Kicking around Eurobike – road shoe gallery

As the world’s biggest cycling show, Eurobike is a great place to spot trends – or at least what brands hope will become trends. For road footwear, dials and laces are de rigueur. We're also seeing knits catching on and reflective materials are popping up from an increasing number of brands.

For closures, ratchets have effectively disappeared, replaced by primarily by BOA dials. The laces fad seems to have slowed on top-end models. However, new mid-range shoes are showing up with laces for the first time.

While Eurobike hosts more than 1,200 brands, many of the big players no longer attend, including Specialized, Trek, Cannondale and Giant. Those brands now host their own shows for retailers and the media.

Knits are showing up on more cycling shoes - Ben Delaney / Immediate Media

Knits from DMT, Fizik and Giro

Giro and Fizik rolled out their first shoes with knit uppers at Eurobike last year, and have expanded their offerings for this fall.

The Giro Empire E70 Knit is a step down from the top-end Empire in terms of sole stiffness and price. For riders who find the original Empire a little tight, the Empire E70 Knit feels a bit looser. It comes in four styles.

Giro introduced knit shoes in 2017, and now has a variety of men's and women's styles at various prices. This is the women's Empire E70 - Ben Delaney / Immediate Media

The Giro Republic R Knit is a walkable road shoe, with ample rubber tread and an SPD cleat. It comes in two styles.

The new DMT KR1 has a knit upper with a short sock cuff instead of the traditional lip. It comes in two styles.

The rim of the DMT KR1 is reminiscent of a soccer/football shoe with the sock-like material - Ben Delaney / Immediate Media

For Fizik, the Infinito R1 Knit comes in four styles, some with BOA laces that match the shoe's highlight color.

The Infinito now has laces to match highlight colors - Ben Delaney / Immediate Media

Reflectives from Bont and Giro

And here is how two styles of Bont Vapor S reflective shoes look when hit with artificial light - Ben Delaney / Immediate Media

Bont jumped on the reflective bandwagon with Vapor S and Helix models that light up under artificial light.

Giro continues with its reflective Empire models, but also added a special edition graphic.

The Empire under light - Ben Delaney / Immediate Media

New mid-range lace-ups from Pearl Izumi

Pearl Izumi's top-end shoes use BOA closures. But the new Tour Road and Sugar Road models feature laces, a first for the company. They also have both 3-bolt and SPD options in the same sole.

Pearl Izumi has some new lace-up shoes called the Tour Road for $130 / £119 - Ben Delaney / Immediate Media

Refined S-Phyre RC-9 from Shimano

Shimano's S-Phyre RC-9 shoe got a few tweaks, including a bit more give around the metatarsals, an elimination of the mesh over the toes that created a crease for some riders, and a reworking of the perforations.

The RC-9 also has a more rounded heel cup.

Shimano tweaked its S-Phyre RC-9, with slightly more give to the material around the metatarsals - Ben Delaney / Immediate Media

And some flashy uppers from a variety of brands

While all cycling shoe brands will gladly tell you about all their technical features, shoes are also a fashion item for many. For a glance at some of the latest looks, click or scroll through the gallery above.