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giro empire vr70 knit offroad shoes

giro empire vr70 offroad shoes

my mother, about to enter her ninth decade, has always been a knitter. when my brother and i were young, we always had hand-knitted school jumpers, gloves, scarves (she once knitted me a remarkably long version in order that i might attend an art school fancy dress dance as dr. who) and i'm pretty sure that, had i been into cycling at the time, i'd have had several hand-knitted jerseys and pairs of bibshorts. though i have to stop typing if i want to watch the big bang theory while composing the daily post, despite the apparent complexity of the average knitting pattern, my mother could not only watch tv, but carry on a conversation while the needles clacked merrily away.

giro empire vr70 offroad shoes

though as a child, attempts were made to have me too learn to knit, a bit like reading music, it's a skill i failed to acquire, but if i'd thought i might gain the ability to knit my own pair of cycling shoes, perhaps i'd have paid a bit more attention. it appears, however, that employees in the shoe department at giro paid a tad more attention than did i, for they have recently announced an entire, attractively coloured range of footwear for not only the road-going fraternity, but those who worship at the altar of mud; cyclocrossers and mountain bikers.

giro empire vr70 offroad shoes

the concept of knit technology in athletic footwear is nothing particularly new, but, so far as i'm aware, giro are the first to employ this feature across a range of cycling shoes. the road-going, empire e70 version offers some attractive finishes, all of which adhere to giro's lace-up style, but though they offer a dwr treatment to aid water repellancy and ease of cleaning, the knitted outer shell appears to exist more for aesthetic reasons than any hitherto unknown technical facility.

the offroad version, however, though possessed of the same outer xnetic knit technology, may conceivably have need of providing a tad more resistance to the elements than those of more pelotonic hue. on this basis, i requested that distributors zyro fisher send over a pair of size 44 empire vr70 lace-ups. the latter is arguably less attractive than the road-going version, given that the majority of the xnetic knit is largely covered by a rubber exoskeleton, but this is presumably to retain the consistency of the woolly bit.

giro empire vr70 offroad shoes

the specific reason for requesting the vr70 was to learn whether your £220 (should you decide to avail yourself of a pair) was likely to be money well-spent. though the knitted layer (in this case, lime and black) is mightily impressive when new, how well would it fair after a few days' scrabbling in the undergrowth, especially if ultimately smothered in gloopy mud. sadly, the recent freezing conditions have mitigated against my pursuing the latter, so i'm going to have to get back to you on that one. however, the undergrowth in bridgend woods is rife with jaggy branches, the thorns of which would eagerly breakfast upon any knitted fabric that might pass their table.

giro empire vr70 offroad shoes

couple this with a choreography of inept footwork and the vr70's resilience was likely to be tested whether it wanted to be or not. surprisingly, several bouts of inveterate scrabbling, have failed to pook even a tiny portion of the lime and black woolly stuff.

the toe region is thoroughly well protected, both from bushes, mud and precipitation, but the bit surely open to possible abuse from unruly vegetation would be the sock gusset that forms around the ankle. this elasticated portion of knitting seems to perform at least two distinct functions: preventing the ingress of foreign bodies and, rather delightfully, ease of fitting. the vr70 has no tongue whatsoever, 'neath the laces, the xnetic knit existing in one apparently seamless section. the same dwr coating exists offroad as on-road and appears to be particularly effective. i spent a harrowing morning under largely precipitative conditions, bereft of overshoes, on the basis that running about in grass and gravel would be likely to tear the latter to shreds.

giro empire vr70 offroad shoes

yet, on returning to the safety of the kitchen, the inner sanctum of both shoes was effectively free from rain ingress. i can't say i'd recommend shouldering the bike and wading through fast-flowing rivers, but, coupled with a pair of stout, waterproof socks, comfort and joy should be yours throughout any regular bike ride you care to mention.

like many an offroad shoe, the vr70s have to threaded inserts at the toe into which a pair of (supplied) studs can be fitted to aid grip in trying conditions. i cannot deny that i did not subscribe to this feature, purely on the grounds that i find it more of a hindrance than an asset, one that i find applicable to all such footwear. however, having run (all terms used are relative) uphill on wet grass, gravel, dried mud and clumps of dead leaves, even my less than skilful footwork was unable to force any loss of grip. which is just as well, because on several occasions, people were watching. in my opinion, this proved the vibram covered easton carbon-fibre sole to be just ginger peachy.

giro empire vr70 offroad shoes

i've used these knitted shoes on a set of ritchey wcs offroad pedals and crank brothers candys with no detectable loss of effectiveness on either. yes, i'd like to have the blue/purple heather colourway that the road version gets and i'd probably be happier if there was a greater area of the knit visible on top, but some folks are never happy. ultimately, other than the knitted bit, there's probably not a whole lot of technical difference between the vr70 and others in the giro range, but if you're slow, like wot i am, innocent bystanders will have a greater period of time to view any attendant footwear. anything this attractive and functional that might divert their attention from my meagre bike handling skills is to be welcomed with open feet.

giro's empire vr70 offroad shoe can be acquired with a knit pattern of black/charcoal, black/lime or dark blue/blue in a wide range of sizes. recommended price is £219.99

giro empire vr70 knit offroad shoes

monday 19 march 2018

twmp ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................