Had crappy lace up Shimano shoes when I first started mountain biking. Never once got the lace into the chain. You'd have to be a real special kid to pull that off.

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2013 Wilier Cento1 SR || 2009 Ridley Crossbow || 2011 Yeti AS-R 5 Carbon

Laces in your chains is a total non-issue. Mid way down the shoe, there is a loop of rubber to slip your tied laces under and it holds them down well.

I also have no idea what you people are doing where you need to adjust your damned shoes while riding that much. Is this seriously a thing? Just ride your damned bikes.

Agree, I never once have had to adjust my shoes.......I will wait until y'all are selling your Empire's on eBay for .50 cents on the dollar and scoop a pair up!

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2012 Fuji Altamira SE - 6.42kg

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Oh my. Really? I've watched people tear through the S-Works and I've not had good experiences with boa closures. But perhaps you use a different rubric for "much higher end shoe".

When I'm feeling "much higher end" I use the following guidelines:

• Weight: S-Works (210), Empire (225), Prolights for comparison (205)
• Stack height: S-Works (4.5), Empire & Prolights (6.5)
• Upper: S-Works (Thermo bonded, unspecified synthetic), Empire & Prolight (Teijin, which is used on almost all high end football boots)

By those standards, I'd consider Giro's high end offerings comparable to the "much higher end" S-Works shoe and marginally cheaper. I include the not "much higher end" Prolight SLXs as those are my shoes of choice, at the moment.

Even if the Empires are not "much higher end" they certainly worked well for Taylor Phinney last season.

I'm not going to pretend that the S-Works are not fine shoes, I don't particularly care for them (and they have only gotten uglier, aesthetics wise but that is subjective) and I do question the popularity of cable closures but I wouldn't say they are bad shoes. I do feel that Giro shoes tend to fit me better and I'd be curious as to how the Empires fit over time. Part of the motivation (or at least what Giro told the press) for the laces was to provide a better fit, which makes sense, as you'r going to have more points for tension.

But I guess they're just not "much higher end" enough for some folks and that's fine. Considering the realm of "much higher end" includes things like Ed Hardy shirts I think I'm okay with that (sorry for the cheap joke ). Frankly, if you had compared the Empires to offerings from D2, SR, and Riivo, I would agree with you but I don't like the taste of Mr Sinyard's KoolAid anyway.

NICE!!!

" but I don't like the taste of Mr Sinyard's KoolAid anyway" you are not the only one!!!

C

I wear a 44 Speci and ordered these a half size bigger, received them, and they feel monstrous. In specific the front-back room in the toe box seems pretty large and my forefoot can move up/down in the shoe despite the laces being really tight. Is this just how the shoe fits or should I get a different size?

I was told by a LBS that I should size up in the Empire compared to my S-Works shoes - I found the opposite to be accurate.

My 44 Specialized shoes are just flat out too big for me - the 44 Empire fits fantastic.

Looking at Arts Cyclery shoe fitter recommded i go a 1/2size smaller in Spec s-works compared to Giro, seems to be pretty accurate from my exp

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Looks like I made a new 90 Proof friend

I will chime in as I tried on a pair last night. I currently ride Specialized Pro (2007) size 45. I have wider than average foot (approximately 111mm across), and the Specialized fit well. I tried on the Empire (black) size 46, which felt perfect length wise but unsure about width. I noticed the material stretches, and I suspect the shoe would likely reshape to my foot over time but would be at cost of foot issues. I am hesitant because I broke my foot last cx season due to shoes not shaping outward enough as I thought would occur (my error, no blame on manufacturer).

Take away ... I went from 45 to 46 and width is to be determined.

I bought a pair of black Empires, almost on a lark because I came across a nice club deal. I figured I would wear them occasionally just to mix things up and save the wear on my s-works. A month later, and I'm wearing them for every ride. They are extremely comfortable, do not need re-tightening during rides, and (bonus) they are lighter than my 2011 s-works.

How do they fit compared to your S-Works? I felt that they were almost too long, but the width was fine. I went up a half size, but not sure if I want to try the same size as my 2011 S-Works or give up on them.

Still waiting for my LE electric blue ones, should be this month or May ....

My Empires and S-works are the same size (44). I can see where you might think they are longer, but I don't think they are -- I think it is that the toe box is slightly roomier.

Damn, I wanted the blue ones so bad, but missed out on the promo.

I received my LE electric blue Empire a week ago. I wear a size 42 SWorks shoes and ordered the Empire in the same size. It fits just like an sworks shoes, although the toe box is just a little roomier, which is good for me cuz i always felt the sworks was a little too narrow and could never find an sworks in the wide version....