Thanks for tuning in
today we're going to be reviewing the
Scott Road RC
SL Supersonic cycling shoes.
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Scott's supersonic collection was
developed with one thing in mind pure
race speed.
The collection includes a number of
Scott's top-of-the-line road bikes as well
as
accessories and in this review we'll be
looking at the road cycling shoes
the RC SL which are part of that
collection.
Now in terms of packaging it's really
simple you have a black cardboard box
basic branding on top. We have the
euro 44 variation it's only in one color
the supersonic edition
and the men's road cycling option. They also have a
mountain biking variation.
Now i'll go ahead and take it out of the
box and go over the specs retail price
on this is $499.95
so very premium price. It has this
beautiful supersonic color scheme that
fades between voilet and purple and that
matches
all the other bikes and accessories. It
has a Carbitex
upper construction so it's actually a
carbon fiber weave
so really lightweight durable and
it's comfortable yet has no stretch in
certain directions so
something that really gives you that
upper hand when you're cycling.
It has a full carbon base this is their
HMX carbon design and this is a
10 out of 10 stiffness index so the
stiffest shoes
Scott actually sells currently.
It has dual BOA IP-1 dials on here as
well.
So you have full adjustment so micro
adjustments both directions and
pull to do a quick release.
You also have their ErgoLogic removable
insoles
so it has a different arch support
option in here as well as the metatarsal
button
so really nice custom fit. It's
compatible with
three cleat designs and as i mentioned
they do have a mountain biking version
with very similar design but different
sole.
In terms of what comes in the box you
get these shoes
and you also get a little travel bag
which is nice to have.
It is Scott branded so a great way to store
the shoes or travel with them.
You get a basic tag with little
information about Scott
you get these kind of interesting
stickers you're supposed to put on the
sole
and i guess that's just to cover up
where the cleat actually is but
it just seems like thicker so i don't
know if you have a comment yeah please
leave a comment if you have more
information on that.
Otherwise pretty simple
anti-mold chip
and that's about it. Now let's take a
look at the weight of the shoes again
these are the euro 44
without cleats attached. The right shoe
comes in
at 268 so quite light.
These aren't actually the lightest shoes
on the market anymore
Specialized in other companies have
taken that trophy. The left shoe is 268
but still very competitive especially at
the euro 44 size.
So now let's take a closer look at the
fit and finish of the Scott RC SL
shoes. Especially in the Supersonic
color these things are really beautiful.
You have this purple to violet fade from
front to rear
and it's all the way down to the base so
really well executed
and they definitely stand out. The other
thing is that not only do these
shoes have carbon fiber base with the 10
stiffness index but they also have
carbon fiber on top
so really unique construction here. This
is from a company called Carbitex
and it's a carbon fiber weave very
flexible,
super lightweight and really perfect
application for cycling where you want
durability
with lightweight and no stretch so
depending on the direction of the weave
this will actually not stretch at all
but still provides enough comfort
to really accommodate your feet so a
really nice feature and that keeps the
weight of the shoes
low and helps with power transfer. In
terms of branding really simple
you just have Scott here on the side
with the logo
Scott on the outer heel, Carbitex
logo on here and then the two BOA dials.
These are IP-1 dials so dual direction
and then they pop out for full release.
Really nicely designed so you have
enough micro adjustments to
dial in the fit from the bottom
all the way to the top.
You have a standard tongue design where
the real dials actually
run through and perforations. Now you'll
note that the Carbitex material is
really strong but doesn't provide any
ventilation. That's why the rest of the
structure is actually this weave
and you can see almost nearly
transparent that extends all the way
down to the front as well so
provides nice ventilation on all
the other sections of the shoe.
The base of the shoe has your standard
heel toe
pads and they don't appear to be replaceable
which is one downside.
It's really nice to have these
replaceable so over time you can keep
using the shoes.
You have this nice little indentation
here to provide a lot of stress
strength and reduce flex. It's a
three bolt configuration but again
you can get the mountain bike and you
can see this little glossy
a little rough finish here to
hold the cleat in place.
They have a well-placed little vent here
that funnels air down to your
foot
and what's nice about this they
even finish the sole in that same color
fade so nice detail.
You have nice soft fabric near the top
and then here is soft as well so
it won't hit your ankle and both shoes
are nicely designed with symmetric
design
with the Scott on the outer side and
then RC SL on the inner.
Now if we take a look at the insole on
here being a expensive shoe you get
nice insoles
so much more premium than your standard
molded foam design.
It's ventilated here you can see all the
way through
with these little perforations you get
the arch support to something you see in
something like the S-PHYRE as well so
velcro attachment you can purchase
different
ones. This is the medium arch you only
get the medium with the packaging but
again you can buy them separately.
They also have this metatarsal button which
is a nice feature that I haven't
actually seen on other shoes.
This is your metatarsal and this
is a nice feature that
helps you have comfort and you can
custom fit this by again changing the
arch support
and that metatarsal button with different
thicknesses and you can see a nice wrap
around design
that keeps your feet in place and
comfortable so you don't feel the
seams of the shoe.
