Review: Northwave Hammer Plus comfy gravel shoes

With the growing popularity of gravel riding, a plethora of accessories are emerging including dedicated shoes.

When I first put these shoes on, I was concerned about how comfortable and flexible they felt. I’m more of a road cyclist than a gravel one, so I’m used to wearing carbon-soled road cycling shoes, which are super stiff and designed to immobilise your foot.

But once I started riding on gravel with them, I realised they are ideal for the terrain and riding style. Flexible and comfortable are just what’s required to pair nicely with mountain bike pedals. They are also super comfy when you get off the bike and walk around on both gravel and bitumen.

And I wouldn’t pigeonhole them as gravel only; they make great off-road shoes for mountain biking, gravel, commuting, or bike-packing.

Flexible sole

Northwave calls the sole of these shoes ‘Jaws Evo’. It’s designed to be flexible and provide solid comfort and walking performance without impacting pedalling efficiency and feel on the bike.

The Hammer Plus shoes’ toe box flexes easily, adding to the comfort and making them feel similar to walking shoes. The sole has a chunky rubber tread that keeps the cleat from making contact with the ground when you walk and makes walking stable even on rough surfaces. There are two replaceable rubber studs at the front of the sole, but I’m not sure what their purpose is; they are removable if you find their ‘crunching’ noise annoying, as I did.

Closure

The shoes are secured with a single dial closure and a Velcro strap. The SLW3 dial, which is also found on other Northwave shoes, provides a firm and comfortable closure system. In the case of the pair I tried, the yellow dial matches the tread, giving the shoe a distinctive look. The Velcro strap seems superfluous, and I didn’t use it, but perhaps it could be useful if you have very narrow feet.

Performance

The good news is that the comfort and flexibility of these shoes didn’t mean they underperformed on the bike. I expected them to feel soft and mushy out on the gravel trails, but they felt firm and responsive, even when climbing, descending and cornering.

I found them easy to clean with a wet cloth, even after riding on plenty of gravel trails. The dark grey colour is also very forgiving and highlighted with black and yellow, I’m sure they’ll last many kilometres.

They are also more affordable than those carbon-soled road shoes at just $199.99 and come in four colour options.

More info northwave.com.au