When it comes to off-road riding, your choice of cycling shoes is as much about personal preference as it is about terrain, riding style, and whether you like the feeling of being locked in or prefer to move your feet about on the pedals when riding.
But what actually makes a great off-road shoe beyond the type of sole it has? Should we all be strapping into carbon-soled race shoes for maximum power, or is a grippy skate-style flat – or a pair of Blundstones – the secret to comfort and confidence?
In this edition of Collective Favourites, we’ve taken a break from cycling computers, bib shorts and supermarket snack aisles to return to the topic of shoes. As we found out in the first iteration of this Favourites series with road shoes, shoes are a very contentious genre. As always, we asked our tech and editorial team to share their go-to off-road footwear, and we turned to you, our members, to see what’s on your feet when you ride off the paved roads.
What makes a great off-road cycling shoe?
Before getting onto the favourites, let's break down some shoe advice. Like any other piece of cycling gear, the best off-road shoe depends on your priorities. Are you looking for ultimate comfort, walkability, grip, or a little bit of everything? What pedals are you using?
Even more so than with the road cycling shoe category, off-road shoe options are quite varied. That’s perhaps mainly because there are more disciplines within off-road cycling; you have gravel, a range of mountain biking formats across XC to gravity, and bikepacking often falls more into the off-road than road category, too. And across all these, preferences and riding styles vary widely.
Clipless vs. flats
Let's start from the bottom of the shoes. Whether you choose to ride clipless or flat pedals is an age-old debate, perhaps even moreso than whether you ride two-bolt, recessed-cleat pedal and shoe systems or three-bolt, exposed-cleat systems on the road.
Clipless pedals – which for off-road cycling means the use of a two-bolt metal cleat that locks your foot into a matching pedal system – offer a more secure and consistent foot position. But even though there is a common misconception about clipless pedals being more efficient through biomechanical mechanisms like pulling up at the back of the pedal stroke, a number of studies have shown this not to be true (except in some specific instances like maximal sprint efforts). The efficiency associated with clipless pedals comes instead from the fact that your feet are, as described above, always in a specific position as long as you’re clipped in, and this can be especially beneficial in race situations.
But clipless pedals also come with a learning curve, and potential "I’m stuck and falling" moments, and shoes with cleats can mean more limited walkability.
Flats, on the other hand, allow for freedom of movement, adjusting your foot position on the go depending on which way the trail points, easy dismounts, and easier hike-a-bike sections. But they can also lead to foot slippage on rough terrain, and some riders find they struggle to maintain an ideal pedal position over long rides.
There’s no wrong choice between the two – just what works best for your riding style. As you’ll see in our favourite choices too, many of us opt to ride clipless on gravel and choose something else for mountain biking.
Fit and sizing
Beyond choosing flat or clipless shoes, fit is the most important aspect of choosing your cycling shoes, whatever the discipline. If you have wide feet, then you need wide cycling shoes. If you have narrow feet, then look for narrower options.
Different brands interpret sizing and width differently, so don’t assume a size 42 in one shoe will fit the same as a size 42 in another. Instead of specific shoe sizes, measuring your foot size (length and width) in millimetres is a lot more consistent and reliable way of determining which shoe size from each brand might fit you.
Some brands cater more to narrow feet (many Italian brands historically have), while others, like Lake and Bont, have developed genuinely wide-fit options.
Your shoes and their fit can have a huge impact on your comfort on the bike, as many issues with your foot positioning and pedalling mechanics can radiate upwards and cause numerous issues. So having that base correct is more important than we often think. Many bike fitters offer specific shoe-fitting sessions where you can get your feet analysed and if there is a need to for example support a high or low arch, then you can get options for custom insoles.
It’s also worth noting that depending on whether you go for flat or clipless shoes, the shape can vary. Mountain bike shoes are generally more like regular shoes and can have a wider toebox and a more cushioned upper, while clipless shoes need some rigidity in the structure to house the cleat base plate in the sole.
