I have been riding Mavic Rush cross country mountain bike shoes since the fall of 2012, through a whole season of cyclocross and some mountain biking.
The reason I bought new mountain biking / cyclocross shoes in the first place is that I have been having pain on the ball of my left foot for an extended period of time, and decided that I would try buying new road and mountain biking shoes (and a new cleat position) to see if that solved my problem before I give up and go to the doctor.
I went to two local bike shops here in Dallas — Richardson Bike Mart and Dallas Bike Works. I tried on every pair of high end to mid range mountain biking shoes that they carried, looking for the most comfortable fit. Although a comfortable fit in the store doesn’t guarantee that they will be comfortable while pedaling, I wanted to at least see if they were hurting the ball of my foot when I tried them on in the store and avoided shoes that did.
I typically ride high end shoes, and was hoping that something like the top end Mavic Fury might work for me. The Fury shoes were also comfortable, but I could feel the heel of my foot slipping when I walked in the Fury, which would not be acceptable for running during cyclocross racing. The Rush shoes did not have this issue for me. (The fact the my heel slipped in them doesn’t mean that everyone’s heel will slip! I have relatively narrow heels.)
The Mavic Rush shoes have a good ratchet system at the top of the shoe to make sure that your shoes stay on at exactly the tightness that you require. The ratchet works well and doesn’t slip, and has held up well for me so far. To release them, you grab a little lever and pull outward, and they come right off.
The bottom two straps are Velcro. I typically keep the very bottom strap always strapped shut, because I can slip in and out of the shoes by loosening the top and middle straps. The Velcro for the middle strap is good quality, and has held up fine coming on and off. One issue I notice with the middle strap is that when I tighten it in the house, I can feet a small lump on the top of my foot. But when I stand up and when I click into the pedals, I no longer feel this and have no comfort issues with the shoe during riding and running with them.
The footbed of the Mavic Rush shoes are very comfortable, and I was able to pedal and run in these shoes comfortably.
The “Energy Grip Outsole” of these shoes is not carbon like the Mavic Fury, but it feels plenty stiff to me. Comfort was more important to me than stiffness in this situation, particularly since I also use the shoes for cyclocross racing and run in them and jump over barriers. As you can see from the photo, you can also attach spikes to the front of the shoes if you are racing in mud or ice.
The cleats on the shoes and the “Contagrip” rubber on the bottom make them very good for running without slipping. If you’ve ever had a pair of mountain biking shoes that don’t grip, you probably know how that can suck when you’re trying to run your bike up something rocky or muddy and slippery.
As far as temperature goes, I haven’t ridden them in the summer yet, but I have ridden them on 80 degree plus days with no heat issues. And down to the mid 40s, I am fine with wool socks. Under 45 degrees, I’ll usually add neoprene toe caps to the wool socks to keep warm.
There is plenty of room in the toe box of these shoes, and I am able to ride with thicker wool socks when the weather gets cold.
These shoes are usually priced around $129. I think I paid $129 locally. So they are a very good value, especially compared to the high end Fury that costs more than $300. Bicycling Magazine agrees with me on the issue of comfort and affordability.
Did I leave anything out with this review? Leave a comment and ask me a question or let me know what else I should include, and I will update the review accordingly.