Shimano launched its first gravel shoe in 2019 off the back of releasing its first gravel groupset. Fast forward to 2023, and it felt like déjà vu with Shimano announcing the latest RX801 gravel shoe shortly after the 12-speed update to its gravel groupset.
Shimano claims the RX801 enhances its best gravel bike shoe, offering improved breathability and an optimized fit. Much like the GRX groupset, the new RX801 isn’t a ground-up redesign, but rather an evolution of an already sorted product. Over the last four years, the original RX8 has been my favorite gravel shoes and I have covered thousands of gravel miles racing and adventuring in them. The original shoes weren’t without fault, so has Shimano perfected its gravel shoe with the updated RX801?
