Quoc is a British firm based in 2009. Specializing in biking sneakers that marry high-performance with excessive vogue. Toolbox Editor and gravel fanatic Dr. Stephen Cheung has been testing their gravel Gran Tourer II all through his summer time adventures.
Highlights:
- Stability of sturdiness, consolation, and stiffness for all-day gravel and bikepacking adventures
- Excessive vogue relatively than Joe Racer styling
- Glorious match (private after all)
Concerns:
- Dial is “full launch” solely
General:
- A superb shoe for gravel, from racing by means of to multi-day bikepacking.
It’s been a terrific summer time of getting again out on this planet once more after two years of restricted travels, on-bike and off-bike. To rejoice, I’ve hit the street for quite a lot of gravel adventures. This has included two arduous gravel races, a multi-day credit-card bikepacking journey in British Columbia, and a neighborhood in a single day fully-loaded bikepacking journey. By all of it I’ve been utilizing the Quoc Gran Tourer II gravel shoe.
Who and what’s Quoc I hear you ask? Based by Quoc Pham, it’s a British firm targeted solely on biking footwear. With a narrative straight out of the Pez origin playbook (Pez not loving his then-career however wanting to write down bike stuff he himself would need to learn), in 2009 Pham pivoted from a vogue design profession in the direction of his different ardour of biking. The hole that he noticed was in sneakers, which he noticed as overly techy in kind and design in comparison with the style world he got here from.
Since that begin, Quoc has stayed true to his imaginative and prescient of high-performance biking sneakers with a powerful sense of vogue and elegance. This began with a variety of SPD and non-SPD metropolis/city biking sneakers that might not look misplaced in high-finance boardrooms, to its first street shoe in 2016 adopted by the unique lace-up Gran Tourer in 2017.
Whereas the unique Gran Tourer stays out there, I’ve been utilizing the up to date Gran Tourer II that includes a single rotary dial closure for all my summer time adventures together with numerous day by day using and commuting.
The very first thing you will notice with the Gran Tourer II is that it doesn’t scream “race shoe!” The pink gum colourway helps add some character and pizazz to your sometimes extra informal gravel or all-road ensemble with out drawing an excessive amount of consideration. For me, the pink gum places just a little smile on my face every time, with recollections of schooldays and pencil erasers.
One thing distinctive with Quoc’s shoe design is that the Gran Tourer II’s higher is a single piece of fabric plus the tongue. The advantages embrace much less seams for irritation and a cleaner aesthetic. This simplicity although requires a lot tighter high quality management, increased high quality supplies, and finer development and end to drag it off correctly.
The toe space options just a little further reinforcement proper on the entrance. The pink gum space can also be fairly immune to scuffing but fairly simple to wash. The Quoc lettering is reflective for a little bit of added security.
A single micro-adjustable dial is used to safe the shoe and regulate the match. There’s beneficiant cable size so stepping into the shoe is simple. Tightening the shoe, you hear and really feel the acquainted tiny ratchets typical of dial closures. Releasing or loosening the shoe isn’t a direct reverse, nevertheless. Turning the dial backwards about 1/8 of a flip totally releases rigidity on the cables, so you might be free to open up the shoe as a lot as you want. This took a strive or two on the bike to determine throughout preliminary rides if you wish to regulate rigidity on the transfer, however it shortly grew to become pure.
The heel of the shoe is the place the one-piece higher comes along with a single seam. The outsole doesn’t lengthen upwards, however I haven’t discovered vital scuffing after two months of rocky hike-a-biking. A little bit of reflective piping is inconspicuously included too.
The outsole has sufficient lugs and grip for safety when strolling. Two months of heavy use hasn’t worn off the little dimples on any of the lugs.
In case your using favours extra consolation necessities, the unique Gran Tourer has a barely much less racy and extra versatile outsole.
Lengthy-Time period Trip Report
I used the Gran Tourer II nearly unique for all my using from June by means of early August. This features a four-day bank card (i.e., 6 L saddlebag and a small handlebar bag) gravel/street bikepacking journey with my buddy Chris by means of rugged Okanagan off-road. The sneakers have been thrown proper into the proverbial fireplace on day one, a steep haul on sandy and rocky gravel as much as our lodge. There was loads of hike-a-biking that had motocross riders shaking their helmets at our foolishness, maxing out at 32% grade.
By all of it, I discovered the Gran Tourer II match to actually be good for me. On or off the bike, my toes felt completely swaddled, with simply the correct quantity of assist and no scorching spots, pinching, or slop. This was equally true on the prolonged steep mountaineering sections as above, with no heel slop or flop.
The match remained nice even with the repeated showers that dogged our journey maintaining the sneakers damp to soaked the entire time. Aspect notice – merino wool socks are the one technique to go for bikepacking!
I additionally rode the Gran Tourer II on two massive gravel races, every 120-140 km and that includes numerous climbing. One was executed in overcast to mild showers, whereas the opposite was within the depths of Ontario warmth and humidity. The sneakers have been once more an ideal companion all through the lengthy days. No scorching spots, pinching, or foot fatigue.
Partly as a result of the sneakers are nice, however extra as a result of we rode proper by the rock wall the place I broke my proper foot and practically died again in 2019!
Abstract
The Quoc Gran Tourer II match me so effectively that it felt custom-molded to my toes (I’m pretty common in foot width, quantity, arch peak, and many others.), giving me all day match consolation with the correct quantity of outsole stiffness. It’s positively the shoe that I default to now for all my off-road using.
I additionally love the type and aesthetics that offers off much less of an “I’m a bicycle owner” vibe. For me, the mixture of kind and performance of the Gran Tourer II makes it a superb all-road possibility.
Take a look at the total vary at www.quoc.cc.
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