Giant Surge Pro Road Shoes

With the Surge Pro, Giant has gone for the ultimate in performance and stiffness in its top flight road shoe and it delivers, without immensely sacrificing comfort – well, once you bed them in anyway.

• Pros: Insane stiffness levels, lightweight
• Cons: Take a couple of hundred miles to bed in, white marks easily

Instead of covering the entire bottom of your foot, the full carbon fibre ExoBeam sole has the usual forefront section but with a narrow beam running under the centre of your arch before widening out for the heel piece.

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Giant says this allows it to exceed industry standards in terms of heel-to-toe stiffness while letting the lower leg and heel move independently of the forefoot and pedal, which reduces strain on the knee and ankle joints from the pedal stroke.

On my first 50-mile ride in them, all I really wanted to know was why my bloody feet hurt so much.

I thought at first it was maybe because of the lack of sole material around the sides of the feet at the arch, but it turns out it was the stiffness of the upper material as it wrapped itself around my foot. Normally, with a full sole you wouldn't have such a figure-hugging radius, but here the material needs to be taut enough.

Now, though, after about 250 miles, things have softened enough that they are pretty comfortable. If you buy a pair of these then don't make your mind up on the first ride – things will get better.

> Buyer's Guide: Choosing the right cycling shoes for you

These shoes are being worn by the members of Team Sunweb in the pro peloton, so you can imagine that stiffness is very high on the list of priorities. Sprinting, climbing or just smashing a big gear round won't find any flex at all through the sole, and it's absolutely great. Whether the ExoBeam allows parts of your foot and leg to move independently of others is hard to gauge, but it certainly doesn't make wearing them any worse.

The sole itself is compatible with all three-bolt cleat systems and there are markings in both directions for cleat alignment.

Front and rear it's protected from scuffs and scrapes by rubber guards, and you can replace the one at the back should it wear out.

There is a single vent at the front to allow some cool air to enter and in the warm weather I never felt the shoes get too hot.

The upper is made from reinforced high-density PU which, now bedded in, has become quite supple to help the fit from the Boa lacing system.

The section on the inside of the foot which the lower Boa loop is attached to sits free from the rest of the upper (only being stitched near the sole), which means that when the laces are tightened it wraps around the shape of your foot better. It's a nice touch for an improved fit.

There are plenty of ventilation holes too, but if you like the white option here bear in mind they are going to get marked quickly, although most of it does wash off. If you want them to staying looking fresh, black is probably the better choice.

The tongue is a good shape, with a cutout in the top centre to remove any pressure points as your foot passes through the angles of the pedal rotation.

It's good to see the inclusion of SharkSkin lining at the heel – a grippy, Velcro-like fabric that keeps your foot in position as you pull up on the pedals.

I got on fine with the shape of the standard sole, but you can increase the arch by way of inserts should you need to.

Sizes can fluctuate quite a bit between various shoe brands, especially if you go by the EUR sizing. I'm a UK10 which sees me as a 44/45 depending on the shoes. The Giants are EUR45 but say UK11 and I found them a great fit; I wouldn't want to go any smaller, so bear in mind they come up a little small in UK sizing.

Width-wise they are pretty standard, so that taut material might make them even more uncomfortable to start with for people with wide feet.

Value

In pretty every aspect of life, £275 for a pair of shoes is pretty mental, but the Surge Pros aren't anywhere near the most expensive. The Scott Road UC Ultimate are £349.99, for example.

Fizik offers its Aria R3 shoes for £264.99, while the Pearl Izumi P.R.O. Leader VRs are the same as the Giants bar a penny.

> Buyer's Guide: 13 of the best performance cycling shoes

These are all very good shoes, and the Surge Pros sit there alongside them easily in terms of performance, and they're light, too, at just 566g per pair.

Verdict

Pro-level shoes at a pro-level price, arguably worth it for the stiffness and performance...