I was curious about the new Adidas cycling shoes, and decided to grab a pair of the Road Boa when I tripped across them on sale ($90 form Adidas). In particular, I wondered how their sports shoe expertise would translate to cycling shoes; I dunno if they’ve done cycling shoes before, but they haven’t much for cycling, that’s for sure. Also, these Road Boa should complement my club’s new kit perfectly! Color me vain…

Anyway, a few initial thoughts here, having only taken them around the block.

First, I was largely pleased by the materials and styling, and surprised to see the design is a collab with iconic Finnish design house Marimekko. There’s a nice little tag on the tongue with their name. The upper’s pattern is printed, which is good, on a ripstop type fabric of recycled and ocean plastic, which is also nice. The sock liner is only partial, which is weird, but everything feels good to the touch on the inside, with prominent heel padding. Everything is quite thin, soft, and delicate feeling, including the nylon veneer toe rand, so I’d be surprised if these things hold up. The 3 stripes are reflective, as is the full height detail stripe on the heel. Oh, and the color matched, pale blue Boa dial is hot!

The Boa is one of those twist to tighten/pull out to release types, which I don’t like because there’s not much to grip onto, and can take some fumbling to release, especially when tired, hot, and sweaty.

The sole is glass fiber reinforced nylon, and not very stiff, at least not compared to the carbon fiber tub soles on my usual Bonts. It was a bit frustrating, when installing the cleats, to find the bolt hole threads were not properly prepped, making getting the bolts in a chore. Once the bolt hooked up and screwed in, they could be backed out and reinstalled easily, so it’s like threaded receivers weren’t chased or faced. I’ve been riding cleats since the ‘80s, so this was probably most annoying because I’ve never dealt with it before that I can recall.

I didn’t really get into any hard efforts, but the sole flex was noticeable and gave a comfy ride. I literally only did .3mi before the rain started, so I cannot comment on much else.

Regarding sizing, do measure your foot and use the size chart for these; I was directed up a half-size from I typically ride, but they fit summer sock perfectly.

Overall a decent shoe, maybe more style driven than performance oriented, but I’ve got two other pairs of summer road shoes and a winter pair, so I think these will serve their limited role just fine, but we’ll see. I’ll try to update here after I’ve gotten some rides on them.

Are they like the genuine Boas on other shoes, like Shimano? Can't be more fumbly than the boa-like things on Sidi shoes (which I love the fit and comfort, but not the "boa" so much).

I think it’s safe to assume that they’re genuine Boa since they use the name in the shoe model and there’s Boa printed loud n’ clear on the dials. Maybe what you’re thinking of are the different models of Boa dials, which have different behaviors for tightening and loosening. I prefer the multidirectional models which twist to tighten and loosen, rather the pull up to release models like these shoes have. It’s not a big deal, but if I had my druthers…

I have some Mavic’s which use an other-than-Boa brand of cable tensioning dial, but they’re multidirectionall, so I like them better than the Boa on my Bont Riots[

Yeah, Sidi use a boa-like device. You have to find and flip a little lever to tighten it and to loosen, you have to press two tabs. It's pretty fussy compared to the regular Boas I've used.

This is exactly how I feel about my Sidis. They are a PITA.

I like them.

Oh, I like my Sidi shoes a lot. I've kind of gotten used to the boa-type thing. I do like the way they evenly tighten the two parts of the shoe - lower and upper. The boa-type thing is just a hassle, not a lot more of a hassle than my other Sidis with velcro lower closures and a ratchet on top. I have gotten used to it. But if/when I need new shoes, I might check out other brands and be more aware of how the closures work. But I love the fit, comfort and durability of the Sidis.

I have been wanting SIdi to copy Shimano buckles and now Boa for years.

Am a fan of double BOAs which allow one to tighten and loosen selected areas as need be. I have one pair of Specialized with a single, like the OP’s which I only wear in the winter when my feet don’t swell with the heat.

I actually like the Sidi buckles on my older Genius (velcro/buckle), but have to admit, I haven't tried other versions, having settled on Sidi since they're good quality, they fit and therefore I can order them mail order. The buckles do compare favorably (sometimes identically) to XC skate ski collar buckles I've had.

The double boa or velcro bottom, buckle top is the only way to go. When I was shopping for my most recent shoes, I tried some single boa shoes and they weren't good at getting a good fit top and bottom.

What I like about boa bottom compared to velcro is that it just is easy to get a nice even snug fit. With the velcro it just wasn't as good imo. Boa is kind of like lacing where it's easy to snug up the shoe evenly. Boa on the top, to me, doesn't do anything a ratchet strap doesn't do easier and better. Now I wonder if I can find a shoe that fits with a boa bottom and a ratchet buckle on the top.

