Bontrager Foray Shoes: At The Finish – by Grannygear
Editor’s Note: See Grannygear’s introduction to the Foray shoes at this link.
You know how sometimes a product leaves you with that “Just OK” feeling? It’s not bad, but never quite gets to great either, just kind of lives in the middle ground? That, for me, has been the Foray gravel/MTB shoes from Bontrager.
They never caused me any pain or broke or anything. They worked fine in that sense. They are stiff enough. They are easy to clip in and out of the pedals with.
Most all of the mixed feelings were due to the fit. The Forays just did not really fit me well, even when I tried two different sizes. It was not as bad as some shoes I have tried where you might as well have been wearing the box the shoes came in….no, not even that bad.
Where the Bontrager GR2 gravel shoes remain one of my favorite shoes to ride in, laces and all, the Foray never let me forget I was wearing them. A great product that is a part of your contact points (saddles, grips, etc) should just disappear underneath you. I am not completely sure why these were not that way for me, but there it is.
Other than that, they have been solid shoes, not showing any real wear above what you would expect. They are not very comfy to walk in either, now that I think about it.
The Boa dial does one thing that is kind of annoying in that it will not reverse tension, so if you over-tighten the dial, you cannot just click backwards. You have to pull the dial out (release the tension), then push it back in and re-tension the lacing. It’s a bit faff-ish to do while riding. I suppose this is a cost consideration from Boa.
So there you go and that is where I leave it. I have a closet full of shoes and these are just not getting the pick when riding time comes. For me, at least, they are not a bad product, but not keepers either.
Maybe I need different feet!
For more on the Foray shoes, see the Bontrager website
Note: Bontrager sent over the Bontrager Foray cycling shoes for test and review to Riding Gravel at no charge. We are not being paid, nor bribed for this review. We will always strive to give our honest thoughts and reviews throughout.