Giro Empire Women's ACC Road Shoes

I love shoes, and cycling is an excuse to buy MORE (and believe me I have plenty). But the Giro Women's Empire ACC Road Shoes are by far the most expensive and the most visually stunning cycling shoes I've ever worn, and they're even nipping at the heels of the non-cycling pairs too. Thankfully, they live up to their high price by delivering performance and comfort in spades.

It's a real sign of how things have moved on in cycling that there are almost as many top end women's road shoe models as men's these days; not so long ago female riders could only hope for a selection of mid-grade shoes at best. What's more, these shoes tend to actually be really good.

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The Giros on test are the female equivalent of the Men's Empire ACC Road Shoes and sit towards the top of the shoe tree, in terms of price and intended performance.

They are – to my mind – incredibly attractive, designed to combine good looks with comfort, low weight and high levels of stiffness, for the ultimate shoe package. With laces. This is one of the areas in which the Empire ACCs really stand out: at this level, most road shoes feature a combination of one or more of Boa fastening, ratchet and/or Velcro, rather than what could be considered to be the rather quaint anachronistic option of laces. But these laces are what bestow the majority of the shoes' retro good looks, though they are also intended to provide adjustability and comfort to the whole upper foot, rather than the limited two or three places you get with straps.

I found the laces made tweaking the fit a doddle, and they remained comfortable and supportive. An elastic keeper on the front meant no laces flapping about to catch on anything either.

The soles are full-carbon Easton EDC90 ACC, and they transfer power very well but without any of the discomfort that can sometimes go along with a stiff sole. As you'd expect, the soles are compatible with three-hole-style road cleats. The heel section is replaceable.

In terms of fit they lean towards lower volume, meaning that those who prefer a roomier toe box area might find these on the neat side. The shoes are accompanied by a set of optional arch supports to tailor comfort and support, but I found them exceptionally comfortable even without the arch supports, and they didn't transmit road buzz too badly at all, even over longer rides. 

> Check out our guide to the best performance cycling shoes

The whole lot comes in a zipped shoe bag with an additional set of nattily contrasting laces.

The only snag was them just being so distractingly gorgeous, and an accompanying reluctance to wear them out in foul weather. At this price, you want to get as much wear from them as possible.

Verdict

High performance shoes with good looks and comfort together with retro style. The Jimmy Choos of cycling footwear…