In a search for THE right gravel shoes, I ruled out road shoes because of my desire to walk in them plus I wanted double-sided SPD pedals. In off-road cycling shoes, I tried the following six models (clock-wise from top left):
- Shimano MT7 - $150, 730g
- Shimano MT5 - $110, 690g
- Scott MTB Comp Boa Reflective - $120, 740g
- Giro Gauge - $85, 812g
- Giro Ranger - $100, 630g
- Giro Ventana Fastlace - $130, 816g
Both of the Shimano MTB shoes were chunkier than desired and not very stiff. I also tried the
Shimano XC3 ($120, 664g) and
XC5 ($170, 596g) Cross-Country shoes but ultimately found that I preferred the fit and construction of the Scott MTB shoes (found at $100, 740g in Black or Red without the reflective feature). Shimano rates their MTB shoes as "stiffness index 4" on their own 0-12 stiffness scale. I noted that Shimano recommends large-platform, caged SPD pedals like the
PD-M8120 and T8000 for use with their MTB shoes. You have to go up to a "stiffness index 6" before Shimano recommends shoes for use with bare SPD pedals like the PD-M520/M540/M8100
The
Giro Gauge is noticeably heavy and the lace holes aren't eyeletted which means that it takes a lot of lace pulling to tighten or loosen. Plus, like the Ventana Boa/Ventana Fastlace, the upper fabric has reviews critical of it's durability. The
Gauge and
Ventana are both wider than many shoes. The
Ranger was a surprise - very comfortable and seemingly well-made plus being the second lightest after the
Shimano XC5's. Both the
Giro Gauge and
Ranger came with a flat, die-cut insole which is lame. I normally wear a size US-11 and I tried all the shoes in size EU-46. Giro's size chart says EU-46 is equivalent to a US-12 though and indeed the Giro shoes were all too large for me. If I wanted a velcro strap shoe, I would definitely have reordered the
Giro Ranger in a smaller size and tried again. Ultimately, the fastening system I most wanted was a Boa on top with a velcro lower strap. Like some higher-end shoes, the Scott MTB shoes also optionally allow the wearer to double the bottom Boa lace for asymmetrical tightening across the instep which I found to be a useful feature.
Only one shoe is shown here with a SPD cleat attached - the other shoes are all being returned as tried-on but unused.
six off-road cycling shoe models