Rapha Pro Team Lace Up shoes review

Rapha’s Pro Team Lace Up shoes are a new premium offering from the cycling clothing brand.

They forgo the Boa dials found on the Pro Team shoe and exchange them for laces (with a twist), while saving you £50.

In testing, I’ve found the Pro Team Lace Up to be a very solid offering, with the comfortable Powerweave uppers and balanced carbon sole the highlights.

However, they won’t be suitable for year-round use and there are quirks to note.

Rapha Pro Team Lace Up shoe construction

Rapha hasn’t diverted too far from its winning recipe on the Pro Team shoe, with the brand claiming it wanted to transpose its Powerweave technology to more of a ‘classic’ road cycling platform.

Both shoes share the same Powerweave upper. Rapha’s proprietary Powerweave is a seamless, one-piece material, which the brand says is designed for “unparalleled comfort, breathability and stability”. The technology is also used on the brand’s Pro Team Powerweave bib shorts.

Rather than use traditional laces, Rapha has deployed a SpeedLace system, sometimes found in high-performance trail-running and snowsports footwear.

This enables the lace tension to be adjusted by pulling down on a tab, which draws the lace tighter until your feet are secure.

Rapha says the lacing system locks the foot down, distributing pressure evenly to eliminate any pinch points.

There’s a strap just underneath the top of the lace to feed it through and an elastic pocket to tuck the excess lace into.

Rapha says spare SpeedLaces are not currently replaceable, but the brand says that “is something we are looking into”.

The shoe has a carbon sole, which accepts three-bolt cleats via fixed bolt holes.

There’s an externally moulded thermoplastic heel cup, which Rapha claims has been engineered for grip. Rapha says you can get replacements by contacting its customer services team.

A bumper on the front of the shoe adds further protection.

The tongue is padded, which Rapha says is to further disperse pressure from the laces at the top of the foot.

Rapha says the shoe can be worn in all conditions because it features a Durable Water Repellent (DWR) treatment for comfort in inclement weather.

The shoes are available in black, white and green, with sizes ranging from EU36 to 47. Half sizes are offered between 40 and 46.

My size-45 shoes weighed 554g for the pair.

Rapha Pro Team Lace Up shoe sizing and fit

I am familiar with Rapha’s sizing (I own a pair of Explore Powerweave shoes) and opted for a size 45.

Out of the box, the shoes fitted me very well, with a nice and roomy toe box. The shape of the shoe is quite different from the Explore Powerweaves – slightly narrower in profile with a longer, angular toe box, which might not suit those with wide-splaying toes.

The heel cup is also on the narrower side and curved – I’d have preferred a more contoured profile to better suit the shape of my ankle, but this is a matter of personal preference.

Although Rapha shoes tend to fit true-to-size, like all of the best cycling shoes, we highly recommend trying the Pro Team Lace Ups on before purchasing.

Rapha Pro Team Lace Up shoe performance

I tested the Rapha Pro Team Lace Up shoes in a variety of weather conditions. Ambient temperatures ranged from 12°C to 25°C.

It took me three rides to fully break the shoes in. Once bedded in, the shoes have largely impressed in testing. The Powerweave upper is luxuriously comfortable and the laces hug your feet while evenly distributing pressure.

Ventilation is particularly excellent, thanks to the airy nature of the Powerweave material and I had no issues riding with these shoes in a temperature of 26°C.

The own-brand carbon sole delivers enough force to the pedals without overwhelming your foot with harsh stiffness.

I appreciated them being a little more forgiving than premium rivals such as the Sidi Shot or Specialized S-Works Torch. After all, shoe stiffness doesn’t really matter.

Although the shoes are a cinch to remove, they require more labour to put on. Tensioning the lace is straightforward, but having to tuck it under the lace keeper and then stuff it in the elastic pocket takes more time than tightening two Boa dials.

While the lace pocket is fine, I had a lot of excess lace and found it difficult to neatly tuck it all away.

After wearing these shoes on a bunch of 100km+ rides, testing culminated with the ultimate test – a 330km audax.

The shoes performed admirably for the first 100 miles, but the right shoe then rubbed on the widest portion of my midfoot. I also experienced this issue (albeit worse) on the Stomp Lox Slack shoes I reviewed recently.

Although the Pro Team Lace Ups feature a DWR treatment to resist some water, I wasn’t very impressed with their performance in wet weather. They let in water quicker than other road cycling shoes I have worn that don’t have any waterproofing claims whatsoever.

The shoes were soaked almost instantly during an unforecast heavy downpour on a 120km club ride early in testing. They also became saturated during a lighter shower around 30 miles before the finish of my audax.

In combination with the fact the Powerweave material isn’t easy to keep clean, I’d suggest saving the Rapha Pro Team Lace Up shoes for dry conditions.

After two months of testing, other than some scratches on the sole (which is to be expected) the shoes aren’t showing any signs of wear.

At £245 / $315 / €280 / AU$450, the Pro Team Lace Ups represent good value for top-end lace-up kicks and undercut their competition. Specialized’s S-Works Torch Lace retails for £300 / $350 / €340 / AU$550 and Giro’s Empire SLX will set you back an even loftier £329.95 / $375.

Rapha Pro Team Lace Up bottom line

I found a lot to like about Rapha’s Pro Team Lace Up shoes in testing. They’re comfortable on all but the longest rides and the Powerweave material is satisfyingly airy in warm weather. I also really admire the shoe’s simplistic appearance.

However, if you want a single pair of road shoes for everything, this isn’t it. They let in water very quickly and the Powerweave material isn’t the easiest to keep clean.

I also prefer the adjustability of Boa dials to the SpeedLace system found here, but £50 is a lot to pay for this upgrade in the closure system.