Quoc Gran Tourer XC: Two Minutes Well Spent

I've struggled with my most recent bike shoes for nearly as long as I’ve owned them. They never quite fit right. Sure, I could have bought a bigger size. It was my own fault that they knocked my toenails off if I needed to hike-a-bike more than a few hundred metres. But the biggest issue was the BOA system. It was frustrating. The cable closures cut uncomfortably across the top of my foot. No matter how tight I closed them, the tongue still slid sideways constantly.

This wasn’t a new problem. It was my second pair of BOA-tightening shoes in a row and they’d both had the same issues. The BOA cables created uncomfortable pressure points across the top of my foot and they needed to constantly be adjusted during rides.

Determined to find a uniform, comfortable fit, I decided it was time to turn to something more traditional. I wanted a lace up shoe that looked great and performed, whether I was on my gravel or mountain bike. The Quoc Gran Tourer XC Lace stood out for its features: double-lock lacing, carbon-composite outsole and a new TPU laminated tongue. At $310 USD ($440 CAD), the Gran Tourer XC isn't cheap, though the standard colorways run $20 USD ($20 CAD) less at $290/$420.

I had to try something. Just a few weeks earlier, when a friend and I rode the 384Km Tree-to-Sea mini in a single day, my toes went numb. And they stayed numb.

Long rides have always been notoriously hard on my ulnar nerve issues, which makes my pinky and ring fingers go numb; however, I’ve even seen that improve since switching to Berd Wheels. I’d never experienced the similar issue with my feet. Where my hands normally bounce back in a day or two, my feet were still tingling a week later.

Less than a week after that ride, my new shoes arrived. I knew they were coming, but the colour was a surprise. Quoc sent me the limited-edition Smith x Quoc collaboration edition to test, along with matching socks.

About Quoc

I first learned about Quoc when they released the QUOC Chelsea SPD boot. It was more casual than performance, but I would have undoubtedly bought a pair if I was a daily commuter.

Little did I know that those boots suited the brand so well. The founder, Quoc Pham, brought experience running a menswear label into the cycling world when he founded the company. His initial goal was easy. He wanted to design cycling shoes he’d want to wear.

Since their launch in 2009, the brand’s lineup has focused on road and gravel, though many athletes are also using their gravel shoes on their mountain bikes. They sponsor athletes like Unbound XL winner Rob Britton, Canadian XC Marathon National Champion Andrew L’Esperance, and UK XC National Champion Isla Short.

One of our own already had his eye on this shoe, too, but it was out of stock. If you read Gerald's Escape review, he mentions he wanted the Gran Tourer XC first but had to settle for QUOC's dial-closure model instead. I got to test the one he couldn't.

First Fitting

In full transparency, I didn’t research the shoes too closely before I had ordered. I wanted a lace up gravel and MTB shoe and the Quoc Gran Tourer XC was the brand’s only option. If you're still weighing the switch to clipless or sticking to flats, our team-tested shoe roundup is a good place to see your options more broadly.

When I opened the box, the Quoc x Smith colourway wasn’t the only surprise. The shoes also come with some additions that are rarely included. There was a second set of laces, three arch support inserts (low, medium, high), and interchangeable toe spikes.

Getting the fit dialled was easy. I used my old shoes as a reference to bolt new SPD cleats into place. Then I tried the shoes on with each of the arch inserts, eventually settling on the medium. With the decision made, I stuck the arches into place with the pre-attached adhesive strip. Tested in a size 45, the shoes weighed in at 805g total with the cleats and arch inserts installed.

While it was simply a matter of tying my shoes, I spent some time getting the tension just right across my whole foot. With BOA closures, I’d always disliked the cable cutting across my foot in two places. The laces were an immediate relief. Even when laced as tight as possible, the pressure was equally distributed across my entire foot. The lace pattern also used a double-locking pattern that prevents the shoe from loosening if the lace comes untied.

