Quoc M Pro Lace cycling shoes review: Same fantastic styling, but with improved foot retention and a lower price

The Quoc M Pro Lace shoe launched in March this year, and along with the more affordable Escape Road models, brings a lace-up option to the already popular Quoc road shoe range.

The M Pro Lace shares a lot of the same design features as the existing M3 Pro and M3 Air shoes that I have tested and reviewed over the last couple of years.

Lace-up road shoes are, if not fully in vogue, certainly a lot more popular of late amongst the best cycling shoes. There’s the aero angle, and they are regularly cited as being more aerodynamic than a boa or ratchet-equipped shoe, and the sports big names such as Tadej Pogačar, Jonas Vingegaard, Remco Evenepoel and Isaac del Toro are all using lace-up shoes from a range of manufacturers right now.

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Quoc says the shoes are ‘born from the pro peloton’s growing preference for lace precision’ and I have found the lacing system to offer more stability and better foot retention than the dials used on other Quoc models.

The shoes feature the existing Quoc carbon fibre sole, with a three-bolt drilling pattern, and a similar type of upper; the laces and new ankle opening design to facilitate them are the talking point here.

The shoes are also a little less cash than other top-level Quoc options; laces, it seems, are cheaper than dials, and the shoes carry an RRP of £290 / $400 / € 360

I've used them exclusively since the start of the year for all of my riding, training and three road races plus track meets; I’ve even crashed in them (not by choice). Here’s what you can expect if you are considering buying a pair.

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Design and aesthetics

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Quoc appears to have a formula for its road shoes, and the M Pro Lace is very much in keeping with that blueprint, design and aesthetics-wise.

The shoes use the same carbon fibre sole as the M3 Pro and M3 Air; it is a stiff unit that has always been plenty stiff enough for me for any performance-focused road riding. It is also a three-bolt-only setup, so you will need a four-bolt adaptor for Wahoo Speedplay cleats.

The uppers are also very similar in feel and looks to the aforementioned models. It’s a slightly textured mesh TPU surface with perforations all along the front two-thirds of the shoe and two smooth panels, a ‘laminated toe border’ in the brand's words at the front and rear, which makes cleaning them easier.

The major change has come with the addition of the laces, and with them a different tongue and ankle opening area which, to my mind, works better than the previous offerings.

I asked the brand about aero considerations, and it confirmed that aerodynamics hadn't been a specific consideration; the addition of laces was more about 'fit, durability and comfort'.

12 eyelets route the laces up to the split tongue, which splays across the front of your ankle comfortably; at least it has for me. There’s also an elasticated band about halfway down the tongue to tuck the laces under; they have never moved in use for me, and this has worked very well.

The shoes come in one colour, and that’s white, which is always music to my ears. If white isn’t for you, you will have to look elsewhere, I’m afraid.

The shoes themselves look super clean and stylish, and they generated plenty of praise on Instagram and online at launch. Styling is simple, with a ‘Quoc’ wordmark on the outside front of each shoe and a ‘Q’ on the toe box.

Included with each pair is a Quoc tote bag for storage, and three sets of interchangeable polystyrene arch supports, the same as its other models; these stick on, and whilst they aren’t in the same league as G8 or Solestar when it comes to insoles, it’s useful that riders can at least tweak their arch support to suit.

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Performance

It’s worth saying straight away that if white shoes are your thing, you will not be let down with these. I think it’s fair to say they are some of the slickest-looking road shoes you can choose right now; clean, minimalist and stylish, at least to my mind.

I’ve ridden them for several months straight and have had a very good experience again. The cleat bolt holes are in a decent spot, not too far forward, and I didn't feel I had any issues in that department, although again, it's a personal one.

I actually sized up with this model to an EU 44, and have been happier for it. It’s a personal one; the shoes run true to size, I would say, but the added size has given my toes a bit more room and left me with a better feel overall - food for thought as these aren’t the widest or most voluminous shoes on the market. For wider shoes, consult our best wide cycling shoes guide.

The shoes aren't as comfortable as the Q36.5 Unique Pro shoes, a personal benchmark for me, but those sit at least a price bracket above.

Stiffness isn’t a concern for me; I’ve sprinted at the end of road races, on the track and done 45-second max uphill intervals and have never once wanted a stiffer shoe. All good on that front.

What is a big improvement for me is the improved foot retention and stability that the laces bring to the table. One of my few gripes with the M3 Pro shoes was the slightly subpar performance from the closure dials, which didn’t do the best job at tightening the shoe down and doing it evenly.

The laces allow you to tighten things down more evenly, across the whole foot, and importantly they haven’t developed slack or worked loose, something I feared.

The eyelets extend around the ankle, which helps lock things in, and the shape of both the laces and eyelet holes, and the not huge amount of stretch in the laces means they stay put. It’s an effective combination all round.

I’ve called Quoc shoes slipper-like in the past due to the open, almost cutaway ankle area; the laces mean this area has changed, and the shoes offer improved ankle support and a better hold when everything is closed down and the laces are tied.

Performance in the heat has been good; I’ve experienced slightly sore feet at the end of a long, hot road race, but this is down to overall fit more than a shoe's ventilation, I think.

The shoes scrub up nicely; it isn’t an effortless wipe-clean job, and you might need to do some light scrubbing and possibly wash the laces or replace them if they really get dirty, but they clean up nicely all told.

Value

In the context of the Quoc range, these shoes are a little cheaper than the M3 Pro and Air models, which have dials, and for me, having used all three pairs, they would be my choice.

A new product being cheaper is refreshing these days, so that’s a positive.

Overall, the shoes are still a lot of money, but it’s fair to say they are in line with or even cheaper than many premium road shoes these days, and they look fantastic, which is always going to draw you into buying something.

A key competitor is probably the Specialized S-Works Torch lace, which retails for around the same money. The Torch may have a slightly stiffer sole, but shoes are a personal choice.

Verdict

The M Pro Lace is my favourite addition to the Quoc range so far. They still look fantastic, but the laces improve the shoes' retention, foot hold and overall performance. I think more riders will be able to get a fit that works for them in them.

They are also cheaper than the dial equipped options, and if being able to tighten your shoes down well is of importance to you, I'd recommend you go for these and save a few dollars.