Sole stiffness & walkability
Whether you ride clipless or not, a stiffer shoe sole means better power transfer and more stability, while a more flexible sole equals better comfort and walkability.
If you’re racing, a stiff shoe (whether clipless or flat) will keep your foot more stable and maximise efficiency. This is an aspect of off-road shoes that has improved a lot in the past years; previously two-bolt shoes used to come with quite flexible soles which didn’t necessarily cater for that direct connection with the shoe in race situation. When discussing with Julian Wall from CycleFit, the bike fitter has repeatedly said that today, there is no reason why one wouldn’t even choose "off-road" (two-bolt) shoes for road cycling, as there are plenty of stiff-enough shoe options available.
But not everyone needs or wants a stiff shoe. If you’re more of a trail explorer, a slightly softer sole will make hike-a-bike sections and café stops more comfortable.
Grip & traction – the sole
For flat shoes, the outsole is very important. A good rubber compound and proper tread pattern can make the difference between feeling glued to the pedals and feeling like you’re slipping all over the place on the pedal platform.
For clipless shoes, the tread shouldn’t be wholly ignored either. Many two-bolt clipless shoes feature quite aggressive outsoles designed to grip rocks and roots when you’re off the bike. Those lugs also form part of the pedaling platform and protect the cleat from extensive contact with the ground.
Breathability and weatherproofness – the upper
The upper part of the shoe can determine whether you have sweaty feet in hot weather and cold feet in freezing temperatures – and shouldn’t be ignored. The more ventilation, the more breathability the shoe has. This matters especially as off-road shoes often don’t have any undersole vents like road shoes do. Similarly, fewer mesh sections on the upper mean warmer shoes if you live in a wet and cold climate.
Beyond temperature, the suppleness or rigidity of the upper can also affect comfort. If you have wider or high-volume feet, something like a knitted upper has more give to accommodate the shape of your foot, while more robust shoes don’t stretch much in any direction but protect your feet better and generally are more durable.
The last thing about the upper is the style. It’s not important from a functional perspective, but liking the look of your shoes does play a part in how much you enjoy using them.
Closure system
The closure system of a shoe plays an important part in how it fits your feet. Laced shoes allow for very precise adjustments when putting the shoes on, but tightening or loosening them on the go is impossible. Laces also need to be secured from flapping about to prevent them from catching on the drivetrain or any trailside branches and bushes.
Velcro strap closure on off-road shoes isn’t always the best option because of the way dirt makes the hook-and-loop fasteners get less ‘sticky’ when they get covered in dust and mud. These are often the closure systems on cheaper cycling shoes.
Then there’s Boa and similar dial-and-lace systems from Sidi and Northwave. Similarly to traditional laces, these systems allow for very easy and precise adjustment of tightness, and they’re very easy to adjust even while riding if you feel your feet have swollen during the ride. They can snap off the shoe, but Boa dials for example can be replaced free of charge via the company's lifetime guarantee.
There are also lots of closure system combinations. A Velcro strap at the toe area, and a single Boa at the top – or the other way round. Laces and a Velcro strap are a common combination for mountain bike shoes. One Boa dial, or two, are also options; the latter is much better for tailored fit but is usually reserved for mid- to top-range shoes.
Durability
Off-road cycling shoes generally take a lot more beating than road shoes. When the gradient gets too steep to ride, you might walk in them for miles on end, hike in them through bogs, muddy fields, and swampy forests, and when riding bash them into rocks and whatever else is on the trails.
For this reason, off-road shoes generally feature a more substantial and durable sole and a toe guard that protects them from all those hits. But while those mechanical hits are easy to take, the water and mud can be harder on the shoe and affect the sole and lead to it separating from the upper.
Some shoes are more subjective to this than others, and again what works for you depends on your typical riding conditions.
Price
When we talked about road shoes, many of our favourites were on the higher end of the price range – and it’s true that cycling shoes can be costly. Yet, as you’ll see in our favourites, they can serve you for years and if you ride a lot, investing in your foot comfort is essential to avoid issues down the road.