It’s impossible not to notice that it takes a few minutes to lace up the shoes compared to quickly dialling in a pair of BOAs; however, convenience isn’t everything. Once I had them tied, it was finally time to get outside and test how the shoes performed on the bike.

Proof by Accident

I am halfway through my third 4-minute interval, climbing the Van West Forest Service Road as fast as I can. I’ve been vying for the KOM on this entire climb for a while; however, today wasn’t the day to put in a longer 10-minute effort. For the first time in too long, I am trying to stick to my training plan.

As the timer counted down on that interval, I was uncomfortable. I was gasping for air and pushing hard, trying to get a few metres further up the hill than the previous interval. But my discomfort didn’t extend to my feet. Even on my first ride, the Quoc Gran Tourer XC Lace felt comfortable.

Over the next dozen rides, it became obvious it was less about what I noticed and more about what I didn’t. The shoes just disappeared into the ride. On a 6-hour century ride mixing pavement and gravel, I never had to adjust the shoes. Without question, they make for a slower start. With BOAs, I just stuck my feet in my shoes and cranked two dials to tighten them. With these shoes, it takes a few minutes every time. I have to snug up the laces across my forefoot and mid foot before tying them off. But once secure, the laces never slip. I simply tie them and tuck the loops under the mid foot elastic to keep the laces out of my drivetrain, and ride for hours.

“The shoes just disappeared into the ride.”

Most years, June is a wet and unpredictable month across Vancouver Island. This year, it has been boiling-an-egg-on-pavement hot. I've been carrying extra water, adding electrolytes to every bottle. These conditions are also when my feet will swell from heat during a ride. With the BOAs, I could reach down and adjust my shoes as I biked. It was a quick way to reduce pressure points that would get worse as my feet swelled. With the laced shoes, those same pressure points never occurred. Because the entire shoe fit snug across my foot, pressure points never showed up.

When I was in a rush to get out for a bigger climb (slowly working towards a 150,000 m goal I set back in January) by climbing to Mt Washington ski resort, I accidentally pulled on the wrong shoes. My old MTB shoes were still by the back door and I realized I was wearing them as I started the hour-long climb. All of my original issues were back. The tongue slid off to the side. My toes bounced off the front of the shoes if I stood to pedal. The new shoes weren't just a better fit, but also a better function. Laces kept things fixed in place better than BOAs.

A couple weeks later, to celebrate a friend’s birthday, I was back in the Quoc x Smith shoes and riding the Van West road. This time extending the loop to Buckley Bay, along a deactivated section of road. The bridges were removed from two river crossings and a challenging trail section pushed through an overgrown section between two gravel stretches. It’s almost impossible to ride without some hike-a-bike.

On every bikepack trip and in every race, there are sections that inevitably require walking just like these. I had knocked toenails off and grew nasty heel blisters on surprisingly short hiking sections in the past. Even though I would never prioritize hiking comfort over bike performance when buying bike shoes, it’s an important test.

The shoes stayed comfortable. I was able to hop across the Trent River and Bloedel Creek without getting my feet wet. Jumping from rock to rock, I trusted the TPU sole to grip. On the trail section, I had to walk a few hundred metres. Although it felt short compared to some longer hike-a-bike sections, it was enough to get a feel for it. The laces helped keep my heel tucked firmly in the back of the shoe and kept my toes from bumping the front of the shoe.

Laced In

Two minutes. It’s the tradeoff. Swapping from BOA shoes to lace up means it takes a couple extra minutes to leave before a ride. It’s the best trade I’ve made this season.

I came to laces looking for tradition. Heck, I even chose a nearly-white colour scheme to match current trends. In hindsight, that was a terrible call. Between gravel grime and mountain bike mud, these shoes will never be clean again. Since switching to the Gran Tourer XC, I’ve had no pressure points, no sliding tongue, no mid ride adjustments. The shoes just work.

Laces and three arch options mean these aren’t just a fit for my feet. They can probably sort out yours, too. I really haven’t had to think about my shoes all summer. That’s the whole point.