Today, the Italian cycling shoe brand UDOG announced its first gravel shoe, the Distanza. At first glance, the Distanza shoes have a very appealing look, with seemingly premium materials and nice features for adventure. These new gravel shoes have a fully laced closure system that they say features proprietary laces that are flat and pressed, eliminating the risk of getting loose while riding. The Distanza also features a generous toe box and deep heel cup, which is a good sign that these will be comfortable on the bike for long rides, as well as off the bike. The upper is made of innovative three-dimensional engineered mesh, producing a material that should be light, durable, and breathable.

Two version are currently available at launch including the standard Distanza in ash grey and the Distanza Carbon in black. The outsole is built around a carbon composite core, and features a molded sticky rubber which wraps over the toe and around the heel. The Distanza Carbon uses a full carbon composite rubber outsole versus the nylon carbon reinforced rubber outsole of the cheaper Distanza.

As for weight, a size 42 Distanza comes in at 330 grams, compared with 315 grams for the Carbon version. For comparison, the S-Works Recon Shoe weighs 280g. The Udog Distanza costs $240 and currently ships to the USA for free. The Udog Distanza Carbon costs $334.

Learn more at udog.cc