Unique Pro

Unique Pro is the sharpest shoe in the Q36.5 range, and the reason starts under the foot. The sole is extremely thin, with a quoted total stack height of 4.4 mm, so the foot sits unusually close to the pedal compared with a lot of premium road shoes. On the bike, that changes the feel straight away. The shoe comes across as low, direct, and very planted, especially when the pace rises or you are pushing hard on longer climbs.

What keeps it from feeling like a narrow, punishing race shoe is the shape. The forefoot is noticeably wider than what many riders expect from a top-end Italian road shoe, and that extra room matters. It gives the front of the foot space to spread under load, which makes the stiffness easier to live with over longer hours. The heel, by contrast, is held much more firmly. The rear of the shoe and the carbon structure around it are there to keep the foot locked down, so the overall sensation is wide at the front, secure at the back, and very stable through the middle.

The upper plays a big role in that feel. Unique Pro skips the standard tongue and uses a mesh-based construction over the top of the foot, paired with dual BOA Li2 dials. That gives the shoe a more continuous wrap across the midfoot than a more traditional layered upper. It also helps explain why the shoe ventilates better than you might expect from something this race-focused. Between the mesh upper and the vents in the sole, airflow seems to be one of its strengths rather than a compromise.

There is a practical side to the low stack too. A shoe that sits this close to the pedal can change your position enough that some riders may need to revisit saddle height or cleat setup when switching into it. That does not make it fussy, but it does make it a shoe for riders who notice details. You buy this sort of shoe because you want a more exact connection to the bike, not because you want the broadest, most forgiving option.

Unique Pro is not the broadest shoe in the range, and it is not meant to be. It is expensive, highly specific, and built for riders who will actually notice what the lower stack, firmer heel hold, and more direct pedal feel are doing beneath them. That is really the dividing line. If you want the sharpest, most exacting shoe Q36.5 makes, this is it. If you want something a little easier, a little less singular, you are probably looking at Gregarius Road instead.

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Dottore Clima

Dottore Clima is the road shoe in the range built around heat, but it should not be mistaken for the soft or easy option. The whole point of the shoe is that it stays structured while opening up the upper far more than a conventional road shoe. The upper uses a seamless multi-density knit with different filament densities across the shoe, so airflow and support are not treated as separate problems. You feel that straight away. The shoe feels lighter, more open, and less boxed in over the top of the foot, especially in warmer conditions, but it still has shape.

That structure is what makes the shoe interesting. A lot of knit shoes feel relaxed as soon as you put them on, then start to feel vague once the pace rises. Dottore Clima goes in the other direction. The dual BOA Li2 closure, the Power Wrap support through the arch, and the way the carbon outsole wraps at the rear all work toward a more held, more stable feel than most riders expect from a knit upper. The fit sounds soft on paper. On the bike, it is much more controlled than that.

That also helps explain who this shoe is really for. Clima is not just for riders who want more ventilation. It is for riders who want ventilation without losing that tight, race-oriented hold around the foot. There is a compression-sock quality to the fit. The heel hold is strong, the midfoot feels secure, and the upper seems to wrap the foot rather than just cover it. For riders who spend long days climbing in hot weather, train through real summer heat, or simply dislike the thick, closed-in feel of a more traditional upper, that is a real advantage.

Clima still feels like a proper performance shoe. The knit upper changes the character of the fit, but not in a loose or overly easy way. It sits closer to the foot, follows its shape more naturally, and feels less rigid across the top than a more conventional road upper. At the same time, the shoe keeps enough hold through the midfoot and rear to stay composed when the effort rises. That is what separates it from a lot of knit shoes. It gives you the more adaptive feel of a knit upper without losing the support and precision you want from a fast road shoe.

Gregarius Road

Gregarius Road is Q36.5’s clearest all-round road shoe. Underfoot, the carbon-polyamide sole puts it in a different place from a pure race shoe - still performance-led and efficient, but with a little more range and a little less edge.It uses an open-mesh microfiber upper, a carbon-fiber/polyamide sole, a wider metatarsal platform, and a Solestar insole. It is a road shoe built to be ridden often and ridden for a long time.

The wider forefoot is one of the more important details. Q36.5 is clearly not chasing the old narrow-road-shoe formula here. Gregarius Road is built to give the foot a more natural platform, especially through the metatarsal area. There is more room through the front of the shoe, which usually matters far more on a four-hour ride than whatever headline stiffness number a brand wants to put on the box. That alone will make Gregarius Road more appealing to a lot of riders than a sharper, tighter race shoe.

The upper is more conventional than the Clima and less radical than the Unique Pro, which is probably part of the appeal. Open mesh keeps it lighter and more breathable, but the overall feel still comes across as structured rather than a soft, stripped-down feel. Underfoot, the carbon-polyamide sole puts it in a different place from a pure race shoe - still performance-led and efficient, but with a little more range and a little less edge.

Gregarius Road is the easiest shoe in the range to live with. Not because it is the compromise option, but because the balance is right. Enough support, enough airflow, enough stiffness, enough room in the right places. For a lot of riders, this is the road shoe that gets worn the most.

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Gregarius Adventure

Gregarius Adventure takes the same basic Gregarius idea off-road without turning into a heavy gravel boot. The upper uses a breathable mesh microfiber with textured high-frequency printed inserts, so the shoe still feels light and ventilated, but with more protection around it than a pure road shoe. Underneath, the carbon-fiber/polyamide sole gets off-road grip inserts and a proper tread pattern, which is really the point of the shoe. It is built for riding where you know you will end up off the bike at least a little, whether that means loose hike-a-bike sections, rough trail connectors, steep ramps, gates, mud, or just the normal stops that come with gravel riding.

That matters because a lot of gravel shoes lose their shape once they start adding tread and protection. This one is still a performance shoe. The sole stays stiff enough for hard riding, the platform is still wide through the metatarsal area, and the shoe keeps the same Solestar insole and dual-BOA setup as the rest of the Gregarius line. So while the tread and outsole make it more usable off the bike, it still a shoe built to pedal properly, not just survive a mixed-surface route.

The wider forefoot matters here too, maybe even more than it does on the road version. Gravel shoes spend longer under tension. More movement, more torque, more time in them, more moments when the foot is not sitting perfectly still. A roomier front end usually helps with that. It gives the shoe a more natural platform and makes it easier to live with once the ride stops being tidy. That fits with the rest of the design. Gregarius Adventure is not trying to be the sharpest shoe in the category. It is a fast off-road shoe that still works in the real conditions gravel riding actually throws at you.

Compared with a lot of gravel shoes, that is a good place to be. There is enough shoe here for Cape Epic, Traka, or Unbound, but not so much that it starts to feel overbuilt for normal riding. That is probably why this one makes sense not just for racers, but for riders who want one off-road shoe that still feels quick on the pedals and does not become annoying the second the route gets rough.