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Fox has an ever-growing range of MTB shoes, with the Union family spawning a multitude of models.
The 'basic' Union version here is anything but basic, offering up ample ventilation, a good fit, security and protection.
At £169.99 / $229.95 / €189.99, it's not a cheap shoe, but when and where performance counts, the Union does a sterling job.
Locking you in
Fox reinforces the Boa dial with a Velcro strap across the top of the shoe. The combination of dial and strap locks your feet into the shoe securely, minimising heel lift on and off the bike, and ensuring power transfer is efficient.
The Boa dial pulls a cord, rather than a wire, which slides smoothly through its loops. The rubberised dial doesn’t have any protection, as we saw on the Ride Concepts shoe, but it has dodged danger in my testing.
The Velcro strap sits high enough up the shoe to aid security without digging into the front of your ankle, although the low-profile strap’s end can be fiddly to lift when separating it from itself to ease your foot out. A tab at the end would make this easier.
Beneath the strap, the tongue isn’t attached at its sides to the upper, so it can migrate a touch to the side, which can be frustrating.
The toe box area is the most voluminous of the group of shoes I tested together. It allows your toes to spread out when pedalling, aided by a small undulation in the insole that encourages splaying toes.
Reassuringly, this lump is by no means uncomfortable or distracting. The result is reduced pressure points and a comfortable all-day shoe, reducing pressure spots. It’s also a breezy shoe, despite only featuring ventilation holes over the toes.
The upper is fairly sturdy, and there are good levels of reinforced toe and side-foot protection. The smooth TPU material over the forefoot shrugs off splashes well.
The insole offers good vibration damping, which is needed because the shank and sole are fairly stiff. Both high- and low-support insoles are offered, which is a nice touch.
Looking lower
The sole’s tread blocks aren’t the deepest, or most aggressive, although the soft rubber offers reasonable grip on rocks and roots.
They don’t feel the most natural to walk in, because the sole is flat and stiff, and they’re not great at scrambling up slopes.
The cleat channel is long and has chamfered ends to aid cleat locating. It’s not the widest, so debris can get trapped around the cleat, but it extends nicely towards the mid-foot.
I found no issues with pedal compatibility across sizes and mechanism brands. However, pedal pins tear the rubber easily, leaving questions over longevity.
When it comes to sizing, I’ve found Fox’s shoes a little on the large size. I decided to size down from my usual 44 to a 43 for these shoes, and the fit was spot-on.
How we tested | trail shoes
Key to the performance of trail shoes is how they feel on the bike, and so these shoes have been in rotation for months, often with different shoes on either foot to dig into the differences between them.
While it may not be obvious, shoes interact with different pedals in a range of ways, so every shoe has been tested with small- and large-platform pedals – some with pins, some without, and with both Crankbrothers and Shimano-style mechanisms.
Finally, all the shoes have been taken into the workshop for a full set of measurements.
Shoes tested
- Ride Concepts Accomplice Clip BOA
- Crankbrothers Mallet Trail Lace Clip-In Shoes
- Fox Union
- Giro Chamber TR
Fox Union Boa bottom line
While it's a shame the tread has seen some wear, pretty much everything else about the Fox Union impressed me.
These are well-proportioned, comfortable trail and enduro shoes that blend on-bike performance with plenty of protection.
There are better mountain bike shoes for regular hike-a-bikers, but if you prioritise on-bike performance it's hard to look past these.
