The first thing you’ll notice with the Imperial Road Shoes is Giro’s proprietary Synchwire™ upper construction - this innovative design makes use of an ultralight monofilament mesh, reinforced with thermal-welded Teijin® TPU. This design provides an incredible level of support for your foot, minimal weight, enhanced durability where you need it most and incredible ventilation around the whole foot. This design hits the sweet spot between low weight, support for fluid pedalling and a high degree of breathability for those scorchingly hot days on the bike. Along with the well-placed Li2 Boa dials and hooks, this creates a comfortable upper with nary a hot spot to be experienced even on the longest, hottest rides we wore them on. And then there’s the upper material itself, also a big improvement from that rugged, plastic-like synthetic Dynema used in the 6 and 7. The S-Work Torch uppers are more supple and comfortable, making them on par with those used by all but the leather ones used in Lake shoes. When I began the research for this post, several questions came up that had to be answered before I could move forward. Since they apply across the whole category of cycling shoes for roadies, I’ll cover them here before sharing with you what I found out about any of the specific pairs of shoes. Function or fashion? Utilised on the lower-end of Giro’s shoe range, the ratchet system might weigh more than other fastening devices but the reliability and on-the-fly adjustability more than makes up for it. What to look for in a road shoe

Cycle Centre Congleton Limited 2021. Cyclestore is a trading name of Cycle Centre Congleton Limited. All Rights Reserved Company No. 05107467 | VAT No: 593 733 507 Buying online, you also get to wear the different shoes or sizes of the same shoes you are interested in for hours at a time in the comfort of your own home the way you couldn’t or wouldn’t do in a bike shop. You also don’t have a salesman in the middle of the process who might be urging you to buy something they sell, but that might not be best for you compared to something they don’t carry. Outsole bolt holes – Nearly all road shoes come with 3 bolt holes in the outsole to work with road cleats made by Shimano and Look, the most popular pedal systems. Speedplay, another popular road pedal system now made by Wahoo, uses cleats with 4 holes. While you can find a couple of shoes that come with outsoles specifically designed for 4-hole Speedplay cleats, a simple adapter Speedplay makes can convert any 3-hole shoe to work with their pedals.This wrap design, in combination with IP1 Boa dials, gives me a fit and level of stiffness on my upstroke that I haven’t felt with other shoes this comfortable.

While the S-Works proprietary Boa dials are the same as with the 7, the greater distance between the top dial and hook on the Torch gives you a more functional lace. That’s because Specialized removed a lot of material between the left and right side of the upper from the midfoot up toward the foot opening of the Torch. You can also get the RC903 in a women’s version with a unique last shape but only sold in white. My fellow tester Aiyana rode and reviewed the men’s and women’s versions of the shoe to see how they differed. The length and size are the same between the Torch and 7 and perhaps a half size longer than the 6; just recognize that you may feel more room between the front of your shoes and the 3 rd, 4 th, and pinkie toes with the Torch than you did with the 7. From what we agree and disagree on, I hope you can find what aligns with your preferences and help you choose between the S-Works Torch and other models of the best road bike shoes we’ve tested.

Giro Comp Racer High Rise Socks

In a lot of sports, including the many I just listed, shoes are your biggest expense. In cycling, however, your footwear is one of the things we spend the least on when it comes to gear. Bikes, groupsets, and wheelsets all cost more for a similar level of performance than road bike shoes. You can also get shoes that are high on comfort and fit well enough but made are made with more flexible outsole materials that can limit the power you try to transfer through them. These tend to be shoes that are 100 to 200 dollars, pounds, or euros less expensive and are often favored by endurance enthusiasts who are in it for the pure pleasure of riding and are a bit more focused on their wallet than their speed. That’s fine, but that’s not me, and probably not most of you who ride regularly and are even the least bit competitive about it.

We strongly agreed that Specialized could also do better and be more competitive with the Torch by supplying insoles of different arch support heights the way brands like Shimano and others do with their highest-priced road and MTB shoes do now. While most of the best road bike shoes are built with flat arches these days, the thin insoles that come with the S-Works shoes are merely cosmetic, and you are forced to spend money on an aftermarket insole like their Body Geometry brand ones. The best-performing road cycling shoes have two dials, one close to your ankle and the other between your midfoot and forefoot, typically to the outside of the tongue. In most cases, they give you more control of the closure tension and fit than those with a single dial found on mid-priced cycling shoes. That results in better power transfer and comfort.They're about the same price as the top-end Sidi, which for many is a benchmark performance shoe, but the Italian shoes are grossly overweight for the price. A mark to the Giros there then. They also come in standard and wide models and with a 4-hole option for Speedplay pedals in addition to standard 3-hole ones (for which you can add a Speedplay adapter as with and 3-hole sole).