12 Good Bike Footwear for Ladies

Pearl Izumi X-Project Elite Cycling Shoe – Women’s

Mountain bike shoes often have to sacrifice on something. To be comfortable for all-day wear, they lose snappiness, but to be responsive on the XC course, they often give up traction on more technical hike-a-bike sections. If you’ve been getting around this by keeping multiple pairs of shoes in your garage, let us offer an alternative.

The Pearl Izumi Women’s X-Project Elite Mountain Bike Shoe comes with the lightness of an XC race shoe, and the attitude of a trail shoe that wants to go out adventuring after your race is finished. A carbon fiber sole, Boa dial closure, and adaptive synthetic uppers give it its race-ready XC pedigree, but underneath, beefy carbon-tipped TPU rubber lugs are begging to be taken into chunkier, muddier terrain. An EVA foam heel delivers extra cush when you’re hopping off and on the bike during all-day soujourns, and the breathable three-layer uppers come free of overlays for a fit that won’t feel restricting when a few wrong turns extend your ride.

Five Ten Kestrel Lace-Up Cycling Shoe – Women’s

The dirt-loving designers over at Five Ten decided their original Kestrel shoe was so much fun that they couldn’t stop at just one. As a result, you now have plenty of options to choose from when you’re upgrading your biking shoes for the season. Kestrel made a few changes and tweaks along the way that led to the creation of the Kestrel Lace-Up Women’s Shoe.

Designed for hard-charging all-mountain/enduro gals, the Kestrel Lace-Up aims to provide a more supportive, contoured fit around your foot than its older sibling with its lace-up closure, hook-and-loop strap, and non-slip heel cup. Kestrel also chose a nylon-reinforced EVA midsole to achieve more flex along the bottom of the shoe, and it designed the Stealth C4 rubber outsole with a wide cleat interface to make it easy to snap in and out of the pedals quickly on technical terrain. The Kestrel Lace-Up’s uppers are PU-coated synthetic, so they won’t crack or rip at the first spill you take on a loose, scree-filled section of trail.

Sidi Dominator Fit Cycling Shoe – Women’s

Sidi’s long-running Dominators were starting to look a little long in the tooth, by modern standards, so the Italian shoe company has refreshed them, updated the look, and kept everything you know and love about the Dominators. They still feature a nylon sole that gives just a bit to keep you feet comfortable, and they’re studded with lugs that make wandering through less-than-ideal places a little bit easier.

The Dominator Fits close via Sidi’s famous Caliper Buckle and two High Security hook-and-loop straps. They’re compatible with all two-hole mountain cleats, though if you’re using Crank Brothers pedals, you’ll want to make use of the reinforcement plates that are included with the shoes.

Five Ten Maltese Falcon Cycling Shoe – Women’s

Designed for comfort and speed, the Five Ten Women’s Maltese Falcon Shoe delivers all-around high-performance on just about any trail you’ll explore. A durable nubuck leather upper with mesh tongue and side panel bring you the ideal blend of toughness and breathable comfort, which is furthered by a perforated toe vamp that promotes cooling airflow. The Maltese Falcon’s compression-molded EVA midsole with a mid-flex plate provides impact-absorption, stability, and reliable support on rowdier trails, while the Stealth S1 rubber outsole serves up an ideal combo of sticky traction and tough durability.

Shimano SH-RP7 Cycling Shoe – Women’s

The Shimano SH-RP7 cycling shoe is the premier women’s specific road performance shoe from the Japanese brand. These shoes deliver superior all-day comfort and efficient performance on fast paced group rides and races. Starting with the upper, the supple, perforated high-density synthetic leather offers a superior fit and is lighter, stronger, and more durable than natural leathers. An external curved heel cup secures the rear of the foot and prevents heel lift when pulling up on the pedals on double-digit grades and county-line sprints. The shoe is built on a women’s specific last and it offers a more natural, and comfortable fit on the female foot. A micro-adjustable Boa dial with hidden wire routing offers quick and easy adjustments so you can tighten the shoes and prepare for the final kick. Combined with the hook-and-loop lower strap, pressure is evenly distributed without any pinch points or hot spots. A lightweight carbon composite outsole for optimized for stiffness and scores a 9 out of 12 of Shimano’s stiffness scale. You can bolt any 3-hole road cleat to the sole and it offers increased fore and aft range so you can dial in your fit effectively.

The shoe is offered in whole sizes from 36 through 44 and in the color Gray.

Shimano SH-ME3 Cycling Shoe – Women’s

A good day of mountain biking starts when you hear the click of cleat into pedal and you start spinning your legs towards the trailhead. Give your feet something to be happy about when you start laying down the power with the Shimano SH-ME3 women’s cycling shoes. With a recreationalist’s balance of comfort and performance, they feature a middle level of flex, allowing for the stiffness necessary for laying down power but enough flex that you won’t be cursing them when you need to hike-a-bike,

The sole starts out with lightweight rubber, and an all-around tread, so you have traction in all conditions when you’re not on the bike, and a TORBAL midsole allows for your natural flow motion while in the saddle. Fiberglass reinforcement on the midsole gives you the stiffness you need for mashing up punchy climbs without adding much weight, and still allowing for comfortable flex.

Up top, supple synthetic leather wraps your foot securely, and a mesh patch near the toes helps prevent roasted piggies on sun-blanched trails. Holding your foot in place are two hook-and-loop straps over your forefoot and instep, and a reverse-buckle up top offers precise tightening that ratchets down, hiding the excess strap so it doesn’t get hung up on trail debris. The shoe is built on a women’s specific last, so it’s narrower than Shimano’s men’s line, providing a fit tuned more towards our narrower feet. This is especially prevalent in the ankle, where it’s slim and hugs your heel into place, preventing slipping on a climb laden with power moves.

