I have been waiting to buy these shoes, I had to wait for my Shimano SH-R171's which were a solid purchase to wear out before I deserved new shoes. I have had shoes from Sidi, Mavic, Garneau, Northwave, and Shimano. The Shimano shoes seem to be the best at combining comfort and power transition at the right price. More toe box space than the previously mentioned shoes and great overall feel. The Boa closures are really sweet and super easy to use, my Garneau' also has the Boa system but placed differently, the Rc7's placement is more comfortable and secure to me.
I look for a shoe that is stiff enough and light enough that I've not wasting power, but that's also comfortable enough that I don't notice them when doing a century. These fit the bill. They're well made and the Boa controls are easy to use while on the bike to snug the shoe after riding for a while.
These are light, comfortable, stiff and really do the job. They might not be on the highest end of the shoe war but I doubt you'd notice much difference if any against the bigger dollar shoe. Super glad I pulled the trigger to buy them. You really cannot go wrong with them. I ended up with about 12 size larger for better fit.
