Quoc Gran Tourer Long Term Review
The Quoc Gran Tourers are made by Quoc Pham, whose mission is to create “effortlessly stylish road, gravel and urban cycling shoes”. You could say that Quoc’s unique approach to footwear makes them the perfect company to design these kind of shoes. After all, they have already made and sold several other clipless shoes that are meant to work well both on and off the bike. So when Quoc launched the Gran Tourers on Kickstarter, we obviously made an immediate decision to snap up a pair before the backer rewards were all taken up.
But why can’t we go the normal tourer route and use normal sneakers or even hiking sandals? There are many arguments in favour of both clipless pedals and flat pedals, but in the end it all depends on the cyclist’s personal preference. There are a lot of disputes over whether clipless pedals will give you any advantage marginal or otherwise, but Eka, Maya and myself all do feel a difference in our power transfer and output, and all made the decision to switch from flat pedals.
Essentially, cyclists who do fast touring over long distances and do a bit of exploring along the way tend to fall somewhere in between the MTB and road category in terms of their shoe choices. While this specific market is perhaps not so niche anymore, choices for these tourers are also not exactly a dime a dozen. And with that in mind, we obviously had something specific in mind when we were looking for a pair of shoes to purchase for our adventures by bike.
Two-bolt SPD cleats
This was obviously one of our main criteria for choosing shoes, one of the features that make the Quoc Gran Tourers what they are. The recessed cleats are more commonly seen on MTB shoes, and ensure that the cleats themselves last a bit longer than road cleats that portrude out from the bottom of the sole. Since we spend just as much time walking and exploring at our pitstops as we do getting to each of these spots, it is necessary to have cleats that do not get wrecked so fast. The SPD cleats also ensure that walking is a bit more comfortable, meaning no danger of slipping as you do the funny duck waddle on your road cleats.
But if you get more power from the road three bolt cleats, wouldn’t that mean more efficient riding? Yes and no. The power transfer you get from the road three bolt system is much higher for sure, but it also doesn’t come with the same comfort level you get from touring shoes. In order to get more power, you need more stiffness, and obviously the compromise is the comfort. If these are shoes that you will be wearing perhaps a full day on and off the bike, then you want something that will make walking and cycling equally pleasant. If your feet hurt, you won’t enjoy the ride much, will you?
Rainproof build
Here’s one thing cyclists in Malaysia need to be wary of. You never know when nature will decide to screw you over with a cloudburst or thunderstorm, and stop just as immediately as it started once you are already drenched to the bone. And because of the tropical climate, there isn’t really much point in wearing oversocks to keep the feet dry when out cycling. The Gran Tourers are pretty water proof, especially if you choose to pair it with rain proof socks too. We’ve tested them in the rain and splashing around in puddles; they performed really well in these instances.
The shoes have a heat welded rubberised band along the entire length of the shoe, a durable synthetic no-sew upper material, splashproof upper layer, and a gusseted tongue. All this in addition to the waterproof exposed cleat area on the bottom of the shoe combine to make it an all weather cycling shoe, yet with enough ventilation to allow your feet to breathe in our hot weather. It doesn’t have the most breathable material, but it does the job fairly well without keeping your feet too hot and toasty.
Asian fit for wider feet
My feet have the classic Asian problem - small but wide. I’m not entirely sure if there is any truth to the theory that this is because we walk barefoot indoors at home, but it is a pretty common characteristic for Malaysians and Asians in general. Certain cycling brands have shoes that are so narrow they just don’t fit well on Asian feet, some notoriously more than others. Quoc’s Gran Tourers have a bit of a wide footbed, making them pretty comfortable for myself even on long rides that finish way beyond sunset.
It is also worth remembering that anything you try on may not be comfortable after more than 3-5 hours of cycling. After putting in some serious mileage, our feet tend to expand as the day goes on, and this means that something that felt good at the shop might not be very suitable for long rides. Quoc have a pretty good track record in terms of designing wider shoes for comfort, and the Gran Tourers are no exception.
Better durability
Many cycling shoes tend to get scratched up and scuffed quite easily, particularly when they are a light colour. Even leather will not escape evidence that you definitely have been putting them to good use. The Quoc Gran Tourers are quite resistant to these, thanks to the thick rubberised band and the hardwearing materials they are made out of. And while the rubber will still show some scuff marks depending on how hard you ride when wearing them or how accident prone you are, they are a bit more resilient than shoes that don’t have the same feature.
Laces not boa dials
Why would you specifically choose an antiquated system over something as modern and fancy as the boa dials that allow you to tighten your shoe without getting off the bike? Let’s be honest, as great as they are, boa dials can fail mid-ride, and when this happens there is no repairing them. Laces are a much simpler system, and therefore are less risky especially when you are in the middle of nowhere. There is a discreet elastic band across the top that you can tuck them into, so that they don’t come undone as you pedal and get stuck in your crank.
Should you buy the Quoc Gran Tourers?
If you’re looking for shoes for all out sprints, all out power transfer and stiffness, these are not the shoes for you. For those kinds of activities, we still recommend that you opt for shoes with a very stiff carbon sole, that are designed primarily for performance. For riding hard and fast, traditional road shoes would be a better bet.
In a nutshell, the Quoc Gran Tourers are a great pair of shoes if your cycling adventures include a lot of walking and hiking in between. This means going on a tour that includes a lot of sightseeing, picture taking, and dropping by food stops - hence the name itself. Ultimately the shoes do what they set out to do, which is being equally comfortable both on and off the bike on those long tours while looking pretty darn good too.
*The Quoc Gran Tourers are available in six colour schemes, at prices ranging between GBP199 to GBP219. Quoc also has a handy size guide if you don’t have the opportunity to test them out in retail stores, and they are also quite responsive to enquiries should you require any assistance. Check out your choices here.
