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review

Quoc Night Black Leather shoes

7
£239.00

VERDICT:

7
10
High-quality leather road shoes that aren't especially light but do come with plenty of style
Weight: 
728g
Contact: 

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Quoc's Night Black Leather road shoes aren't the lightest or the stiffest out there, but they're very well made, comfortable and come with heaps of style.

Quoc is best known for its city cycling shoes, with the Night its first venture into the performance market. The upper is made from leather (a microfibre version is available in three different colours) that's lined so the seams aren't even vaguely feelable when you have the shoes on. The tongue is lightly padded and there's quite a bit more padding around the opening to keep everything comfortable there.

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The leather is durable stuff, judging by its performance so far. Several weeks in and the shoes look used – you know how you get those little creases in leather as time goes on? – but free from any damage.

Laced cycling shoes have had a resurgence over recent years. As well as looking cool, laces are lightweight, provide multiple points of adjustment, and they're likely to survive a crash. But mostly they look cool.

Quoc Night - side.jpg

The downside of using laces is that they're impossible to adjust one-handed on the fly, so you need to make sure you get the tension right before you saddle up or accept that you might occasionally have to stop to fine-tune them.

Quoc's lacing layout is unusual in that you get double holes in the middle and at the top (two eyelets alongside one another; check out the pictures and you'll see what I mean). These lock the laces at those points, allowing tension adjustment for people with different foot shapes, and ensure that the laces can't come loose in any section across the ridge of your foot. It works well to allow a degree of customisation to the fit while adding security. If your forefoot is especially wide, for example, you can loosen off the laces at the bottom without affecting the fit of the shoes at the top. This design does its job really well.

Quoc Night - detail.jpg

As with Giro's Empire shoes, once you've tied the laces you push the bow and the loose ends behind an elasticated band on the tongue. I've used these shoes loads over the past few weeks and the laces have never come loose or threatened to interfere with the drivetrain. In my experience, that's not something you need to worry about.

The uppers are supple and comfortable, gradually moulding to your feet, although some people might find them hot when the temperature's high. There are a lot of perforations towards the front and in the tongue, and there are ventilation holes in the outsole, but these shoes can still get warm when you're working hard, especially if you're used to mesh panels right, left and centre.

Quoc Night - toe.jpg

As mentioned above, the Nights are also available with microfibre uppers (£219), and this brings the weight down (Quoc says 554g per pair in a size 43). The microfibre Nights come in black, white and pink versions, while the leather version is available in black only. Black leather does have a traditional cycling shoe look to it, although I swapped to the white laces that come in the box because I was getting a football boot-eque vibe in certain lights. All models have a 3M reflective heel stripe that's eye-catching at night.

Quoc Night - heels.jpg

The soles are made from carbon composite. They're stiff but they're not absolutely rigid. I didn't get any hint of movement when I was seated but I could feel some when I got out of the saddle and hit the pedals hard. That might bother you or it might not.

Quoc Night - sole toe.jpg

The footbed doesn't usually get much attention but this one is pretty comfortable, coming with a metatarsal pad (a slightly raised area in the forefoot but not as far forward as the toes), and it has anti-odour properties, apparently. I just did a sniff test and the shoes still smell quite leathery several weeks in, not at all pongy. I don't think they're going to start whiffing any time soon.

> Buyers Guide: 14 of the best performance shoes

At 728g for the pair (size 46), the Nights do weigh a little more than many other performance-focused shoes of a similar price and size. The FLR F-XX Strawweight Road Race Full Carbon Sole shoes (£179.99) that I reviewed last year were 617g, for example, and the Giro Factor Techlace shoes (£289.99) were just 576g. Neither of those models is leather. I can't say that the weight was really noticeable in use.

Overall, the Nights have a high-quality feel and I've found them to be very comfortable in most circumstances. They can feel hotter than shoes with mesh panels and they're not as lightweight or stiff as some, so in my opinion they wouldn't be the best choice for racing, say, but if you want stylish, classic-looking shoes for rides out on the open road, these could be for you.

Verdict

High-quality leather road shoes that aren't especially light but do come with plenty of style

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road.cc test report

Make and model: Quoc Night Black Leather shoes

Size tested: 46

Tell us what the product is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

Quoc lists these features:

* Advanced, patented Lock-Lace system

* Genuine bovine leather upper

* Signature 3M reflective heel strip

* Marbled carbon composite outsole

* Compatible with 3-bolt cleats

* Replaceable heel pads

I'd say that these are general road riding shoes with a classic look.

