Specialized S-Works Ares 2 Road Shoe Review

What to Look For

Plenty of triathletes split their bike time between a road bike and a tri bike, which means a stiff, precise road racing shoe still earns a place in the kit bag for group rides, road-race legs of duathlons, and anyone who wants a snug, no-hotspot fit for long days in the saddle. The Specialized S-Works Ares 2, launched in March 2025, is Specialized’s flagship road shoe — a ground-up redesign of the original Ares aimed at closing the comfort gap with the brand’s other race shoes without giving up any stiffness.

Key Features

• All-new Body Geometry Last — built from over 100,000 3D foot scans, it adds roughly 20% more contact surface in the forefoot. Specialized claims a 44% reduction in forefoot pressure and a 7-watt power increase over the original Ares, though treat those figures as manufacturer claims rather than independently verified numbers.
• Twin BOA Li2 dial closure — two dials work through a triangular lacing pattern that spreads tension across a wider area of the upper than a standard single-dial layout, so forefoot and midfoot tension can be tuned independently.
• Unidirectional carbon sole — a race-stiff carbon composite outsole built for maximum power transfer; Specialized doesn’t publish a numeric stiffness index for this shoe, so we won’t quote one.
• Roomier, squared-off toe box — about 2.4mm wider through the forefoot than the S-Works Torch, with a more symmetrical heel cup, making it noticeably easier to get on than the original Ares.

Our Verdict

The S-Works Ares 2 is built for riders who want the stiffest, most locked-in shoe Specialized makes but found the original Ares — or the brand’s sprint-focused S-Works Torch — too narrow or too fussy to get on. At roughly 510-526g a pair (size 43-44) it’s not the lightest race shoe on the market, but reviewers consistently rate the fit as the most comfortable Specialized has produced, which matters over a long ride or a bike-run brick when foot comfort compounds.

Compared with the S-Works Torch, the Ares 2 is positioned as an all-around race shoe rather than a sprinter’s shoe: it’s wider through the forefoot, around 25g heavier per shoe, and carries a premium of more than £100 over the Torch. If your priority is the narrowest, lightest possible shoe for maximal sprint stiffness, the Torch remains the more specialist choice — the Ares 2 is the one to reach for if you want that same race-day stiffness with a fit that doesn’t punish you on a five-hour ride.

At £479, this is a genuinely premium shoe — Specialized’s most expensive road shoe to date, and roughly £100 more than the original Ares. It’s available in four colourways across a wide EU36-49 size range with half sizes. Worth it if you’re chasing marginal gains and want the stiffest platform Specialized sells with genuinely wearable comfort; hard to justify if you’re not already shopping at the S-Works price point.

The S-Works Ares 2 is currently out of stock at Tredz. You can check current availability and pricing directly on Specialized’s own UK site.

Buying Tips

• Try before you buy where possible — the redesigned last runs wider through the forefoot than the original Ares and the Torch, so your usual Specialized size may fit differently.
• If stock is tight, sign up for restock alerts on Specialized’s own site or a UK stockist like Sigma Sports or Tredz rather than paying a grey-import markup.
• If £479 is more than you want to spend, the original S-Works Ares or the S-Works Torch are worth a look — both remain in Specialized’s range at a lower price point with the same class of stiff carbon sole.