Best road cycling shoes 2024 — get some light, stiff kicks to help you go faster on the bike (2024)

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The Quoc Escape Road shoes are a bit of an all-road pair of shoes, excelling in bothroad and mild gravel riding.

Constructed with a leather-like polyurethane upper and a carbon composite outsole, they provide comfort for longer rides and enough stiffness for efficiency.With impressive ventilation and a roomy toe box, these shoesexcel in warm weather conditions. These are a good cycling shoe optionfor riders seeking comfort and versatility without breaking the bank.

Read our review of the Quoc Escape Road shoes

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If you can afford the luxuriousDMT KR SL shoes, you'll be rewarded with an "unbelievably comfortable upper mated to a stiff sole for the ultimate performance shoe" according to our reviewer, who was blown away by everything but the price.

The 3D knitted upper is a single-piece construction with no seams, ideal for achieving perfect comfort. It's alsohugely flexible, the stretch meaning that the shoe moulds to the shape of your foot perfectly.

The sole is as stiff as you could ever want, and don't be put off by the old-schoollaces if you think they won't offer secure closure. Instead of holes on either side of the tongue section, there are elasticated loops that run through the knitted upper, so asyou pull the laces they tighten the shoe around your foot with even pressure all the way up.

There isn't really anything to dislike here, apart from the 300notes you'll need to buy them!

Read our review of the DMT KR SL Grey Road Shoes

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Another road.cc Recommends award winner, the Boardman Carbon road shoes offer pretty stonking value at just £85 with a carbon sole. Our reviewer was impressed with the construction, specification and price.

These shoesoffer decent stiffness, are well vented and the upper feels supple for plenty of comfort. You get modern ratchet dials for accurate tweaking, courtesy of Atop rather than Boa.

Overall, this is an uncomplicated, high-quality shoe for a sensible price. The most powerful riders may find the sole isn't the absolute stiffest, but it'll more than do for the rest of us.

Read our review of the Boardman Carbon Cycle Shoes

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Bagging a road.cc Recommends award, the S-Phyre RC9 (RC903) shoes (an evolution of the outgoing RC902s) are light, impressively stiff, secure and super comfortable according to our reviewer.

The venting makes them ideal for summer racing and long training rides; and if you've splashed out on these and didn't budget for some more wintery kicks, just be sure to add some very good overshoes if you're using them in the off-season.

There's no denying these are rather expensive, but they're priced fairly compared to other top-end shoes. Go for these if you want pro-level stiffness and efficiency plus plenty of comfort,even on less-than-perfect road surfaces.

Read our review of the Shimano S-Phyre RC9 (RC903) Shoes

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The Bont Vayporshoes are top-tier road cycling shoes offering exceptional performance and comfort, especially if you happen to have wide feet. These shoes are availablein both standard and wide fits across the full range ofsizes.

With a weight of just 346g per pair, these shoes are among the lightest options on the market, so if you want to shave off grams they are a great option (though, they do cost a pretty penny at that). Not only do these shoes look very good, but they also perform well and can be heat-moulded to fit your feet perfectly.

Overall, the Bont Vaypor shoes are a near-perfect choice for riders seeking high-performance footwear with superior fit and comfort.

Read our review of the Bont Vaypor shoes

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"Silly expensive" they may be, but if you want a slightly roomier fit than most high-end performance shoes might offer and are prepared to invest, the S-Works Torch are excellent.

Offering a secure and comfortable fit, our reviewer said these shoes will be stiff enough for the pros, yet morelikelyto fit mostof us mortals because of the wider fit in the mid and forefoot. Heel retention and comfort is superbly balanced, and Specialized uses its own material in the upper that shapes itself to the foot nicely. Anchor points for the closure dials have extra support, as do the inner sides of the toe box.

Read our review of the Specialized S-Works Torch road shoes

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Released in 2022, the updated MachaPro shoe has a bold design and is an out-and-out performance shoe for serious road cycling and racing. A refined sole makes this the stiffest shoe our reviewer has ever tested while still being light and super comfortable, meaning they take the prize for our best women's road cycling shoes this time around.

Our reviewer could sense the superior performance when sprinting or climbing out of the saddle, justifying why these shoes are so popular in the women's pro peloton. On top, theLi2 Boa dials are combined with Dyneema lacing for great closure, and the colourful upper wipes clean easily. Our reviewer didn't fully get on with the toebox, so we'd recommend trying before you buy as always.

They're not cheap (no top-end road cycling shoes are) but if you want asuperb, performance-orientated women's cycling shoe, this is it.

Read our review of the Liv Macha Pro Shoes

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Another road.cc Recommends award winner, the latest Giant Surge Pro shoes have a refined sole shape, improved aesthetics and plenty of cool colour options available.

According to our reviewer, the Surge Pro shoes maintain the awesome stiffness and performance levels of the previous versions, but are now even more comfortable. You might want to try before you buy because we found the sizing was slightly different compared to a lot of other popular brands, but when you've got that dialled in you won't be disappointed if you decide to splash out.

Read our review of the Giant Surge Pro shoes

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We weren't planning to make this guide a Shimano shrine, but we've no option to add the Japanese giant'smid-range performance road shoe as well as the top-end one, because the RC7s are simply excellent cycling shoes.

Described as an "excellent all-rounder" by our reviewer, you're getting many of the features that appear on the RC9 but at a much lower price. You'll be happy in these shoes for any riding scenario from riding to work, to races through to cafe rides and big days out/multi-day tours. The uppers really impressed on the comfort front, breaking in straight away and feeling like slippers from the off.

With two BOA dials you can get plenty of tension, and the soles are stiff enough that no cyclist is realistically going to notice the difference between these and top-of-the-range soles.