Scott Road Comp BOA Lady Cycling Shoe – Women’s

Making the jump to clipless pedals doesn’t have to mean investing in pro-level kicks right off the bat. If you’re ready to move past riding with sneaks and pedal baskets, look to the Scott Road Comp BOA Lady Shoe to give you a comfortable and accessible introduction to the improved power transfer and ride quality of riding clipped-in. With clean, breathable uppers and a Boa dial and strap closure, the Road Comp allows you to fine-tune tightness along the length of your foot, without having to put up with numbness in your toes for a slip-free fit along your instep. Though the fiberglass-reinforced nylon sole doesn’t rank as high in stiffness as a top-tier outsole, it provides reliable power transfer for entry-level and intermediate recreational cyclists who aren’t worried about the peloton just yet.

Pearl Izumi X-ALP Canyon Cycling Shoe – Women’s

Your idea of a fun weekend ride might be a few laps at the local trail network— but sometimes you dive deeper, pack up your bike with a few days worth of supplies, and head beyond the trails most traveled. You know your riding is versatile, and with your feet being your biggest contact point with the bike, it’s important that they are, too. That’s why Pearl Izumi built the Women’s X-ALP Canyon Mountain Bike Shoes with a beefy, reliable tread, and bonded synthetic uppers that let your feet breathe when you’re lugging your bike over-shoulder across a river, or up through overgrown sections of trails long forgotten.

The X-ALP Canyon shoes feature a bonded synthetic top with ample mesh panels that keep your feet from baking on hot trails. They are low-cut at the ankle to provide a light and fast fit that allows for natural ankle rotation off of the bike. While flex is good for miles on foot, a stiff sole is a must for power transfer on the bike, so Pearl equips the X-ALP Canyon’s with a nylon composite shank to maximize power transfer to the pedals, without compromising torsional flex for hiking. Underneath the shank you’ll find a lightweight EVA midsole that cushions your steps comfortably, and a beefy carbon-rubber lugged outsole that provides directional traction on foot. The center of the shoe is ready for clipping in with 2-bolt SPD compatibility that sits recessed and out of the way of your lugs, so your cleats don’t get hung up on rocks when you’re making your way up steep faces.

Ride Concepts Livewire Shoe – Women’s

When it comes to the weekend, you’re not one to waste time fussing over your shoe choice for the day’s activities. Instead, you want a shoe that can do everything, like the Ride Concepts Livewire Shoe. This street-styled shoe can seamlessly move from a backyard BBQ to burly DH lines, thanks to their tough-as-nails construction. They feature durable, synthetic uppers with anti-abrasion mesh that hold up to rocks and stray branches, and tacky DST 6.0 rubber that grips your pedals firm to keep your stance solid when the trail gets a little hairy ahead of you. To keep you protected, Ride Concepts builds the Livewire with custom molded toe and heel guards, while a fully gusseted tongue shields you from intake of debris. And because you want to ride in comfort, even when you take a drop to flat, the Livewire shoes are equipped with both an EVA midsole, and a D30 High Impact Zone Insole to take up some serious shock absorption.

Scott Elite BOA Lady Cycling Shoe – Women’s

You’ve patiently waited all week for the opportunity to ride across the tacky berms, rock-littered descents, and precipitous drops of your favorite trail. Make every pedal stroke count with the powerful feel and foot-wrapping comfort of the Scott Women’s Elite BOA Lady Shoe. This streamlined shoe caters to aggressive ladies sampling a bit of everything at their local network, whether it’s the smooth-buffed dirt or the elevated bridges and rock gardens of gravity trails.

The fiberglass-reinforced nylon sole strikes an optimal balance between stiffness and riding comfort, backed by its medium-stiff power rating. Boa IP1 lacing offers precise tightness with its micro-adjsutable dial, complemented by a hook-and-loop strap for extra support. The Boa dial instantly releases with a simply pull upwards, allowing you to instantly bail out after riding. Another stand-out feature, the ErgoLogic footbed customizes its fit to your individual foot shape with an adjustable arch system.

Ride Concepts Livewire Shoe – Women’s

When it comes to the weekend, you’re not one to waste time fussing over your shoe choice for the day’s activities. Instead, you want a shoe that can do everything, like the Ride Concepts Livewire Shoe. This street-styled shoe can seamlessly move from a backyard BBQ to burly DH lines, thanks to their tough-as-nails construction. They feature durable, synthetic uppers with anti-abrasion mesh that hold up to rocks and stray branches, and tacky DST 6.0 rubber that grips your pedals firm to keep your stance solid when the trail gets a little hairy ahead of you. To keep you protected, Ride Concepts builds the Livewire with custom molded toe and heel guards, while a fully gusseted tongue shields you from intake of debris. And because you want to ride in comfort, even when you take a drop to flat, the Livewire shoes are equipped with both an EVA midsole, and a D30 High Impact Zone Insole to take up some serious shock absorption.

Shimano SH-TR5 Cycling Shoe – Women’s

After a couple years of predictable T1 battles with the myriad ratchets and straps of your regular cycling shoes and the resulting extended transition splits, it’s time to up your game with a pair of Shimano Women’s SH-TR5 Cycling Shoes. Their fiberglass reinforced nylon soles provide efficient power transfer at a much more palatable price than carbon soled options, freeing up cash for an extra race entry or two throughout the year.

The SH-TR5’s two hook-and-loop straps are easy to operate from the saddle with shaky, wet fingers, and an asymmetrical heel loop helps you pull each shoe on while pedaling for valuable seconds gained over your fellow competitors. Breathable mesh and perforations cover the shoe’s upper, ushering air in let your feet dry off from the swim leg and stay cool ’til T2. p>