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

Quoc says this about the various parts of the Night:

Upper: Genuine bovine leather; ultra-comfort leather lining; advanced patented Lock-Lace system; thermodynamic ventilation; signature 3M™ reflective heel strip

Outsole: Marbled carbon-fibre composite; replaceable heel pad; thermodynamic ventilation

Footbed: EVA form; ultra porous, sweat-absorbing microfibre top layer with anti-odour properties

Accessories: Spare laces

Weight: 336 g (1 shoe, size 43)

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
9/10

They're extremely well made. There's a high-quality feel here.

Rate the product for performance:
 
7/10

They're not the stiffest or the lightest shoes out there, but that's not everyone's priority. They still put in a good overall performance.

Rate the product for durability:
 
8/10

Several weeks in and the only signs they've been used are a few creases on the leather and scratches on the outsole.

Rate the product for fit:
 
8/10

The laces mean you get multiple points of adjustment, and the Lock Lace system (see body of review) works well. If you have wide or unusually shaped feet, these would be a good option because of the amount of adjustability you get here.

Rate the product for sizing:
 
8/10

I took the same size as usual and the fit was good.

Rate the product for weight:
 
5/10

They're quite heavy, although opting for the version with microfibre (rather than leather) uppers would save weight.

Rate the product for comfort:
 
8/10

They're very comfortable most of the time, the only caveat being that they can feel hot when the temperature is high.

Rate the product for value:
 
6/10

Leather cycling shoes are nearly always expensive. For comparison, Giro's Empire LX laced leather shoes have an RRP of £159.99, while Look's kangaroo leather CX402s (with Boa closures not laces) are £370. The high build quality helps justify the price.

How easy is the product to care for? How did it respond to being washed?

You'll need to look after the leather. Gunk can get into the perforations on the uppers.

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

These shoes perform well. I suspect most people who buy these will be attracted by the classic looks as much as by the performance.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

The Lock Lace system works amazingly well to make sure you get a comfortable and secure fit.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

I'd prefer a stiffer sole.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yeah, I got on fine with them.

Would you consider buying the product? They're probably not for me.

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes

Use this box to explain your score

If you want the lightest, stiffest shoes out there, you won't be going for these. However, if your priority is having stylish leather shoes, these might be exactly what you're after. They're not cheap so an overall score of 7 (good) covers it.

Overall rating: 7/10

About the tester

Age: 43  Height: 190cm  Weight: 75kg

I usually ride:   My best bike is:

I've been riding for: Over 20 years  I ride: Most days  I would class myself as: Expert

I regularly do the following types of riding: commuting, club rides, sportives, general fitness riding

Mat has been in cycling media since 1996, on titles including BikeRadar, Total Bike, Total Mountain Bike, What Mountain Bike and Mountain Biking UK, and he has been editor of 220 Triathlon and Cycling Plus. Mat has been road.cc technical editor for over a decade, testing bikes, fettling the latest kit, and trying out the most up-to-the-minute clothing. We send him off around the world to get all the news from launches and shows too. He has won his category in Ironman UK 70.3 and finished on the podium in both marathons he has run. Mat is a Cambridge graduate who did a post-grad in magazine journalism, and he is a winner of the Cycling Media Award for Specialist Online Writer. Now over 50, he's riding road and gravel bikes most days for fun and fitness rather than training for competitions.

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4 comments

Avatar
leftie_scribbler | 6 years ago
1 like

I own a pair of these shoes in white, size 9.5. They are a good fit for my wider than average feet, although they have been described as “clown shoes” by fellow riding budies. They are not as stylish as Giro Empire ACCs lace-ups but the Giros are too narrow for my feet.
In spite of this I wanted a black pair of Quocs for winter in a bigger size to accommodate thicker socks. They don’t do half sizes so I ordered a 10.5 pair directly from Quoc.
They took a couple of weeks to arrive and in the meantime I bought a pair of Bont Riot Plus size 45 which fitted perfectly with thicker socks.
When the Quocs finally turned-up on out of curiosity I briefly tried them on. They were too long in the foot and the ball of my foot felt too far forward of the cleat fittings. Even in black they look a little clown-like or something Stanley Matthews used to wear.
When I returned them to Quoc – also a long-winded process – I received an email telling me the shoes were damaged and they wouldn’t refund me.
Therefore, if you are thinking of buying some Quocs I would advise you try them on in-store to judge their fit and how clown-like you are prepared to go.

Avatar
bendertherobot | 6 years ago
1 like

Worth noting that, despite the rrp, Giro's leather republic are £100 or less in many places at the moment.

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Kadinkski | 6 years ago
1 like

Very stylish - have ordered. 

Also, does anyone know a custom  cycling show maker in the UK? I know these won't be perfect for me because my feet are slightly differently-sized and I want some bespoke shoes - makes the world of difference with my every-day shoes.

Avatar
Hypoxic | 6 years ago
2 likes

Nice tap shoes! Or are they for indoor bowls?

 

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