We’re living in a gravel specific era, and the range of products available now that are tailored to fast, off-road riding is staggering. While things like the best cargo bib shorts made an obvious splash, for a long time it seemed like the best gravel bike shoes were effectively the same as the best cross-country mountain bike shoes.
Now though, we’ve reached a point where gravel bikes themselves are diverging into the best gravel bikes, and the best gravel race bikes, with each requiring different footwear.
You can quite happily use mountain bike shoes on a gravel bike, and they will serve you well for the more general gravel riding for sure, but if you are either undertaking gravel racing or more exploratory riding, you will be better served with gravel shoes.
For gravel racing, your footwear will be more akin to the best road cycling shoes, except designed for use with SPD-style pedals, rather than SPD-SL (for more info we have an SPD vs SPD-SL explainer). Modifications for walking are minimal, beyond a recessed cleat, and the focus is on power transfer and low weight.
At the other end of the spectrum for generalist, exploratory gravel riding, or for some ultra-distance races the need for comfort, durability, and the ability to walk for protracted periods is much more important, more so than for MTB shoes.
Bear these things in mind, and as ever be honest with the sort of riding you intend to do, but if you find yourself getting hung up on the details then we have a handy guide at the bottom of this piece to answer any of the questions you probably have.
The best gravel bike shoes you can buy today
Specialized made the bold proclamation that its S-Works Recon shoes were the “fastest off-road shoes on the market”. Designed as a cross-country race shoe, the Recon’s staggeringly stiff sole and light weight means that it is also one of the best all-around gravel shoes available.
The hard-wearing Dyneema uppers are secured over the top of the foot with…
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