I've recently been converted to the looks and versatility of lace-up gravel/MTB shoes. As a fan of the Specialized S-Works Recon shoe with its Boa fastening, I was looking forward to testing the similarly designed Specialized S-Works Recon Lace model. I was also curious to see how it compared to the Rapha Explore, which features a laced closure system and is the top choice in our best gravel shoe guide.
We have already tested and reviewed many different iterations of Recon shoes over the years, including the recently launched Specialized Recon ADV, the Specialized Recon 3, and the budget-friendly Specialized Recon 1.0. So this laced version certainly seemed to have a design pedigree of similar top-rated shoes on its side.
