There was a time when clipless pedals hardly existed in the world of mountain biking. Then, it seemed that everyone who wanted to be fast in just about any mountain bike discipline thought they had to run clipless pedals. Now, flat pedals have made a bit of a resurgence, and plenty of people wear both flats and clipless, choosing whichever setup works best for that day’s ride. Of course, along with clipless mountain bike pedals comes clipless mountain bike shoes, which are a bit more varied than their flat counterparts.

But don’t worry. Whether you are a long time clipless rider looking for the latest and greatest clipless mountain bike shoe, or you are making the switch from flats, we are here to help you choose the best clipless mountain bike shoe for your needs!

Choosing a Clipless Mountain Bike Shoe

What Type of Riding Will You Do?

Clipless mountain bike shoes range from those aimed at hardcore, gram counting cross country racers to those for downhill racers who bang out warp speed laps at lift-served bike parks. If either of these descriptions sounds like you, then you probably want a shoe made specifically for your preferred discipline. Otherwise, we generally recommend a good all mountain or enduro oriented shoe, as these will serve you well regardless of your riding style.

What Type of Pedals Will You Pair Your Shoes With?

On one very basic level, clipless mountain bike pedals come in three styles, regardless of the clipping mechanism that they use. They tend to have:

Generally, cross country racers looking for the lightest possible shoe/pedal combo, opt for a pedal like the Shimano XTR M9100, which has no cage around it at all. Because of this, XC shoes are extremely stiff, as the sole is responsible for transferring all of the rider’s power to the small pedal platform.

Trail, enduro, and downhill riders generally opt for a pedal with either a medium or large cage, such as the Shimano XT M8020 or Crank Brother’s Mallet E. While a stiff shoe will work for these pedals, riders typically opt for a shoe with a bit more flex, which will allow their foot to interface with the cage, particularly for pedals with a full cage. This gives the feeling of being on flats, along with the efficiency and security of clipless pedals.

How We Chose the Best Clipless Mountain Bike Shoes

We based our reviews of the best clipless mountain bike shoes on their rigidity and power transfer, how they performed off of the bike in hike-a-bike situations, their comfort and fit, their durability, and finally on their weight. We also gave a nod to shoes that offered a good value for their price.

While rigidity and power transfer is our top metric, max rigidity is not necessarily the best nor most desirable trait for everyone. Particularly if you are using a larger pedal, like the Shimano Saint M820 or Crank Brothers Mallet E, you might prefer a shoe with more flex that allows you to deliver power through the pedal’s platform.

Traction and performance off of the bike will be much more important to some riders than others. Generally, this is not much of a concern for XC racers, and XC clipless shoes tend to be the worst in this category, thanks to their stiff soles.

Comfort and fit should be your top priority when choosing any mountain bike shoe, or any other shoe for that matter. However, because comfort and fit tend to be subjective and vary from person to person, it is harder to accurately describe how a shoe will fit each and every rider. Instead, we focused on giving you an idea of how each shoe generally fits, and any overarching comfort pros or cons that it might bring.

We are not overly concerned with weight, but we know that plenty of riders are, and we took this metric into consideration, particularly for XC focused shoes, since this is the discipline where every gram counts the most.

The Best Flat Mountain Bike Shoes of 2021

The Best Of The Rest

Shimano XC7

Five Ten Kestral Lace

Pearl Izumi X-Project P.R.O.

Shimano ME7

Best All-Mountain and Enduro Clipless Mountain Bike Shoe

The Shimano ME7 is an extremely high-quality all-mountain and enduro focused clipless mountain bike shoe that is rugged enough for the most demanding enduro courses, but well rounded enough to take on long cross country rides and to the downhill park, as well. Its Michelin rubber sole is the best in our review, and it is our top choice for hike-a-bikes. There are shoes that do certain things better than the Shimano ME7, but you would be hard pressed to find a better all-around clipless mountain bike shoe.

