Udog Forza

With an eye-catching wrap-around outsole and a plush knitted upper, the Udog Forza gravel shoes give you unparalleled comfort on the pedals. Unfortunately, they can make walking on hard, flat surfaces weirdly tricky – off the bike they’re pretty bad.

Are shoe designers OK? Off-road shoes are getting pretty weird and wonderful at the moment, and Udog’s Forzas are no exception: the sole and the toe have warped together as if Salvador Dali painted them.

According to Udog, it all helps with durability, protection, and grip, and they certainly feel strong and sturdy. At 770g for the pair (minus cleats), it doesn’t seem to add that much weight either. The upper knitted material presumably helps keep the overall mass low.

The whole package oozes quality, and it’s not just for show: these are the most comfortable gravel shoes I’ve ever worn. Padding in all the right places helps support your foot, while the thick tongues stop the laces digging in. Cycling shoes can be stiff and plasticky, but these feel more like a high-end pair of trainers.

Those laces are engaged via Udog’s own Twist Tech dial, which tightens quickly with (you guessed it) a twist, and undoes with a backwards turn. A nice touch here is that the dial is slightly transparent, so you can see the inner workings. Admittedly, it’s not all that exciting if you’ve seen a plastic cog before.

The laces are supported by straps that wrap around the shoe, and tightening pulls them around your feet in a way that feels snug but never restrictive. I’m usually sceptical of dials that aren’t Boa, but this system is just as good.

This level of structural support is exactly what you want on the bike. They help you feel at one with the machine; stiff soles deliver the power, while the padded uppers keep you comfortable. The material does a great job of keeping you cool, and while these were a little on the roomier side, I didn’t notice any hot spots or sweatiness.

However, it’s a completely different story when you’re off the bike. For some unfathomable reason, Udog has made the rear lugs narrow and pointy. Your heel – and most of your body weight – is essentially balanced precariously on an area the size of a matchbox.

While these aggressive lugs might be good for muddy or sandy sections, they make walking on smooth surfaces – whether that’s rocky terrain or the pub garden paving – feel like tottering down a Milan catwalk in high heels.

The heel might make sense if these shoes were designed for deep winter mud, but they aren’t: they’re not insulated and Udog markets them as merely ‘water repellent,’ which is hardly ideal for winter. In reality the knitted material instantly soaks up rain and road spray, though thankfully they dry fast.

Value

At £175, the Forzas sit right in the competitive hot seat of the gravel market, and I’d be happy to pay it if I found them easier to walk in.

You’ve got plenty of choice around this price. The Shimano RX600 gravel shoes are still £159.99, two years after the scored 9/10 in our review, for instance, while the twin-dial, chunkily-protected carbon-soled Northwave Striker is £188.99, and the entirely gravel-friendly Sidi MTB Aertis is £179.

If budget is a priority, Decathlon’s Rockrider Mountain Bike/Gravel Shoes Race 900 are less than half the price at £79.99, and deliver superb utility and stiffness.

Unfortunately the classically-styled Quoc Gran Tourer XCs have risen quite a lot since we reviewed them and are now £240, but they offer a far more stable, walkable platform and lots of grip offroad.

Just love the look of these Udogs, and don’t want to give that up? Lake’s MX239 gravel shoes offer a similar design, and are better for walking in, although they come with a whopping £300 price tag.

Overall

These work really well on the bike, where they’re incredibly comfortable and effective. They look good too, and while they’re not particularly water resistant, they dry quickly. If you’re planning on walking anywhere with solid ground, however, you may well find the heel arrangement pretty ungainly.