Gaerne G.Zephyr shoes

The Gaerne G.Zephyr shoes are brilliant for summer road riding. They’re comfortable, very stiff, offer excellent power transfer and the ventilation is genuinely outstanding. If you ride in warm, dry conditions and want to keep cool without sacrificing performance, these are hard to beat. Just don’t plan on wearing them past September. Or in the rain. Or anywhere dirty. Or if you’ve got very wide feet…

The G.Zephyr sits near the top of Gaerne’s road range. Made in Italy around the company’s G.Pro Fit last, they’re designed for maximum ventilation with proper race-level performance – and they succeed on both counts.

The upper is Gaerne’s G.Aeroknit fabric, which is a breathable knit material that conforms to the contours of your feet extremely well, pretty much eliminating the chances or rubbing or hotspots.

The toes have perforations to increase airflow, and varying knit densities across the upper create flexibility where you need it and support where you don’t. The tongue is a stretchier knit which contributes significantly to the lovely seamless feel once you’re clipped in.

The G.Pro Fit last is narrower and more tapered than many cycling shoes, so if you have wide feet it’s worth trying these on before committing. I have fairly average-width feet, and found them very comfortable with no sense of constriction.

Closure is via two BOA Li2 dials per shoe, and they deliver quick, precise tension with a satisfying click. The fabric wire guides distribute the tension evenly and I could make adjustments on the move without drama, which over the course of a long, hot ride is particularly useful.

The anti-slip heel cup works so well I could run the G.Zephyrs with less tension than I do with many shoes, too.

The soles (EPS Full Carbon Sole 10.0s) are where the G.Zephyrs really earn their credentials. With a Gaerne stiffness rating of 10 out of 12 they’re exceptionally rigid; you feel it immediately on the bike. Sprinting, climbing, putting the power down wherever… there is no flex, no energy lost. Just a direct, connected feeling to the pedals.

The low stack height gets you down near the pedal axles and only adds to the feeling of precision and sensitivity, while two ventilation channels run through the sole to feed the perforated insoles fresh air for maximum cooling.

Non-slip rubber inserts front and rear give enough grip for walking into cafés without feeling like you’re going to end up on the floor, and the rear insert is replaceable. The soles work with all major clipless pedal systems.

At 560g the pair on the road.cc scales, these are very competitive. Indeed, they have an overall feeling of lightness that is noticeable from the first ride.

Best road cycling shoes 2026 — get some light, stiff kicks to help you go faster on the bike

The G.Zephyrs are amongst the most comfortable cycling shoes I’ve used. There’s no need for a break-in period, which some traditional uppers can need, so from the first outing they felt entirely natural. I was never once distracted by discomfort or hotspots, no matter how long the ride.

The ventilation is the standout. You can actually feel the air flowing over your feet, and on fast descents it almost feels like you’re in socks. On a hot summer day the difference is meaningful, and after a few rides in the recent heatwave I found it hard to go back to a standard construction shoe.

Inevitably, what makes these so good in the heat makes them genuinely unpleasant in the cold. On a cold or wet day the airflow becomes a problem, and on rides closer to 10 than 20°C they were instantly uncomfortable.

I tested the plain white version, which in my opinion is the best, but white shoes are notoriously hard to keep clean at the best of times – and the knit fabric here is even harder to clean than most.

Value

At £269.90 these are very much premium shoes and can’t be considered cheap, yet they look pretty good value against their real competition – other high-end knitted kicks.

The DMT Pogi’s Road Cycling Shoes are now over £170 more at £440, for instance, and they don’t even have BOA dials… they have a similar knit construction, a similar difficulty with staying clean and snug down via regular laces. If weight is everything to you, however, these win at just 473g.

The Rapha Pro Team Powerweave Road Shoes look remarkably similar to these G.Zephyrs, bar perhaps a less substantial strap across the top of the foot, but there’s a big difference on the price ticket. They’re £350.

Overall

These are outstanding summer road shoes. The knitted upper is breathable and comfortable in equal measure, the carbon sole delivers excellent power transfer, and the BOA closures are precise and easy to adjust on the move. They’re not at all versatile weather-wise but aren’t supposed to be, and while they’re not exactly cheap, they’re considerably cheaper than some alternatives. For hot, dry rides these are pretty much as good as it gets.