As a disclaimer, we’re not getting any commission from any of these articles; they’re simply trying to serve you by telling you what we’ve found works well for the riding that we do. For many of the shoe models, there is a cheaper option down the lineup; instead of a S-Works shoe, you can go for the more basic version and still get many of the features.
Let’s see about those favourites, then.
Iain Treloar - Rapha Explore Powerweave
Confession time: I’ve had a thing for shoes for almost as long as I can remember. I’m no sneakerhead in the sense of keeping them shrink-wrapped in boxes but I’ve got 20 or so pairs on the go, in a range of colours and styles to suit most outfits and moods. There was a time that spread to my cycling shoes – road, casual and especially off-road shoes, usually lace-ups – but I’m not in that spot any more. The reason? I found, for the first time, a shoe that I was almost completely content with.
In March 2021, the Rapha Explore Powerweave came out, building on the promise of a lace-up version that preceded it. The big difference was in the upper – a supportive but supple knit that accommodates any bumps or curves in my foot, holds its shape when wet and dries reasonably quickly. I got these shoes in for review at The Old Place, and they’re still going four years later.
Yes, looking a bit tatty now, and the tread on the bottom is getting a little beaten up after all the rides they’ve accompanied me on, but show me a pair of shoes this old that isn’t showing its age. And yes, they're pretty expensive, but on a cost-per-ride basis, they're not bad value.
Otherwise, I broke a Boa thread on them a couple of years back (but replacements are free, so that’s not a fatal flaw) and they’ve made me a happy rider all the time besides that: short rides or long, commutes or late-night cruises, on gravel bikes and mountain bikes and (whisper it) even sometimes road bikes, once I accepted that the Rapha Pro Team shoes I have – which are ostensibly the same in a road format – just aren’t as comfortable in the real world. The only thing I’d change is to have a scuff-protection bumper on the fabric at the toe, which is a bit prone to getting loose threads from branch and thorn encounters while bush-bashing.
The fit is what really makes these for me, setting a high watermark that means that I’ve basically narrowed my preference for what will replace them down to one: the same again (next time they're on sale).
Price: A$500/US$380/€335/£295 at Rapha.cc
Alex Hunt – FiveTen's Freerider Pro
One of these weeks, I will submit my entry to collective favourites without being controversial. This week, however, is not that week. If you remember the first instalment of the series, I named the Canyon Tempr CFR Off-Road shoes as my favourite road shoes. Given that these are XC mountain bike shoes, you are probably expecting me to submit them again now that this category has come around. Well, you are wrong.
For me, there is only one shoe that I can crown as my favourite off-road shoe, and it is by far and away the shoe I have bought the most pairs of over the years. FiveTen's Freerider Pro is the shoe I would reach for if my house was burning down and, for some reason, I had time to save a specific pair of shoes.
As far as flat pedal shoes go, the Freeriders are unmatched. The grip from the stealth rubber outsole has an almost SPD feel when matched to a good flat pedal. The toe bumper has saved my toes from many tree stumps, and the laces stay in place and never really come undone. Pair that with plenty of colourful and vibrant designs, and I am sold.
Having tried other flat shoes in the past, I have always found myself returning to my old faithful. If I had to point to one downside, it would be that they do take a long time to fully dry out. But given everything else about these shoes is positive, I am happy to forgive them on this front. For trail and gravity riding, there is simply no better shoe – in my opinion.
Price: US$120/ £100 / A$240at Adidas.com
Joe Lindsey – Lake MX177(*)
(*) Technically, I don’t own Lake’s MX177 mountain bike shoes. I own their predecessor, the MX176, which I’ve had since (checks notes) the spring of 2017. But the shoes are close enough – differing only slightly in closure system and mesh panel placement on the upper – that side by side it feels like that “they’re the same picture” meme from The Office.
Here’s the thing about these shoes: They’re durable AF. In the same time that I’ve owned the MX176s (which, by rough count have seen many hundreds of hours of ride time), a good friend has been through no fewer than five pairs of various Giros, all of which have suffered the same outsole delamination issue.
