Mavic’s Crossmax Boa is marketed as an XC or cross-country mountain bike shoe, and while I’m not particularly fond of the notion that gravel riding is merely a throwback to '90s mountain biking, many products do overlap significantly. That being said, Mavic offers another shoe, the Cosmic Boa SPD, which bears many similarities to the Crossmax I had on test, with identical uppers but a smoother sole designed for touring if your gravel riding rarely requires any time walking.
They looked great when I saw them at the Eurobike show, but given that most of my gravel riding is either wet and muddy or rocky in the Peak District, with a few hike-a-bike sections, I thought the Crossmax's grippier outsole would be a better fit for most of my riding. So, how do they compare to the best gravel shoes?
