I hate the complexity of boa’s and buckles, and I have one pair of cx lace up shoes that I prefer, so gave the Distanzas a try as a primary training shoe and for mountain bike racing in the summer. It is very, very comfortable! I also found them to be much lighter than my previous mtn bike shoes.
They are a bit narrow in the arch area back toward the heel, but also provide a natural arch support with the provided insoles. I tried insoles with both high and medium arch supports and the arch boost was way too much. I put my old shoes back on and they were immedialtely uncomfortable, so the Distanza is a noticeable difference. Also they look even better in person. My only two minor issues is that the lower laces kind of lock into the loops and you can not adjust them by pulling on or loosening the upper laces. You have to lossen uppers then pull lower laces through the loop to loosen them then adjust the lower from below, thread the slack through the loop then tighten the upper.
The second issue is the sole of the shoe is quite narrow both at forefoot and especially the heel. Walking on stones or uneven grass occasionally you tend to roll your ankle, which almost never happens in my other cycling shoes. Overall I love them however, and would request and plead for a mountain bike/CX version with an aggressive, wider outsole, and ability for toe spikes. In addition have the rubber toe overlap cover the pinky side metarsal bump at the widest part of the foot. This area tends to catch rocks and trees and gets damaged or ripped.
