Judging anything ‘gravel’ nowadays is becoming increasingly difficult as the gravel genre itself diversifies and branches off like icebergs off a glacier. You’ve got racing through to pseudo-MTB, and so judging a single pair of shoes the best overall for such a wide range of uses is nearly impossible.
Nearly impossible, but it is still my job to try and decipher the good from the average in an increasingly saturated market space. I’ve been using a slew of gravel specific footwear over the last few months from a great number of brands in order to create my guide to the best gravel shoes, and while there are a great number of options on the list that are good, or even excellent options for a specific purpose, rider, or situation, there was one pair that stood out.
The Giro Privateer is a pair of shoes that, in my eyes, manages to tick all the boxes. It’s not necessarily the top performer, but it is comfortable, easy to walk in, durable, and great value. More than any other pair of gravel shoes, it seems to me like a pair that could well be all things to if not all people, then most of them.
If you want to know a little more about the thought processes behind my decisions, I also put together a parallel guide to the six things I learned testing gravel bike shoes, which goes into things like fit, comfort, carbon soles, closure systems, and much more.
The winners
Best overall & Best value
Why are these the best overall, over such flash options as the S-Works Recon and the Fizik Vento Ferox Carbon? Simply put because they are the epitome of a perfect generalist.
With gravel riding bifurcating and nebulising into more and more niches, with equipment often following suit, this is a pair of shoes that can do most things with a good degree of aplomb, which is especially impressive considering they have an RRP substantially lower than many competitors.
In terms of performance they don’t match the race options, but being realistic how many of us are actually racing gravel? No, didn’t think so. What you lose in a bit of stiffness by ditching the carbon sole you gain in walkability, a real godsend for hike-a-bike sections or just at the café….
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