Review: Vans Gravel Shoes

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With a rich heritage in off-road bicycle racing, it was only a matter of time before Vans entered the flat pedal specific shoe market, with a product that would hopefully capture both the aesthetics of their much loved fashion and skate range, while meeting the demands of today’s mountain bikers. So here they are, a pair of Vans designed for bikes and bike riding in mind –“Flat pedal enthusiasts rejoice. We’ve created a shoe that not only performs on the bike, but looks good enough to be worn off of it. Flats, platforms, whatever you call your traditional BMX-style pedals, the Gravel shoes will stick to them like glue.” Interested to know if they’re any good? Read on…

Words: Olly Forster and Mat Keane

Photos: Olly Forster and Jim Newby

Aesthetically, these are hard to fault. They look like a regular pair of Vans, but these aren’t designed with skaters, hipsters and the fashion focused urbanite in mind – the Gravel’s were designed with the trail, the track and the bike in mind and keeping your feet where they should be, on the pedals.

So, do they live up to the potential and are we finally looking at an alternative to the mighty Five Ten? This is a big question when you consider what Five Ten have achieved in the last few years, almost revolutionizing how we connect with our bicycles. It’s no secret that many people don’t get on with both Five Ten’s sometimes quirky approach to aesthetics and their ability to literally adhere your feet to your pedals – but at what point does the level of grip become too much?

Classic styling here coming straight from Vans’ two wheeled racing heritage.

Probably the most iconic sole in action sports, but one whose footprints have been missing on the hills and trails since the sticky rubber revolution.

The entire upper is wrapped in an abrasive-resistant synthetic material to help repel water – the padding, although substantial, is no where near the levels of other brands, making these pretty good on the drying out times and less like a huge sponge.

Vans have used what they call ‘Vanslite’ in their midsole, which is designed to keep the weight down and the comfort levels high. Another addition is the ‘Impactsorb’ heel insert, intended to prevent any heel bruising from falling or dabbing. A stiff, yet comfortable mid sole can really make or break a riding shoe where power transfer is as important as actually wanting to wear them for hours and these are comfy, coming in perhaps a little on the small side and with ample rigidity in the sole.

On a Hill, in a Forest, Riding your Bike…

At first I was clearly looking to find faults with the Gravel’s, it wasn’t intentional, I was just adamant that they would let me down – riding specific shoes that look as good as these must have a weakness? They didn’t, but they did make me ride differently and in a good way.

Shoes with a vice like grip are great for when the going gets rough, but when you’re stuck to your pedals while on your toes or heel after a dab and struggling to get back to that ‘sweet spot’, can be a tad frustrating. The Gravels sole offered up a level of freedom that was both refreshing and challenging at the same time – challenging because they made me more aware of where my feet where on the pedals, but also to be smoother and less hap-hazzard with my riding – something that Five Ten’s security helped me forget about.

Moving your feet around on the pedals while still having a high level of grip is pretty important allowing you to feel what your riding over and more importantly, control where you want your feet to be on the pedals.

From the off, I was definitely slipping off my pedals more frequently in the Gravel’s and at first, pretty adamant that these were just a case of form over function, but testing is testing. Mat, a firm hater of trends and fashions, had reluctantly bought his first pair of sticky shoes and had chosen Vans. Knowing Mat for too many years, I also know he rides a lot and will pick up on poor product pretty quickly, so I pinned him down for some thoughts on going sticky and why he chose Vans.

Mat’s take on the Vans Gravel.

The Vans Gravel’s are the first pair of sticky soled mountain bike specific shoes I have ever purchased, so you could say I’m pretty late to jump on the sticky sole band wagon. The reason being – I’ve always been put off buying sticky shoes as the thought of not being able correct a sloppy foot position after dabbing, has always been off putting. The Gravel’s sounded a good compromise on grip, and being a noticeable amount cheaper than a set of Five Ten Impacts, so it was a worthy gamble.

Mat isn’t one for worrying about looking after his riding kit and if they were going to die, he would have killed them by now – that’s ten months of use folks. Not sure if he’s ever cleaned them…

First impressions were that the shoe didn’t feel as substantial as a good skate shoe (my choice pre-sticky days), but felt sturdy and appeared to be well put together. After riding in them for the first time, my opinion was that the shoes were “OK”, but after a few rides and with the miles clocking up, not to mention pushing up the hills too, the rubber seemed to soften up quite quickly and become increasingly sticky and in return, offering a good amount of extra grip over a skate shoe.

They were once black, but a British winter is a cruel place to test shoes, especially if your on Mat’s feet, but guess what? No signs of failure and they’re still going strong today and there’s nothing a bit of soap and water wouldn’t do to keep these looking sweet!

Having now tried a pair of Five Ten shoes as well, I have would say that although the rubber used on the Vans sole isn’t as sticky; the deep waffle design makes up for the less than tacky sole, but what the Vans sole does do, is it still allows people with an “OCD foot positioning complex” to make adjustments to their feet without having to take the foot off the pedal to reposition. All in all I’m loving the Gravel’s and definitely recommend them to anyone looking to make the jump to sticky rubber.

Durability.

From downhill runs on the big bike to ripping singletrack on the trail bike, and in all the weather this strange island has to offer, proved to be a good testing ground for durability. But it isn’t just the weather to contend with when your shoes are designed to spend their lives stuck against metal pins while going through repetitive puddles and then hiking back up steep, wet hills.

The shoes reviewed in the article are still in one piece today. Mat’s are still the same ‘brown’ colour, collecting new shades depending on which tracks and trails he’s riding, but intact and showing no signs of decay. The reason I’m focusing on durability here, is that I did some ‘web’ research prior to this review and on more than one occasion, read that these shoes had failed for quite a few riders and did so quite quickly, which I of course found pretty alarming.

The Gravels have been available now for at least two years, and the ones we had were from a relatively recent batch, which leads me to presume that Vans must have addressed any durability issues and sorted them out. I don’t have an official line from Vans, but sometimes it does take teething problems to ultimately produce a solid product and I haven’t experienced even a loose thread.

Conclusion.

After the first few hours on the Gravels, my reservations with regards to the level of grip were increasing to the point of changing back to what I was used to – just to get on without ruining a day’s riding to frustrating product. But I didn’t as something occurred to me. Not quite an epiphany, but close enough – although the grip wasn’t quite to the levels I’ve been used to, I was beginning to compensate for this decrease in grip and in doing so, began riding smoother and taking my feet off more frequently.

After a few weeks of this I was literally just floating on the pedals and having a blast knowing that I can still ride flats with sticky rubber soles, yet still having the freedom to not worry about my feet sticking to the wrong part of the pedals just as I’m focusing on avoiding trees and casing jumps.

Grippier than skate shoes while offering more freedom of movement than the competition and with the styling you only get from Vans, the Gravels are a great pair of shoes – I think the only problem you’ll have is tracking a pair down, but hopefully Vans will get some more stockists in the UK soon. In the meantime CRC does offer a comprehensive range and usually has stock. With an RRP of £84.99GBP, they are priced similarly to other cycling specific shoes on the market. Highly recommended!

For more information on Vans products, you know what to do. Hit the logo!

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