My MXs are scuffed and torn, the microfiber leather upper worn away in spots from lengthy hike-a-bikes and using my feet as tools during trail-building/maintenance sessions. The outsole’s toe and heel lugs are badly chewed up and the metal heads for the toe spike holes are so rounded and ground down I fear not even Dave Rome’s beloved Knipex pliers wrench would get them out. But the grippy outsole is still firmly attached and not worn enough to destabilize the pedal/lug interface, the original Boa dials work – serviceably, anyway – despite zero maintenance, and there are about four stitches total that are blown. There are lighter shoes for sure, but that’s quality construction and materials.
Lake makes the MX177 in whole sizes only, which isn’t ideal, but the range is agreeably large at sizes 36-50, and they come in a regular and wide last (which starts at size 39, sorry). The fibre-reinforced nylon sole has moderate rocker and decent flex for hike-a-bike but is stiff enough that I don’t get hot spots on long rides (I use Time’s large-platform Speciale pedals, which certainly help). And at US$180/€166/£139, the MX177 is the most affordable Boa-closure shoe in Lake’s off-road line and is priced comparably to similar, well-regarded shoes like Specialized’s Recon 3.0 and Shimano’s XC5. Eventually (I guess?) these will finally wear out and I’ll have to buy new ones. Maybe by that point, say 2032, the model will be called the MX179 or whatever, but if they’re still substantially the same shoe and the world hasn’t burned to a crisp by then, I’ll probably buy ’em again.
Price: US$180 / £150 / A$285 at Lakecycling.com
Dave Rome - Shimano S-Phyre RC-903
Riding off-road means a variety of different bikes spanning from race drop bar bikes to cross-country mountain bikes, through to longer-travel e-bikes. And while there is some overlap in footwear choice, there can also be big differences in what I pick.
The Shimano S-Phyre RC-903 is my shared favourite shoe for both gravel and cross-country. As covered in my Favourite Products of 2024, this top-tier cross-country shoe provides my narrowish foot without a single hotspot, the tread has a good amount of grip off the bike, and it feels wonderfully efficient. There are shoes that fit tighter and/or offer a better tread interface for a less sloppy pedal fit, but I find those more locked-in options to give me ankle fatigue in rougher terrain as the bike isn’t as free to float around beneath me.
For trail mountain biking you’ll typically find me in an older pair of Specialized 2FO Clips which have served me well but are starting to fall apart. Meanwhile, the rare times I’m not clipped in, I really like the Five Ten Freerider Pro.
Price: US$450 / £350 / A$600 at Rideshimano.com
Josh Weinberg - Udog Distanza
I like a gravel shoe that I can also use for favourite XC riding or touring. It’s not unusual to find myself in a situation here in southern Arizona where my gravel or mountain bike gets me to a place where hike-a-bike is imperative. So I need a shoe that can both walk and spin pedals efficiently. Soles can’t be too stiff or slippery on rocky surfaces. And uppers need to be breathable for comfort in intense heat.
I’ve had this pair of Udog Distanzas since they came out in 2022. The brand sent them to me to test and I’ve put thousands of miles on them since. I even included them in my favourite products list of 2023. And the fact that I still use them weekly says a lot. It’s almost weird to admit, but I have been sent many comparable shoes over the years and could easily cycle through a new pair every six months if I wanted to review the latest and greatest. But I usually reach for the Distanzas.
Regarding fit, the branded “Tension Wrap System” (TWS) works nicely. I’m able to somewhat customise the fit between the toebox and arch areas. I’m able to leave them a little loose in the toe while leveraging the mid-foot TWS to dial in the rest of the fit.
After so many miles in harsh environments, I’m pretty amazed by how well they’ve held up.
The woven mesh uppers haven't snagged like I assumed it would and the rubber soles still have plenty of life left. The upper mesh is highly breathable via well-placed side vents. Because of this, however, they are not even the slightest bit water resistant. I had these shoes on a trip to Iceland, which was a horrible idea. Thankfully I had Rapha shoe covers along, which helped considerably to keep rain and ground moisture out.
