had bought the shoes in an actual brick and mortar store, I would not be asked to pay additional charges because I would have fit the shoes before leaving the store. But since I bought the shoes via the web, I think the return postage should have been factored in the shoes cost.

Honest reviews on Pearl iZUMi Men's X-Alp Drift Cycling Shoe

Love them the fit is great not too heavy. Will convert to clip in pedals so0 no need to get second pair

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I normally wear an 11 so I ordered a 10.5 hoping it would be snug but was surprised when it fit looser than I wanted. Otherwise pretty good construction and function.