…cycling shoes. And not just bog-standard ones…
After launching gloves, you can see how Giro then thought it would be a good idea to make some shoes.
Chipps is currently in Livigno, seeing what there is to see prior to the shoes’ official launch at Eurobike on Wednesday… Here are some pics of the new mountain bike shoe and the new road shoe. Both feature carbon soles and nicely ratcheting straps. We’ll have to wait for him to ride them tomorrow and see the Powerpoint Brainwash before he comments one how they feel…
Livigno. A great place to test shoes. Oh, and it's a Duty Free town... a great place to lose journalists.
Pick a pair… Perhaps a size nine?
Giro's new mountain bike shoes. Or one of the pairs...Early reports are good... We've had to go up half a size though.Really well thought out shoe tread...Easton carbon soles on both the mountain and road shoes. They're all one happy family.Gloss white and red. Ideal for roadie showoffs. Ahem...Did we mention the mountains? Mountain bike ride on Sunday... the Stelvio on Monday... eek!The mountain shoes in action. Fit is pretty spot-on so far.Yes, it's Hans Rey with a bottle of wine, somewhere on a mountain pass. These kind of crazy things happen in Livigno, OK?
Hans Rey has pioneered a 'flow country' trail in Livigno. It's a fast and flowing trail with berms and lots of rollers. It's like a giant pump track. You can ride it slow and smooth, or jump and scuff your way down if you're good. It's short, but fun.
It's a shoe last. Rather than getting an off the shelf one, Giro decided to make its own and took over a year in deciding on the right shape, down to quibbling between two lasts that were 1mm different.
OK, who thought the original samples were a bit dull? How about these colourful ones? Sorry, there are no lasers (yet) though.Stealth black? And a triple reinforced toebox (the place we normally kill shoes on rocks)There'll be more photos and more technical detail, but we thought you'd like to see some more pretty pictures of shoes.
With 23 years as Editor of Singletrack World Magazine, Chipps is the longest-running mountain bike magazine editor in the world. He started in the bike trade in 1990 and became a full time mountain bike journalist at the start of 1994. Over the last 30 years as a bike writer and photographer, he has seen mountain bike culture flourish, strengthen and diversify and bike technology go from rigid steel frames to fully suspended carbon fibre (and sometimes back to rigid steel as well.)
I think it’s funny how Brits have a huge chip on their shoulder because the majority of mountain bikers ride in the warm and the kit is designed for those conditions.
Personally I need a super ventilated shoe with a more flexible sole so I don’t kill myself walking on rocks. They’d dry out quicker from river crossings that way too.
Don’t moan, vote with your wallet.
“They’d dry out quicker from river crossings that way too.” Hmm only time I’ve had this is very hot days, the rest of the time your shoes stay wet and your feet get cold. Sure enough goretex shoes let water in over the top then your feet stay wet, but atleast they are warm.
Personally I want a shoe that gets rid of hot spots and gives my arch support. I don’t care about waterproof so much because why socks will get wet and that’ll soak through. All my goretex shoes and boots cause my feet to get hot and sweat, so I’m not convinced. I actually prefer going for walks in my trainers when it’s proper hot.
I’m far more interested in how these shoes fit that what colour they are.
Goretex lined boots are a bit daft. The water just goes down your leg and in at the top. You want a boot that stays warm when the water gets inside. IMO.
okay, yes it is impossible to make a waterproof….anything….for the human body to wear because you have to get in it. Waterproof gloves and shoes eventually leak because the water gets in throught the big hole for your ankle or hand. However, gore lined shoes and boots are excellent for damp foliage, a foot down in a puddle etc…
When they leak Benji they are warm inside. See also Gore-tex duratherm which la sportiva and scarpa use in ice climbing boots and has a thin heat reflective backing….yet not used in’winter’ biking boots.
I’m not moaning and appreciate that sometimes we all want a ventilated sandal like shoe for hot climes and races. Yet most of northern europe is freezing and wet 6 months of the year. Living, riding and working in the Cairngorms I’m keen to see bike footwear move on a wee bit.
My goretex shoes and boots have always let water in at the top, where your foot fits in.
I think it’s funny how Brits have a huge chip on their shoulder because the majority of mountain bikers ride in the warm and the kit is designed for those conditions.
Personally I need a super ventilated shoe with a more flexible sole so I don’t kill myself walking on rocks. They’d dry out quicker from river crossings that way too.
Don’t moan, vote with your wallet.
“They’d dry out quicker from river crossings that way too.” Hmm only time I’ve had this is very hot days, the rest of the time your shoes stay wet and your feet get cold. Sure enough goretex shoes let water in over the top then your feet stay wet, but atleast they are warm.
Personally I want a shoe that gets rid of hot spots and gives my arch support. I don’t care about waterproof so much because why socks will get wet and that’ll soak through. All my goretex shoes and boots cause my feet to get hot and sweat, so I’m not convinced. I actually prefer going for walks in my trainers when it’s proper hot.
I’m far more interested in how these shoes fit that what colour they are.
Goretex lined boots are a bit daft. The water just goes down your leg and in at the top. You want a boot that stays warm when the water gets inside. IMO.
Re racy waterproof shoes didn’t Shimano have a crack at this with the M183ns? race shoes with the mesh replaced with lorica?
okay, yes it is impossible to make a waterproof….anything….for the human body to wear because you have to get in it. Waterproof gloves and shoes eventually leak because the water gets in throught the big hole for your ankle or hand. However, gore lined shoes and boots are excellent for damp foliage, a foot down in a puddle etc…
When they leak Benji they are warm inside. See also Gore-tex duratherm which la sportiva and scarpa use in ice climbing boots and has a thin heat reflective backing….yet not used in’winter’ biking boots.
I’m not moaning and appreciate that sometimes we all want a ventilated sandal like shoe for hot climes and races. Yet most of northern europe is freezing and wet 6 months of the year. Living, riding and working in the Cairngorms I’m keen to see bike footwear move on a wee bit.