Giro Cadet Road Cycling Shoes

The Giro Cadet Road Cycling Shoes offer a secure and comfortable fit, a usefully stiff sole, and they're easy to get on and off. They have issues, though: they size up a little small, the insole is too harsh for long-ride comfort, and the cleat adjustment is only just enough for some riders.

After a few hours, these feel like very stiff shoes, but they aren't – and that's perhaps not the best two worlds to combine. While the carbon-reinforced sole is certainly stiff enough for most of us and most riding (if not quite for racers or powerful sprinters), it's not as stiff as your increasingly buzzy feet suggest.

That's down to the thin and extremely firm 'sport insole', which transmits more road buzz than any other insole I've ridden with. They're not harsh enough to particularly notice from moment to moment – these shoes don't spank your feet over broken tarmac like genuinely stiff-soled ones can – but it's certainly enough to notice cumulatively over the course of a ride.

I found my feet felt noticeably buzzy and just faintly tender after little more than an hour over pretty average road surfaces.

It's a shame, because the supple upper (a one-piece Synchwire thing, apparently, with a thermo-bonded exo-structure) is very comfortable and very well shaped. The deep heel cup is very secure and, despite there only being a single L6 Boa dial to secure them, I had zero issues with lifting.

The uppers and the tongues are perforated all over with laser fire, which is exciting, and certainly in the temperatures I had for the test – mostly from 10° to not quite 20°C – they breathed very well. There are no vents at all in the sole, though, so they won't be the very coolest option for high summer. On the other hand, that's better for the other three seasons, off-road use and wet rides with covers.

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At 569g (size 44) they're not the lightest out there, but they're not trying to be – and with their steel inserts for both two and three-bolt cleats, you don't expect it. They don't feel heavy, though.

There are toe and heel bumpers to protect the sole, and though neither is replaceable they're pretty substantial. The adjustment scales are very clearly engraved, but I did find that actual range of adjustment slightly limited.

I like my feet set quite far apart, but could only just get them out to acceptable spots at full adjustment. I was also maxed out for adjustment towards to the toes. The eventual result was fine, just, but these could definitely use a few more millimetres of travel to match most other shoes I've used.

I feel a little bad about all this complaining – with a bit of fettling and a good insole these solidly built, attractive shoes could be just great – but I'm not quite finished. Having initially tried my usual size (EU44) I had to swap to an EU45, as these come up quite short. The 44 was unusually cramped at the toes. The bigger ones are a perfect fit, at least, and they're available in EU39-50.

To throw in a random positive, the large grey logos on the heels light up nicely when they reflect headlights, which is a detail I appreciate.

Value

At £159.99 they're around mid-level, though more expensive than some quite prominent shoes such as Shimano's highly rated RC5 SPD-SLs and the Scott Road Team Boas, both £139.99, which is also how much Giro's own Republic R Knit shoes cost.

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They're hardly expensive overall – it's easy to spend twice the amount and more – but they do feel a little spendy given the spec, especially as you may well want to factor in new insoles too.

Overall

Get the right size, find a good position within the slightly limited cleat adjustment, and fit some more forgiving insoles and the Giro Cadets could be just the thing for a great deal of riding and training, both on road and gravel. That's a few too many things to overcome to seriously recommend them over the competition, though.

Verdict

Nearly great shoes for all types of riding, but the buzzy insole and sizing/cleat adjustment niggles all detract