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Giro Empire VR90

Best Premium XC Clipless Mountain Bike Shoe

The Giro Empire VR90 is not a shoe that is made to please everyone. It is the lightest and stiffest soled clipless mountain bike shoe in our review, and it is an XC racing shoe through and through. However, its off the bike performance just edges out the Shimano S-Phyre XC9, so if you are after a premium XC shoe but still need a shoe that will take you on the occasional hike-a-bike, then the Giro Empire VR90 might be the clipless mountain bike shoe for you.

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Shimano S-Phyre XC9

Great XC Race Shoe at a Staggering Price

Unlike the Shimano ME7, the Shimano S-Phyre XC9 is not a shoe for everyone. With a price tag of $400, less than top-notch durability, and an ultra-stiff sole, the S-Phyre XC9 is a premium XC racer’s shoe and not much else. However, if you don’t mind shelling out $400 on a shoe with less than ideal durability, then you will be hard pressed to find a higher performance XC race focused mountain bike shoe.

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Giro Terraduro

Best Bang for Your Buck All-Mountain and Enduro Clipless Mountain Bike Shoe

While the Shimano GR7 just edged out the Giro Terraduro as our top enduro/all-mountain and all-around clipless mountain bike shoe, the Terraduro goes blow for blow with the GR7 in almost every category. Add to this the fact that the Terraduro is just a shade over half the price of the GR7, and it is a shoo-in for the best bang for your buck clipless enduro/all mountain shoe in our review.

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Giro Privateer R

Best Budget XC Clipless Mountain Bike Shoe

Like the giro Terraduro, the Giro Privateer R provides a great deal of what the more expensive shoes in its category do, but the Privateer R does it at about a fourth of the cost of premium XC race shoes. The Privateer R might not be quite as light or quite as stiff as the Giro Empire VR90 or Shimano S-Phyre XC9, but most riders would be hard pressed to tell that difference on the bike, and for the price, they are impossible to beat.

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Giro Chamber 2

Great Clipless Mountain Bike Shoe for Enduro and Downhill Riders

If you haven’t noticed the trend, Giro has some of the best bang for your buck clipless mountain bike shoes on the market, and the Giro Chamber 2 is the third of those entries on our list. While it is not quite as well rounded as shoes like the Giro Terraduro or Shimano ME7, the Chamber 2 is an all-mountain shoe that skews heavily toward the rowdy enduro and downhill side of the mountain. Just how good is the Giro Chamber 2? Just ask Richie Rude and other EWS racers who depend on it to bring home the bacon.

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Shimano XC7

The Shimano XC7 is the less expensive sibling of the $400 Shimano S-Phyre XC9. At just over half the price of big brother, the XC7 is an extremely capable XC race shoe in its own right, and one that is significantly more well rounded and durable than its much more expensive counterpart. It might not offer the price to performance value of the Giro Privateer R, but the XC7 punches above its weight class, when you consider what the top shoes in its category cost.

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Five Ten Kestral Lace

There is a lot of good things to say about the Five Ten Kestral Lace. It brings all of the things that people know and love about Five Ten flat mountain bike shoes to the clipless mountain bike shoe arena. It boasts Five Ten’s patented grippy and durable rubber, making it a great shoe for all mountain riders who frequently hike-a-bike. Unfortunately, comfort issues held it back from competing with the Giro Chamber 2 and Shimano ME7 as our top pick for riders who get rowdy.

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Pearl Izumi X-Project P.R.O.

The Pearl Izumi X-Project Pro is the most innovative and ambitious clipless mountain bike shoe that we have ever seen. It aims to be a top performer in every subdiscipline of the sport, from gravel racing to downhill racing and everything in between. To go along with this, it aims to be the best pedaling and hike-a-biking  shoe on the market. In the end, it is really close to being all of those things. Unfortunately, its questionable durability means that it does not stay any of those things for long, and at $350, it is an expensive shoe to replace every few months.

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