Giro Republic LX Shoes ( leather touring type )

[trilathon]

I picked a pair of these up as they were selling them at a discount ( and evans currently have them for £99) and I wanted to try a non mtb shoe for touring ( I've always used mtb shoes in the past for touring)

These looked suitable for touring and audax as well as general cycling. I usually wear Sidi and the same size in Giro fitted perfectly. I wasn't worried about laces as many of my mtb/touring shoes have had them and I've never had issues on a leisure ride.

So, first use was on my first audax, a 230km Peak district event with 2700m of climbing. The shoes felt good, except at about 8 hrs in I experienced some 'hot foot', but I would not attribute this to the shoes as it was an unseasonably warm day, and as I've had that when doing ironman races in arid environments too. However after getting home I noticed the toes were quite scuffed, probably from walking on gravel at a cafe stop in Castleton.

The next use was a 3 week cycle camping tour ( somewhere my shoes get a right hammering normally exploring rocky, muddy and sandy places ). The shoes were subject to a wide range of temperatures from 25 deg C heatwave in France to Fenland cool driving rain, slippy sodden chalk ascents on the South Downs, abrasive sandy and pebble beaches and shopping in supermakets and towns. The lack of mesh makes them warm in cold windy wet weather and they were never too warm on the boiling hot days,,.natural materials eh ?. Walking was fine ( I've heard others say it is unnatural but I'd rather have some stiffness in the sole of a shoe as it is a cycling holiday rather than all that wasted energy). Grip was somewhat less than a mtb race shoe but largely adequate and they looked nice and normal in towns. A chap in Holland even addressed me as an English Gent, something that must be attributed to the sepia brown leather shoe methinks !

One thing to take on board is if using shimano spd's one will have to take a knife to the sole and cut away a small piece of the 'studded' grip. Amazing, absolutely amazing ! Once the shoes have naturally worn the grip down then new grip kits can be purchased as with the better sidi shoes.

So an intensive month or so's use and I'd say a good touring shoe, comfortable over long distance and a wide variety of temperatures but with one or two reservations. A big bonus is the leather shoe seems less prone to building up odours than synthetic shoes, which is a great. They look great after a polish and the worn in character is something I value where as most cycling shoes it's a story of aesthetic decline.

However, having just given them a polish I notice the sole is coming away in three different places !

[tatanab]

I've been using mine as summer touring shoes for a bit over a year. Last year they were fine in almost 40 degrees C. This is why I like to use leather, and they do not stink like many mesh shoes when wet. Sole separating - I have a couple of places where the edge has lifted but that is all. So far I've used them for only about 2500 miles. One nice thing (for me) is that the toe box is a bit hard and round which leaves plenty of room for my toes. A previous pair of shoes had a flatter and softer toe box which caused me to lose a toenail over a 1500 mile tour.

They look good (to ancient eyes), I can walk in them easily without skating around on hard soles like some MTB shoes, and they are very comfortable. I use Time ATAC cleats and have not needed to do any surgery. The thin walking pads are soft, good for walking securely but bad because they wear quite soon and can tear on the leading edges. Fortunately spares are available, so I have some in stock.

[trilathon]

Thanks for that, hopefully the sole won't get much worse, or I'll get some shoe glue on them, as I can't find the receipt to claim a warranty.

[honesty]

Been using mine for over a year. Happy with them even with the abuse and lack of care I give them.

[GranvilleThomas]

Thanks for that, hopefully the sole won't get much worse, or I'll get some shoe glue on them, as I can't find the receipt to claim a warranty.

Its a myth that you need a receipt to claim under any guarantee/warranty, you just need 'proof of purchase'. If you paid with a credit/debit card then get hold of a statement from the card supplier with the transaction on it and this will suffice. Go straight back to the retailer, not the manufacturer.

Any problems speak to Trading Standards in local Council.

If you paid cash then things are more difficult unfortunately. (Used to be a Tesco manager in my murky past)

[trilathon]

That's jolly helpful, thank you. I did pay on card so I'll make an enquiry.