Now let's take a closer look at the
Carbitex CX6 material
that Scott has used in the upper surface
of the shoe.
What's really impressive about this is a
flexible carbon fiber
textile we have a little sample here and
you can see it has that beautiful carbon
fiber weave
yet still has a nice flexibility and
durability that carbon fiber is known
for.
It is one of the strongest textiles
available in the commercial market
and that means there's no stretch so
under constant load
it retains its form and is super lightweight so
you reduce the bulk that traditional
shoes will have. You get that
strength and durability that carbon
fiber is known for.
What that means with these shoes you get
direct power transfer
and whether you're doing a 20 minute
ride or a six hour ride the shoes aren't
going to stretch
with constant loads so you can really
get the power down and still reduce the
weight of the shoe.
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Now let's take a look at the shoes on
the road. The Supersonic color scheme is
very distinctive you can see it has that
color fade from the front to the rear
so it's definitely more distinct than a
lot of the white and black shoes on the
market.
We also like the minimal branding you
only have SCOTT on the side
and a SCOTT logo on the front. What
stands out here is the carbon fiber
Carbitex material in the center
especially in the sun that weave really
shines and gives the
shoes a very unique appearance. In terms
of the fit they're very similar to
Shimano shoes
you have a wide toe box they're very
comfortable and even though it's a
carbon fiber material
it's also very flexible so you can
really tune the fit using the dual dial
system.
In terms of performance where we're
impressed they're very stiff
yet still very comfortable so if you're
doing a long ride or a short ride
you can really get the power transfer
down and not feel the discomfort at the
cleat.
Also with the ErgoLogic insoles you can
tune the
arch support to match your
anatomy so it provides a lot of comfort.
We found these shoes to be really
stiff and one of the best shoes we've
actually riden with although that does
come at the price premium.
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So now let's
compare the rcsl
with other shoes on the market.
At 500 these are obviously very
premium price
so you might be asking yourself what do
you get compared to a budget shoe.
So this is the Bont Motion $100 shoe that
we recently reviewed
and you can see the big difference is
the styling.
The RC Sl is obviously much prettier
you get dual boa dials versus the three
velcros
but obviously being a hundred dollar
shoe you wouldn't expect BOA dials.
You get a more ergonomic fit with the
bond but it's a fiberglass
sole versus the full carbon fiber of the
Scott's so the scott is stiffer
even though we're really impressed with
the Bont Motion.
As you go up in the price range you can
buy shoes like the FLR which have an
ATOP dial.
It's about 130 dollars with knit upper
so you don't get the nice carbon fiber
Carbitex upper
designed for that extra performance and
lightweight. So the RC SLs are much lighter shoes
compared to budget shoes which have
nylon or fiberglass as in the case of
Bont.
You get a much stiffer carbon fiber sole
with the SCOTT
and again styling wise they're really
beautiful look at with the SCOTT.
Now once you start going to $400 range
you can get some premium shoes
like other Bont shoes. We have the Vaypor S
here in
the retro reflective finish so in the
sun this actually
i'll reflect the light it's a really
cool way to have better visibility.
You get a carbon fiber moldable sole on
the bond
so really cool you get a custom fit
right out of the box by just throwing in
your oven and
replaceable heel and toe pads that you
don't get with the SCOTT.
It's a less pretty obviously than the
SCOTT design because of the wider
anatomical shape
but otherwise very functional dual BOA
dials as with the scott
and at 425 dollars not particularly
cheap either.
I would say it's really a difference
between form and function.
The scott rcsl stiff and comfortable
while the Vaypor S gives it a more custom
fit.
Probably the best comparison to do here
is the
Shimano S-PHYRE RC9 shoes which are
recently reviewed as well.
It's a beautiful S-SPHYRE blue Shimano
color
so it's almost an iridescent finish. It
has the newer
BOA Li2 dials versus the BOA IP-1 dials
on the SCOTT SL.
Again they're both really beautiful
shoes you have similar
integrated sole design so really
functional and high performance.
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Now let's go over the scorecard for the
Road RC SL shoes. We're going to grade on
four different categories
design closures comfort and value. For design
we would give it an A,
the supersonic gradient color scheme has
a very distinct style to it and looks
fast even when you're standing still.
Closures would also get an A. The
dual IP-1 dials
provide micro adjustments in both
directions and with the dual zone design
you can really tune the fit
to match your anatomy. Comfort is also an
A
despite the very stiff sole they're
stiff and responsive so they're
comfortable on short or long rides
and we really like the ErgoLogic
insoles that provide a custom like fit.
Now value-wise that's a B+ at $500
you can't get around the fact that these are
one of the most expensive shoes on the
market.
They lack the heat moldable carbon
soles that some other shoes offer or the
custom nature
of Bont shoes at similar prices. That
said these are really great shoes
they're
high performance and if you can afford
them they're going to be one of the best
shoes you own. Thanks for watching for
review
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