Giro Savix II shoes review

We’re often told that the best shoes for road cycling are the stiffest, lightest most technologically advanced R&D experiments we can lay our hands on. You only have to look at the most expensive shoes of recent years to see carbon fibre exoskeletons, and custom woven uppers on shop shelves. While these features might provide a helping hand if you’re racing a grand tour, for most of us there are shoes that exist that are too stiff and unnecessarily light for our needs. Enter the Giro Savix II, and evolution of the tried and tested mid-range Savix and an answer to the needs of the everyman or woman.

Construction

Let’s start with the sole; Giro has opted for a nylon composite that offers up a good amount of stiffness for that feeling of pedal efficiency an SPD equipped shoe should deliver. The nylon composite delivers a foot platform that has durability in abundance when compared to carbon, and is far cheaper to manufacture meaning that saving is passed to us as consumers.

On that sole we have the option of mounting either three bolt road style, or two bolt MTB style cleats and you’ll find dual injected TPU pads at both the heel and the toe that blend seamlessly with the lines of the shoe and help protect it from the floors of cafe stops on any ride.

The synthetic upper that encloses the top of your foot is pieced together carefully with plenty of mesh panels throughout - letting moisture exit swiftly and a cool breeze to flow through. A most welcome addition for the warm summer months. Also noted is the amount of padding, a little thicker than expected, and wraps the foot effectively.

For closure, look no further than the tried and tested combo of velcro and a single BOA dial - a feature carried over from the original Savix - and you can’t argue with that, a case of “if it ain’t broke, dont fix it”. While the velcro offers up a fit and forget adjustment for the front of the foot, the BOA allows you to equally apply retention across the shoe in 1mm increments meaning that it’s a doddle to get them on and off of your feet. 

The Ride

Sliding the Savix IIs onto my feet for the first time I was immediately impressed with how roomy the shoes felt before hunkering down and finding my fit, something that’s not usually afforded in higher end models, and this leads me to believe that the shoes will conform to a wider variety of foot sizes than most. I’ve since set that velcro strap to my foot size and not had to touch it once meaning the BOA is the one stop shop when entering and exiting the footwear. 

I’ve opted to test these with three bolt road style cleats, and with that I’m pleasantly surprised by the amount of support offered up by the soles as I clip into the pedal for the first time and push away. The wider of the available cleat options works in harmony with the sole to deliver stiffness where you need it, dare I say more than expected.

Now I tested these in some of the hottest conditions the UK has been blessed with, and with that I can speak very highly of the ventilation in the Savix. From toe through to heel there’s no shortage of entry and exit points for airflow with which to keep my feet comfortable. The mesh isn’t just a token gesture either, shine a bright light at the shoe and inside you’ll see hundreds of small beams of light indicating little windows with which my feet can enjoy the outside world. Come to the shoulder seasons however and on faster rides I may find myself reaching for the overshoes more often than not - something for consideration maybe.

After a few rides the shoes are holding up very nicely, the upper is robust enough and the pads on the soles of the feet, while not replaceable are doing a great job of holding up to wear and tear, something that appears to have been addressed since our review of the older model.

Value

At an RRP of £119.99 the Giro Savix II sits firmly in the middle of the market yet delivers with many trickle down features of the most developed shoes in the line - they represent excellent value for money in that respect.