Giro Evolves The Shoe: No Pressure!

Comfortable yet lightweight and hi-tech, the Imperial is a formidable new shoe from Giro.

- Paul Norman

Giro’s new pro-level Imperial shoe was launched this week and comes with a closure using two Boa dials, each with wire laces crossed twice.

Giro senior brand manager Eric Richter says the aim was to create a top-end shoe that was comfortable, lightweight and practical. With a weight per shoe that we recorded at 220g in size 42.5, the Imperial is impressively light. Richter says that Giro could have made the shoes lighter, but wanted to ensure longevity with features like an Easton EC90 SLX high modulus carbon sole, stainless steel cleat plate and replaceable heel pad.

Richter says that the weight penalty over the TeXtreme material used in the Prolite Techlace shoes is only 5g, but that the Easton sole unit is more durable and resistant to scuffing — as well as being cheaper. The outer sole is matched with Giro’s Supernatural footbed, which has three arch support options to match the height of your instep.

New upper