If you take the stability and hikeability and flexible sole of mountain bike shoe and combine that with the rigid sole and look of a road shoe, the result is the PEARL iZUMi X-Alp Gravel shoe.
What I Liked
Hikability
In the spirit of full transparency, I’m not a serious gravel rider. The only time I ride gravel is because there’s a gravel road connecting mountain bike trails or I’m lost. So my testing environment for this review was mountain biking, commuting and long urban rides in excess of 40 miles. Still, when I had to walk on mountain bike trails, the nylon composite sole and lugs provided good purchase on rocks, loose gravel and uneven terra firma. For context and comparison, their ability to grip surfaces was on par with my traditional mountain bike shoes.
In addition, they have a recessed cleat and a reinforced toe bumper to protect the piggies when they come into contact with rocks and roots—which happens both on and off the bike.
Exceptional Ventilation
Despite the fully-bonded seamless upper, it’s extremely ventilated. The surface of the upper is more perforation than upper. The sole plate, which Pearl Izumi calls “Direct-Vent Technology,” allows for both air intake and drainage of moisture.
I received my sample in the late fall so I didn’t have an opportunity to test them in really warm and humid conditions. But since the technology is also found on the Pearl Izumi Sugar Road shoes, I know they will offer the same outstanding ventilation in hot and humid weather.
Comfortable
A good shoe cycling shoe is one that you don’t notice that you’re wearing. That sums up the X-Alp Gravel. Instead of feeling like cycling shoe, they felt more like a supportive slipper sock. If you’re familiar with the Pearl Izumi Sugar Road Shoe, the fit is pretty close.
The toe box is mercifully roomy enough to prevent that sensation of five toes merging into one. The tongue is notched to offer flex and additional comfort around the ankle. The synthetic upper material is soft and supple and conformed to my foot. The Boa closure system allows for those quick and easy micro-adjustments, on the fly or otherwise. I felt no hot spots, pinching or discomfort.
Power Transfer and Pedaling Efficiency
The 1:1® Next Step Nylon composite sole, which offers moderate flexibility, is very effective for walking. But the trade-off is reduced pedaling efficiency. Also, on longer rides, flexier soles oftentimes contribute to foot fatigue because the foot has to compensate when the sole “bends” around the pedal.
That being said, I definitely noticed how the more flexible sole zapped power and pedaling efficiency, and even contributed to tired or cramping feet (especially after a 45-mile ride), but in the greater scheme of things, it was negligible and hardly crippling. It’s more on par with a mountain bike shoe then a road shoe.
To be perfectly honest, if you’re comparing the Pearl Izumi X-Alp Gravels with road shoes, you’ll notice this. If you’re comparing them to a cross country mountain bike shoe, you won’t.
What could be Better
Sizing
The X-Alp Gravel come in unisex sizing, full sizes only. Pear Izumi historically has wonky sizing but they have an entire page dedicated to sizing recommendations. I recommend you follow it. Except that in the case of unisex whole sizes, they don’t articulate it at all.
In normal, women-specific Pearl Izumi sizing, which offers half sizes, I found the sweet spot going one full size up from my American and European size. For example, my normal shoe size is a 39 (or 7.5-8 for you Americans out there). The first time I tried to squish my size 39 foot into a size 39 Pearl Izumi mountain bike shoe, the result felt much like my feet were victims of the barbaric foot binding ritual. Their size 40, however, fits swimmingly, and is the size I always get.
When navigating unisex sizing, all bets are off. In the X-Alp Gravel, I went with my standard Pearl Izumi size 40. The unisex size 40 is on the big side for me. The Glass Slipper fit would come from a size 39.5, but again, they only offer them in whole sizes.
Because these are such great shoes, and their hybrid design means you can wear them on gravel rides and cross country mountain bike rides, the sizing really needs to be improved. An easy thing to do, actually. Simply offer them in women-specific sizing or add half-sizes to the unisex size range.
L6 Boa Closure
The Pearl Izumi X-Alp Gravel shoes are equipped with the “L6 Boa® system with sequence routing for micro-adjustability and secure, even closure” There are two glaring problems here. The first is with the sequence-routing and the second is with the micro-adjustability.
The sequence routing system is designed so that one wire path crosses the top of your foot while the other is routed down the left side of the tongue opening. The result is a single wire lace that crosses the top of the foot and connects with a second wire lace that snakes down the left side of the tongue closure. This creates uneven tension between the top and the toe box and I had to pick and pull at the wires to even out the tension for a snug fit. With other Boa-closure shoes, the wire forms a criss-cross lace pattern. This is ideal.
The other issue is in the Boa L6 dial. It allows for “micro-adjustability” but only in one direction. When I over-tighten, I have to pop the dial to fully release the laces and start the whole process again. The reality of long rides is that your feet swell. With the L6 dial, I had to stop to make any adjustments to loosen.
Final Thoughts
There many things to love about them: Great for mountain biking, great for gravel, outstanding ventilation, good traction and stability, comfortable. It has enough flex for walking and enough rigidity for decent power transfer. However, I think the hard-core gravel racers will find the soles to flexible.
I encountered limitations with the sizing and the Boa closure but overall, the Pearl Izumi X-Alp Gravel shoes proved to be a very effective multi-purpose bike shoe on all surfaces. These are still first-generation shoes so it’s not entirely a shock that the design would have some hiccups. I would love to see Pearl Izumi address both these issues in the next generation.
