Rapha’s Explore shoes are gravel-ready and not insanely expensive
Plus new Classic road shoe
The Explore is a brand new gravel and adventure shoe from Rapha. By the lofty standards of the brand, it isn’t ridiculously unaffordable and it’s accompanied by a new Classic road shoe which costs a little less.
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Rapha is back in the shoe game
The carbon plate is mostly hidden (and protected) by the rubber tread, but it’s visible at the sides of the shoe and around the cleats, where it lends the shoes a touch of highly-scratchable class.
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BikeRadar’s take
It’s easy to scoff as more and more product categories go gravel-specific, but more shoe options that don’t look overtly sporty are always welcome. The Explores are pitched at adventurous riders, but doubtless affluent commuters will want them too.
The Explores will be competing with the likes of Quoc’s Gran Tourer shoes and Shimano’s XC5.
Rapha Explore and Classic pricing and availability
Authors
Matthew Loveridge (formerly Allen) is an experienced mechanic and an expert on bike tech who appreciates practical, beautifully-engineered things. Originally a roadie, he likes bikes and kit of every stripe, and he's tested a huge variety of both over the years for BikeRadar, Cycling Plus and others. For a long time Matthew's heart belonged to the Scott Addict, but he's currently enjoying Specialized's sublime Roubaix Expert and having a torrid affair with a Giant Trance e-MTB. At 174cm tall and 53kg, he looks like he should be better at cycling than he actually is, and he's ok with that.
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