Giro Empire E70 Knit

The Giro Empire E70 knit isn’t just a good road shoe, it’s so so so so good, like real good. $200 for a high end road shoe this good is pretty unheard of. In comparison the next level up Empire Acc are $75 more a pair and just 35 grams lighter. Most other performance road shoes are more then that. That cost difference might come from the step down to e70 carbon sole from the EC90, but I can tell you there is no difference in feel in my opinion (swapping shoes on the trainer to compare).

To me watching Giro as a brand evolve over the years has been impressive and this shoe is just another step in the right direction for their product line. The Xnetic knit upper wraps around your foot for a glove like fit and is super breathable. Which was my favorite part of the original Empires. This just take that fit another step in the right direction. My one critique of this shoe is the breathability. It might not be a good cold weather road shoe (but I question if there is a “good” one). It starts to be questionable to me on longer rides in the 40s anything 50 and above and they seem golden. I am a person who hates have cold feet on rides. Other people have questioned the weatherproofness which is valid. They are coated to be water (smell, and bacteria) resistant but I haven’t put this to the test as simply my road bike isn’t they bike I pull out for the rainy day. In short I dig them. Killer style, fit and innovation in the sometimes slow to progress world that is cycling. Zoom in to peep the details on this one, there’s a lot hiding in there.