These shoes are idealand feel more expensive than they are, whether you're new to cycling or an experienced rider.

Read our review of the Shimano RC7 (RC702) SPD-SL Shoes

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Bagging a road.cc Recommends award in late 2022, these kicks were the most comfortable our reviewer had ever worn, and are light and stiff to boot.

Twin Boa dials makes getting the right tension a breeze on the CR1s, and the vents on the upper give just the right amount of airflow for a wide range of temperatures. You get some arch support in the footbed, and the super stiff carbon sole - atthe top of Crono's stiffness index with a score of 10 - will support your feet for the most furious of sprints.

They also look great, and with the price competitive compared to other high-end shoes, there's little to dislike.

Read our review of the Crono CR1 Carbon Road Shoes

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Impressive comfort, low weight and stunning looks — as close to a pair of slippers as you can get in cycling shoes. The Giro Empire SLX are among the very lightest shoes available, and this is backed up by incredible comfort from the lace-up uppers and a super stiff carbon fibre sole that doesn't waste any of your power when sprinting for the line.

Giro made quite an impact and raised a good few eyebrows when they launched the Empire shoes a good few years ago, successfully reintroducing lace-up shoes to a sport that had largely confined laces to the history books, replaced by buckles, ratchets and dials. They're still going strong way into the 2020s and are probably the most popular lace-up 'proper'road cycling shoes out there.

The Microfiber Sport laces are designed to remain tied, hold a knot, be light and durable. The best thing about the laces is that you can get the closure pressure across the entire top of the foot just right, with no pressure points that you might get with a shoe that uses two or three focused closure points. Once tied, the laces are contained underneath a 'lace garage' on top of the shoe.

Get these if you want a high-performance shoe that harks back to tradition. They're also available in numerous colour options.

Read our review of the Giro Empire SLX road shoes

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If you're after a two-bolt shoe for general road riding and commutingduties (and some forays off-road),then the Giro Republic R is a sensibly-priced knitted option that offers exceptional breathability.

Despite the fairly lightweight knitted construction, our reviewer also said they lasted him for a long timewith continual, everyday use, with just some scuffs to the toes and sole scratches after 18 months.

Giro's'Xnetic Knit'is made up of a blend of nylon and polyester fibres, and provides plenty of comfort across the whole foot. Overall these shoes are hard-wearing, super breathable and ideal for putting in serious miles over time.

Read our review of the Giro Republic R Knit Road Cycling Shoes

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They might look a little odd, and don't come with the heat-mouldable tech you get on higher end Bont shoes, but the entry-level Motion kicks have similar unconventional looks and are a great shout for those with wide feet. They're also stonking value and can be found for under £50 at numerous online retailers at the time of writing.

Bont's'anatomical design' means that the shoes are shaped more like a foot, so look a bit rounder than most cycling shoes. This being an entry-level shoe the sole is fibreless rather than carbon/anything fancy, but it does the job and provides impressive levels ofstiffness. The sole doesn't feature any vents, but you do get some in the toe guard, which is the same as you'll find on other Bont shoes.

This shoe offers a high level of stiffness, loads ofcomfort, and plenty of durability according to our reviewer. They're a great shout for cyclists of all levels who are on a budget.

Read our review of the Bont Motion shoes

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Another great pair of road.cc-recommended kicks from Giro, these women-specific shoes are sleek,comfortable and performance-orientated.

Our reviewer enjoyed rides of five hours-plus in the Regime shoes, finding them super comfortable thanks to the Synchwire upper design, which Giro describes as an ultralight mono-filament mesh withthermal-welded TPU added for structural support. There are no sole vents, so they might not be quite so suitable for very hot weather.

The only things our reviewer could fault were that they only come in white and that the women's sizes only go up to a 42.

Read our review of the Giro Regime Women’s Road Cycling Shoes

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Described as stiff-soled and comfortable by our reviewer,Lake'sCX238 shoes offercomfort, toughness and great adjustability. They're also available in wide sizes for those with wider feet.

While they're not especially light, these shoes could last you years as the upper is made from a 'Fullgrain Water Resistant Premium Leather'. It should conform to the shape of your foot comfortably and our reviewer didn't notice anystretching. Boa IP1-S dials allow you to micro-adjust the tension in both directions, and you get full carbon soles.

Go for these if you want some hard-wearing road shoes for all seasons.

Read our review of the Lake CX238 Carbon Road Shoe

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The Rapha Classics offer superb comfort, a novellacing system, good sole stiffness and durability at a price that isn't outrageous at all. It might just be Rapha's best-value product in our opinion!

Designed entirely in-house by Rapha, this shoe is an all-rounder that will suit most road cyclists. The double wall lacing system sees a one-piece microfibre upper headup from the sole, then in the midfoot area it folds inwards, and heads back to the sole – hence 'double wall'. Our reviewer described them as super comfortable, and best suited to mild climates like the UK. The upper and the tongue are perforated, but some of them don't go right through, so they're not quite as breathable aslarge mesh panels.

The Rapha Classics are great if you're after an aesthetically pleasing shoe with retro looks and modern tech.

Read our review of the Rapha Classic Shoes

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If you'd rather not have to put on additional overshoes in winter, Fizik'sTerra Artica GTX could be right up your street.

Targeted at gravel or mountain biking (but fine for winter road riding or commuting too), these boots are roomy enough for a thick sock, depending on the width of your feet. The inside is brushed feelce, which adds warmth and comfort, and our reviewer's feet were kept warm for hours on end wearing a single thermal leg layer. They're also impressively waterproof, with no waterproof socks needed to stop water from getting in - these boots will do the job on their own.

They're not cheap, but for the investment you'll be rewarded with toasty feet for multiple winters right down to sub-zero temperatures.

Read our review of the Fizik Terra Artica GTX shoes