They also look cool and different in a crowded field of gravel shoes that kinda all look similar.
Additionally, my two favourite trail riding shoes right now are the Crank Bros Mallet Boa and the Ride Concepts Tallac Clip Boa.
Price: US$195 / £153 / €180 at Udog.cc.
Suvi Loponen - Currently no favourite
Despite my drawers and shoe racks being full of off-road cycling shoes, I don’t have a single pair I’d call a true favourite. Actually, putting this feature together has been a bit of a wake-up call – it was easy to pick my go-to road shoes, but for some reason, I’ve been procrastinating on finding an equally comfortable and well-fitting off-road pair.
Lately, I’ve been riding in the Crankbrothers Candy lace-up shoes, and while there are things I like about them – the grippy, soft outsole that’s neither clunky nor slippery, and an almost wide enough forefoot – there’s one dealbreaker: the overall size. The Candys run too long for me in my “correct” size, and frustratingly, there’s no smaller option in the lineup than the size 4 I have. Finding the correct size (EU37) shoes is something I seem to struggle with more when it comes to off-road shoes, and combined with my need for a wide last, the options that fit well are even fewer.
Shoes are not the only genre where I wish the cycling industry would take the smaller-proportioned population better into account. Considering that road shoes have seen a boom in width options in recent years, where are the options for off-road? Choices are still limited for anyone with smaller than EU38 feet (which I understand is a niche market), and most wide-fit options (which sometimes only start at size 41) are usually at the very high end of the ranges, meaning you’ll be spending a considerable amount of money to get the fit.
That said, I have a couple of new pairs in testing, including the Bont Riot G, and maybe – just maybe – by the time our 2025 Favourite Products features roll out, I’ll finally have a pair of off-road shoes that actually fit my feet.
Members’ Favourites – Giro, Shimano and Rapha
It’s not an exaggeration to say that the favourites in this category were very varied among you, our members. Of the dozens of responses to the poll, only one pair got more than one individual mention: the Giro Empire VR90. These laced shoes were the favourite of Rudi Diet, who said they’re “Built like a tank, super comfortable, excellent quality sole (and as it's Vibram it is technically replacement-ready), stiff enough to keep my plantar fascia happy, compatible with custom footbeds, and easily washed when they get covered in dirt, clay, whatever.”
The Giro Privateer also got a mention for being a solid all-rounder that won’t break the bank.
In terms of brands in general, one stood out in particular: Shimano. The brand got a lot of love, with multiple mentions across its XC and RX series of shoes. The XC902 S-Phyre (the predecessor to what Dave Rome likes) also got a nod from Brian Doll, and Nole Studley couldn’t decide between the older XC901 and the Specialized S-Works Recon SL – both high-performance and high-budget choices. David Savage, among many others, listed the RX8 gravel race shoe, calling it lightweight, breathable, and a perfect fit for his narrow feet.
Beyond Shimano, Lake also had some strong supporters. Aaron Humphrey picked the Lake MX242 Wide, calling them “soft, flexible, breathable” and a great option for those who need more room up front. Sebestyen backed the Rapha Explore (lace-up) and said they have a balanced mix of stiffness and flexibility, particularly for hike-a-bikes.
For those leaning towards flat shoes, Five Ten’s Freerider series came up as a go-to for grip and comfort, which was unsurprising given their near-legendary status among flat pedal riders.
And then there were the wild cards, including Vans and even Blundstone 500 boots. The member who preferred to stay anonymous declared them “indestructible, comfortable, and the best thing I’ve ever worn on a bike.” It might not be the first choice for most, but it’s proof that ride footwear is a very personal choice.
As usual, let us know your favourites in the comments, and if you want to take part in these articles, all you have to do is to head over to our members only Discord, search for “Escape Favourites” channel and you can find links to each week’s form where you can submit your favourites.
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