Giro Empire SLX

 

Peter Cole

 

Preview of the Giro Empire SLX cycling shoes

 

Giro waited for the 2014 Tour de France Grand Depart date to unveil their latest flagship racing shoe, the highly anticipated Giro Empire SLX. Let’s see what we were waiting for…

 

 
As with the rest of the Giro Empire range, the Empire SLX eschews the modern trends of plastic buckles, ratchets, velcro straps, BOA wire closures and heat shrink uppers for a strikingly simple retro-looking one-piece lace-up upper. Superficially, the Empire SLX appears to be fine example of the 19th century shoemaker artisans’ craft. However, whilst the SLX might have a touch of retro-tech, Steampunk influence in the design – especially in the copper orange finish that Giro list as “anodized glowing red” – the construction, materials and performance specifications are clearly state-of-the-art.
 

 
Here’s a quick break-down of some of the features…
 
UPPER
 
The Evofiber™ SL One-Piece Breathable Microfiber Upper comes in standard white as well as the previously mentioned anodized glowing red, and the likelihood of limited design editions to follow. The synthetic upper material developed by Japanese materials technology company, Teijin, is lightweight, breathable, stretch-resistant and is moulded into a close-fitting form devoid of panels and stitching.
 
Instead of the three or four point closure of a Velcro or BOA fastening shoe, the Empire SLX offers the unrivalled fit adjustment of a seven hole lace up. The top two sets of holes are specially reinforced and the aramid fibre based, sport laces are designed for weight saving, durability, stretch-resistance and ability to hold a knot.
 

 
OUTSOLE
 
The unidirectional full-composite outsole is created by Easton from their EC90 SLX2 high-mod carbon-fibre, and features an ultra-low stack height, titanium hardware and replaceable heel pads.
 

 
INSOLE
 
The SuperNatural Footbed Fit Kit provides adjustable arch support and is constructed from ultralight X-Static antimicrobial fibres.
 

 
WEIGHT
 
At 175 grams for a typical size shoe [42.5], these are one of the lightest cycling shoes available on the market.
 
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Stand by for our long-term review…
 
Giro
 
Zyro (UK Distributor)