Leatt’s ProClip 8.0 Race shoes were developed in collaboration with German endurance duo Georg Egger and Lukas Baum, Pro riders for the Leatt Orbea Speed Company, known for their aggressive style and multiple endurance wins, including the Cape Epic 2022. The ProClip 8.0 Race is Leatt’s super-high-end cross-country/gravel shoe and the first model in its range to gain gravel riding status. Constructed using Dyneema fibre uppers, carbon injected soles, and a grippy, aggressive tread pattern for off-bike action, they mean business.
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Leatt ProClip 8.0 Race shoes – Technical details
The Leatt ProClip 8.0 Race is built around a carbon-injected sole made up of 20% carbon and 80% nylon, which is both light and stiff. The outsole provides an aggressive tread pattern that’s made from Leatt’s own RideGrip Rubber; it feels grippy and should provide great grip off the bike. Generous cleat slots offer a ton of adjustment for getting your position on the pedals dialled in, which is something I always look for in a shoe that’s going to be used for mountain biking.
The upper is constructed from a fibre called Dyneema, which you may well not have heard of. An easy comparison would be to Kevlar, but where Dyneema excels is in its weight-to-strength ratio. This synthetic fibre is incredibly strong, 15 times stronger than steel, and perfect for creating a lightweight and durable upper for cycling shoes. Indeed, Specialised uses it in its eye-searingly expensive S-Works EXOS Road Shoes.
The toe and heel box are reinforced to help protect against rock strikes, and get a TPU coating for added durability, which also covers about half of the shoe along its sides. The whole upper is very flexible and looks like it should provide a comfortable fit. Deepening the comfort level is the double MOZ/Leatt lacing system, which is similar to the Boa Lace system. It’s a cable-based lacing system controlled by a twist dial to tighten and loosen the fitting. Leatt use a plastic D ring to cinch in lightweight, low-profile webbing straps for micro-adjustments on fit.
Moving up the shoe, the knitted one-piece tongue and collar are fully integrated and look like they should offer a secure and comfortable fit and also help to keep out dust and debris. The inner of the tongue gets a long, thin, padded insert to help relieve pressure on the top of the foot. There’s directional fabric at the heel that’s designed to help prevent heel slip, and these shoes come with two sets of removable foam insoles. The red sole is for a standard fit, and the blue, thinner insole creates a bit more room to accommodate wider feet- a really nice feature to see here.
Available in UK 6.5-11.5 / EU 40-47, it’s great to see half sizes on offer, and the shoes come in all black or white.
Leatt ProClip 8.0 Race shoes – Performance
Loving the stiffness, power transfer and off-bike grip of my Five Ten Kestrel Boa MTB shoes, it seemed an obvious transition for them to also fulfil disco-slipper duty on the gravel bike. Everything got a bit shook up, however, with the arrival of the Leatt ProClip 8.0 Race shoes. It was pretty obvious that Leatt has shown a superlative understanding of what’s needed for a high-end, lightweight and, frankly, cool-looking gravel and cross-country shoe.
My size UK 7.5, fitted near perfectly with the thin Dyneema material of the upper, providing for a little bit of spread, and they felt light on my feet, mine weighing 666g. After a few rides, I settled on the thinner blue insole, which allowed a bit more room for my feet. I absolutely love the double MOZ/Leatt lacing system. It’s such a quick and easy system that allows for micro adjustments on fit and provides a really comfortable fit across the top of my feet. And undoing the shoes is such a quick and satisfying process. Pop out the MOZ dial and flick back the D-ring with one finger to undo, it really is quite satisfying. The long cleat channels meant I could set my cleats far back for MTB riding to get my preferred position, and as the cleats are only recessed a little lower than the tread, cleat engagement was never an issue for clipping in.
The stiffness of these shoes provides fantastic power transfer when pushing hard on the pedals. And standing up on the bike and out of the saddle, my feet felt very supported over rough ground. Off the bike, whether pushing up a horrible climb with my gravel bike or scrabbling about the woods with my XC bike, the soft compound RideGrip outsole provided great grip in both loose, dry and wet ground and although there is some flex in the sole under the ball of the foot the overall stiffness is a trade-off for comfort for anything other than shorter bursts off the bike.
The shoes vent well, with the lightweight Dyneema upper providing enough airflow in warm weather to prevent my socks from getting sweaty. They are a dry weather shoe, though, as I found out riding in the wet, as they soaked through. Fortunately, they dried out quickly, which is another advantage of the Dyneema fibre that doesn’t seem to hold moisture.
I’ve spent a lot of hours in these shoes and covered a lot of mixed miles in them, and I can certainly attest to their power-transfer prowess and deep levels of comfort. They look awesome and feel robust, even with the uppers’ lightweight material.
Leatt ProClip 8.0 Race shoes – Verdict
There’s a lot that goes into creating a high-end off-road shoe, and that’s usually reflected in the asking price.
The Lake MX239 Gravel shoe retails for £295 and tested well with Matt. Another high-end race shoe, although gravel-specific, they balance comfort and stiffness in a good-looking shoe. The MX239 use a dual Boa lace system for fit and has a leather upper, which can take some looking after to keep them looking fresh.
Available in some truly radical colourways, the Fizik Vento Ferox Carbon shoes cost £300 and also tested well. Working well for both gravel and MTB riding, they use a single Boa lace and velcro strap for securing them. Super-light and quick drying, they slant more towards gravel with space for two front studs and less tread coverage and a more conservative tread pattern than the Leatt shoes on test here.
I love the long cleat slots that ensured tons of cleat adjustment, and the two sets of insoles included that let me experiment with fit. The Double Moz/Leatt Lacing system is a quick and easy retention system that allows for micro adjustments to fit and is a joy to use. The ProClip 8.0 Race will put a serious dent in your budget, but after weeks of riding, the performance and ridiculously deep comfort levels more than justify the asking price. If you are a serious racer/rider, then these are well worth the investment.
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