I wrote a review of my Grand Tour shoes in June 2013. I had ridden about 11,000 km / 6,835 mi in them at the time. At the time I concluded that the Rapha Grand Tour shoes are worth their weight in gold.
Since then I have covered another 7,500 km / 4,660 mi. My opinion is unchanged.
Of course the shoes are showing a fair degree of wear. Largely cosmetic in nature. The soles have scrapes in them.
The toes are scuffed.
As are the heel cups. The left heel cup shows the result of being scraped along the tarmac in a crash. The rubber bumpers on the soles are very worn. Not all the way down to the sole, but well on the way there.
The uppers are no longer the brilliant white they were out of the box, but they are still in good condition.
As are the insoles. The images and the text are still legible.
The shoes have soaked up all the abuse I have thrown at them. They require very little care. Admittedly I could have cleaned them more frequently than I have done.
These shoes have remained the most comfortable pair of cycling shoes I have owned. They still fit like gloves. The velcro straps and buckles continue to work faultlessly. I wear them on every ride. Rain or shine.
In my previous review I said I expected to get at least 11,000 km more out of these shoes. I have no doubt that these shoes will carry me the remaining 3,500 km to meet that target. These Rapha Grand Tour shoes are still worth their weight in gold.
Old Roots, New Routes 
How can you find replacement heel pads. Mine worm out one one pair, and cracked on another. Would very much like to change them, however i cant seem to find the replacement heel pads (bought giro prolight pads, and they are not the same as on Rapha GT)
Hi Jeffrey. Thank you for reading my blog.
I don’t have the Rapha GTs anymore, but I recall that the heel pads didn’t look like they were replaceable.
I suggest you write to Rapha customer support. I needed replacement heel pads for my Rapha Climber’s shoes. Rapha sent me a replacement pair.
I wrote to Rapha Customer support at ausnz@rapha.cc.
Good luck.
Johan
Like your review. What would u recommend now that’s available in Malaysia?
I have a Bont for last 5 years. Still durable. They claim their shoe “last” is specifically for cycling
Hello Megat. Thank you for reading my blog.
It is difficult to recommend cycling shoe. So much depends on foot shape, riding style and personal preference. Bont and Lake shoes get good reviews from people with wide feet. Specialized and Shimano appear to be more suitable for people with narrower feet.
The task of choosing a cycling shoe is now more “difficult” because of the increased choices of materials and fastenings. Leather, synthetic or woven uppers? Nylon or carbon soles? Velcro straps, Boa dials or laces?
Things I would look for are replaceable toe and heel bumpers. I find that those parts wear out the fastest, especially if you walk a lot in your cycling shoes. These are not replaceable on some shoes, so when they wear out you have no option but to replace the entire shoe.
I am thinking of getting new cycling shoes. My Rapha Climbers shoes are an example of a shoe that does not have a replaceable toe bumper. The toe bumpers dah lama tertanggal. I have glued some inner tube rubber to the front of those shoes. The rest of the shoes are still in good shape. If I do get some new shoes I’ll write a review.