Six jours

Last time I raced cyclocross we were still using clips and straps. Now I'm looking to start again but don't really know much about what's available these days. Can you folks recommend good shoes for racing? (I'll probably be using Crank Bros. Candy pedals.)

TIA!

1242Vintage

Last year was my first season racing cross and I used an old pair of Shimano shoes that were buried in the back of my closet. https://www.bikeradar.com/gear/catego...pd-shoes-31317 Worked OK, but not great. This season I'm going to upgrade shoes to something better suited to cross. I'm using Crank Bros pedals.

Interested in hearing what others recommend too.

flargle

You want a good pair of mountain bike shoes, reasonably stiff, aggressive tread, and two screw-in two-spikes so you can go really long when conditions call for it. Fit is very important so you probably want to go to your local shop and try a few different models. Not going to make any specific recommendation because the are lots of companies making good shoes and it seems like one shoe works for some but not for others.

fietsbob

SiDi for example uses a very nice synthetic leather, real leather won't tolerate
wetting and drying repeatedly..

collectors .. I have a pair of SiDi cross shoes and spare cleats from the external slot cleat era

and a pair of Rivats, (US Sz 10)..

J e e p s

I use Giro Privateer with CB eggbeaters and love them together.

jared@WKYC

Two things are important specifically for cx
1. Tow spikes for steep run ups.
2. A set of shoes you don't mind destroying running and riding in mudslop, water, grit, and grime.

Six jours

Hehe, okay.

I shopped around a bit today and discovered that many mountain bike shoes are essentially as stiff as road shoes. Seems like this would make running pretty unpleasant. Am I wrong on this?

flargle

If there's a lot of running, it's generally in thick mud, where the stiffness actually helps. There's a high cadence duckwalk that guys use. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MTx085febM&t=54m30s

Racing cross isn't pleasant.

escarpment

Ive got a pair of sidi mtb shoes as well, I love them and have no traction issues putting my feet down.

telebianchi

I'm a complete amateur Cat-4 masters rider who enters a couple races each year so I can not feel guilty about drinking a beer at 10:00 am on a Sunday morning after an early race. I've been using PI X-Alps with crank bros. Candy pedals. Not as stiff as a true race shoe but I like the softer rubber tread for dismounts, carries, etc.

Six jours

I tried a bunch of shoes on - nearly went with the Giro privateers - but the most comfortable and seemingly best-suited were the Mavic Rush (formerly known as the Razor.)


Moderately flexible, removable spikes up front, reasonably affordable so I don't mind getting them muddy, and matches my bike. (The guys on the 41 said that's in the racing rules.)

So thanks for everyone's help.

As an aside, I rode the Candys for a week and ended up hating them with a passion. Found some Time ATACS on sale and am much happier with them.