I'm using "boa" as a generic term for a cable system replacing laces, with a disc-shaped tightener.

Adidas has been making cycling shoes since the '70s, at least. Eddy Merckx wore Adidas cycling shoes, and so did I, back then! (Merckx pictured)

I do like the looks of those. I too prefer the double boa's, but I do like the looks.

Ah. I also did a quick google, and found that with the ‘20 launch of the lace up version of this Road model, Adidas reentered the cycling shoe market after a 15 year absence. Apparently Adi also owns Five Ten, so they’ve kinda been in the scene, but nothing for road and nothing under the Adidas label for quite awhile.

I was at the lbs today shopping for some new shoes and I really like some of the Sidi offerings. I didn’t like their take on the BOA dials though. The BOA dials have a better release mechanism and the lever seems unnecessary and awkward.

How are these width wise? Wide, narrow or average?

My feet are probably on the wide end of the average range, and I rarely run into situations where I notice width, so I don’t want to say anything definitive, but I’d call these average, width-wise. Maybe the forefoot— right atop the metatarsals— is ever-so-slightly narrow-ish, but toe box and heel seem bang-on average to me (with thin, summer cycling socks).

New Shoe Day is DEFINITELY a thing.

Yay!

Based on this thread I ended up purchasing the same shoe, the same color/design. I am a bit of Adidas fanboy, most of my athletic clothing is from them
so was looking to add a pair of cycling shoes as well. I tried on the parley version some time ago but those shoes felt somewhat hard and I was afraid them not being
very comfortable, so never actually ended up purchasing. Seeing the pics of this new design sparked my curiousity again. Interestingly, I was also able to
find $15 coupon so the total price came to $75, so that was a no brainer for me.
Anyway, the shoes sock thing is actually quite comfortable. The softness of the knit might not be very durable but it makes the upper feel
quite good, and hopefully it will allow to stretch some more. I have a high and bony instep so putting these on is a bit of a challange as the top part is rather
tight, but once in they are fine. The width is a bit narrow for me however. I usualy prefer a bit wider shoes, I have Lake 237 and 238 as a reference (237 being a bit too wide
and used as winter/thick sock shoe). I took these out for first time today on a 25mile ride and they did ok. At harder effort for longer period I felt the tightness on the sides,
this is where I hope they open up a bit with use with that knit material. Also, in those harder efforts I started feeling the pedals "bleeding" thru the sole. Once I took gas off the pedal
this was not as prominent anymore.
The shoes look quite good, at the price I got them it's a good shoe. It fits the low to medium intensity, not for hard or long rides. At MSRP this is way too expensive for what you get.
I think Adidas should lower MSRP on these, slap carbon sole on the new version and maybe make wide version option of the shoe and I'd be willing to get those again.

Hope it helps someone.

Oh gosh...the new club kit I was thinking these shoes would be good for came in today, and I was thinking of taking them out tomorrow on Wednesday night fast club ride. It's usually under 2hrs, but it is hard efforts, so maybe I won't bother because feeling the pedals through the sole does not sound nice. I was worried the sole was too flexible, but I'd forgotten what that means out on the road; I haven't had a flimsy shoe since the very early '00s.

I guess up to you. Most of the time cycling shoes do not seem to be eligible for returns once worn but I just had a call with Adidas and
they said I can return these up to 30 days after delivery. So I am going to ride them few more times and see if they open up witdh wise
a bit more and if the sole stiffness will bother me.

New shoes deserve new cleats. Just sayin'.

I bought their lace-up road shoe recently, only because they are green and orange and match my club kit. I like them. They were a bargain at $40.

+1 Especially if you are going to showcase them with photos in their very own thread.

I like the style and I have a soft spot for Adidas as a brand due to my football (soccer) youth days. So I hope they go all in with higher performance versions.

By way of an update, with two good rides on these shoes now, I an say that they’re not bad.

The flex in the sole is a double-edged sword; on the one hand, it’s a bit of give that seems to help take the sharp edges off the rough stuff aiding comfort, while on the other hand, also dulls somewhat the sensation of snappiness from power inputs (or something like that). I can’t say whether or not I noticed any performance differences in the ride analyses, but I didn’t make direct comparisons.

My biggest gripe is the weird tongue part, which as a “partial sock” design, can cause some odd puckering if not smoothed and adjusted after getting your foot in. It really should wrap down the sides of the fore-/mid-foot, IMO.

So in all, they’re nice enough for fairly sporty rides, but I’d take something stiffer for the hardest rides and races, in hopes of marginal gains.