Specialized Rime shoes

[Jeff Z]

I need to get some bike shoes that can tolerate a bit of Arizona hike a bike. That means lots of sharp nasty stuff that wears down soles pretty quickly. The Pearl Izumi X Alps seem to be the gold standard out here, but I've heard really good things about these new Specialized Rime shoes. Anyone have any experience with them? Are they worth the extra bucks? Are they better than the X Alps or just different?

[JEF]

I use the Rime's.  I started with flat pedals and when I bought my clipless I got the Rime's, so I can't compare them to the others you mention.  However I do deal with a lot of rocks and I've never had any issues slipping on rocks like my friends in their harder soled clipless shoes do.  The Vibram rubber that is on them is soft and grips really well, so I would imagine wear will be faster then the hard plastic cleats of other shoes, but after a full season on mine they still look fine.  Hope that helps some.