Designed for some of the best xc riders in the world, the Bontrager XXX Mountain Bike shoe is a workhorse, top-of-the-line carbon cycling shoe that will motor you down the nastiest of gravel roads and the most technical single track in style. With notable features like an OCLV carbon sole, double Boa closure for micro-adjustability, and a damn good look, we’d put this shoe up against anything on the market.
Design, Build and Fit
Designed to be Bontrager’s fastest, most advanced mountain shoe they have produced, we also think it might be the most expensive. The XXX mountain bike shoe was designed for those that want to go fast or look like they can go fast. It’s an exceedingly light, stiff, and zero-compromise trail shoe for XC and gravel. Riders and racers that value efficiency, minimal weight, and maximum stiffness won’t be let down.
OCLV Carbon Sole
Bontrager mentions the XXX shoe gets a 14 out of 14 on their stiffness index, a number that’s achieved thanks to the 100% OCLV carbon sole. While we don’t have a stiffness scale here, we will say this shoe is stiff (think road shoe stiff) and not particularly made for walking. Several unrideable excursions above the tree line on rocky trails in Colorado left me yearning for a slightly more flexible shoe. This was mainly due to the brutally steep hike-a-bike sections over bowling ball-sized rocks. Dismounting for a rock garden or a mid-ride refuel will not be a problem. A long day on the bike will give riders a chance to appreciate the stiffness and efficiency.
Heel and Toe Protection
Speaking of rock garden and obstacles, The shoes have a reinforced toe and heel area, and there are Tachyon rubber lugs for traction and toe spikes for deeper mud and muck. I had the opportunity to catch my foot on a downed log one day so hard it moved the cleat in the shoe, put my knee into the shifter and brake lever rotating it a solid 90 degrees, and I tore open my inner thigh on the stem. The foot was 100% fine!
In dirt and mud, solid traction is provided from the lugs on the tread and optional toe spikes, it’s lacking when it comes to wet rocks. A softer rubber would offer a lot more traction and confidence when dealing with these conditions.
Bontrager XXX MTB Shoe Upper
The tongue of the shoe is an asymmetrical design. This design wraps around and over the top of the foot from the medial to the lateral forefoot arch for comfort, and to keep out any extra debris. Additionally, there are neoprene flex points at the top of the tongue and the back of the shoe to help reduce pressure points.
As a top-of-the-line product, the Bontrager XXX Mountain Bike Shoe is designed to fit snugly and uses Bontrager’s inForm Pro last. Two Boa IP1 dials secure the shoes, with the Boa lacing routed in a way that distributes the pressure evenly and not just on the top of the foot. When it comes to comfort, the XXX gets two thumbs up from this guy!
When it came to the fit on the Bontrager XXX; personally, the only problem I found was it maybe ran a half-size (euro sizing) big. I have two pairs of OLD Bontragers in the basement, some Giro, and a pair of Pearl Izumi that are all size 46 and they all fit pretty well. However, in the Bontrager XXX I downsized and went with a 45.5. After that swap, I was ripping single-track and hammering gravel roads like a pro, just a little slower.
REform or In-form insoles
The stock insoles in the shoes are pretty basic for a $399.00 shoe, but Bontrager does make an aftermarket insole in collaboration with Superfeet that you can pick up for $40.00. The insoles are offered in low arch, mid-arch, and high arch options.
Now, after shelling out this kind of cash for a shoe most riders are not going to be very excited about dropping more cash on insoles, and I can’t blame them. On the flip side, offering different size shoes, color options, and now tossing in different insoles would be an inventory nightmare for dealers.
Durability and Verdict
We have ridden the XXX for around 4 months now and they have been solid, aside from some scrapes on the sole. This is definitely a shoe designed to be light, fast, durable, and extremely comfortable. I anticipate this shoe being my “go-to” for quite some time.
The Bontrager XXX Mountain Bike Shoe Retails for $399.00 and are available through your local Trek dealer or at Trekbikes.com.
