There’s lots of cross over in footwear between Gravel riding and mountain biking, a good cross country mountain bike shoe makes for a great gravel bike shoe too. The cleat system allows the use of double sided clip-in pedals, something I find essential for off road riding, they are stiff enough in the sole for all day riding but have enough give to allow for walking unrideable sections and some don’t look iut of place at a mid ride pub stop.
Quoc do a range of shoes for road, touring and MTB, they sent me these Escape models to try out. I asked for the amber colour as A) I really liked it and B) I thought they’d stand out better in the pictures!
The shoe comes with a polyurethane upper which is easy to keep clean and a glass fibre reinforced sole with rubber tread that works well on all but the slimiest roots. The tread clears well when filled with sticky mud. Quoc use their own Boa-like closure using a turn-able dial that makes micro adjustments on the fly really easy. The upper has punched holes for breathability and the “lace” fitment is reflective. The heel padding is comfortable and I experienced no heel lift throughout the test. The toe cap guard did a good job of protecting the shoe from damage. Power transfer to the pedals felt great and I couldn’t feel the pedal through the shoe when pushing down, something essential for long days out to reduce fatigue and avoid foot hot spots.
The shoes are stiff but manage walking well, I’d say they are at the more racy end of the spectrum though and maybe hike a biking up a mountain path would be possible but a bit more give in the sole might be better. It’s always a trade off between pedalling stiffness and walking in any cycling shoe though. The shoe has the option of fitting studs in the toe for extra grip when say in a CX race and running with the bike.
The Quoc shoes look and feel great, it’s refreshing to see a different approach to shoe design. It’s also good for me at least, that these shoes are not full of mesh on the upper, Quoc have punched tiny holes instead. Too many shoes seem to be designed for hot weather and their vents are perfect if you only ride in summer or in countries with high temperatures but I live in the UK and suffer with cold feet so this may mean I can extend their use into the colder months. This lack of venting doesn’t seem to affect the breathability though as (in contradiction to what was just written) during the test period the UK welcomed it’s hottest June for years!
The Quoc website gives a good fit guide and askes you to measure your feet rather than stick to your usual size. In the event my usual size corresponded with the guide size after measuring. The shoes felt comfortable both on and off the bike so. So you’d think everything was rosy and perfect then, well not quite.
Firstly and in no way affecting pedalling performance, the shoes creak!, more so off the bike when hike a biking (more like walking into cafes) but sometimes when pedalling too. This may lessen as the shoes wear in though. What I found that was an issue for me was the cleat position. Even with the cleat set as far back as it would go on the shoe it felt too far forward. It felt like I was pedalling with my toes rather than the ball of my foot. I’ve compared the Quoc shoe side by side with my normal cycling shoe and to within less than a millimetre they are exactly the same length sole but my usual shoe has much more cleat adjustment and I’ve not got that cleat all the way back either.
This cleat position makes you feel like you are gripping the pedal with my toes and after 30+ miles this starts to make my feet ache. I’m pretty sure the shoe is the correct size, the size guide and my feet tell me so but I do wonder if the next size up would give more cleat adjustment? I fear though that would bring with it some heel lift and the associated problem of wearing shoes to big for my feet.
The Quoc Escape Off Road shoe is a well made quality shoe with good pedalling dynamics and in my opinion looks great but if you like your cleat quite far back I’d look carefully at the sole compared to your current shoes carefully before setting them up so you can return them for a different size pair if needed.
You can find more information on the Quoc Escape off Road shoe here
UK GRAVEL COLLECTIVE 