Giro Chamber TR clipless shoes

Giro’s Chamber TR shoes take the brand’s downhill tech and whittle it down into a trail-going clipless shoe. While it’s rammed full of useful features, like its superb power transfer, support, and aesthetic, the slightly too-snug fit and lack of vibration damping kept me from choosing these over others.

Giro Chamber TR shoes – Technical details

At the very base of the Giro Chamber TR is the tri-molded EVA footbed that you’ll find on the brand’s burlier downhill shoes. But to make the shoe a little more trail-friendly, it’s built to be lighter and better ventilated. So its microfibre upper gets mesh panels to welcome airflow.

Speaking of the upper, a neat touch for a more summer-going shoe is the closed-knit ankle cuff. This hugs the ankle in a bid to keep debris and other gunk out.

Keeping the shoe in place is a single Boa Li2 dial per shoe, and it’s combined with injection-molded lace guides, added for durability. The lace is constructed of stainless steel, so good luck breaking it. Wrapping up the upper is TPU protection at the toe and heel.

Moving to the sole, there’s Giro’s Sensor rubber that’s been formulated to balance grip and durability. Then, the cleat channel features 10mm of cleat seatback, so riders can position their cleats further back in the cleat tracks than with some other shoes. I’m a big fan of this as it’s more adjustment, and I like my cleats pretty far back.

The Giro Chamber TR is available in EU sizes from 36 to 50 with half sizes from 38.5 to 46.5. There are also three colour options on offer, including black, white and the dark sage green I’ve been testing.

Giro Chamber TR shoes – Performance

As always, let’s start with the Chamber TR’s fit, and it’s not quite there for me. In terms of length, my EU44 fit perfectly, but its toe box is certainly on the snug side. I hoped that this would break in after some time, but there’s just not that much wiggle room, even deeper into the test. This led to general discomfort while riding and especially so when walking, as I felt a little too much pressure on my big toe.

The discomfort is less noticeable when on the pedals, but it is still present. Saying, that, the Chamber TR is much better on the bike than it is off, which we’d all hope.

Now, the shank used in this shoe is pretty darn stiff. That means that power transfer is very direct, so it enhances pedalling efficiency a smidgeon, which I’m a fan of. The stiffness also means that the shoe offers superb support, especially when paired with platformed clipless pedals.

I say that the shank is stiff, which it is compared to others, but there’s still a touch of give which allows for a touch of pedal feel, where platformed pedals elevate the whole experience. I rode in these shoes with the Wolf Tooth Components Shift and Shimano XTR Enduro pedals, and had a great time.

Although that stiffness brings positive pedalling performance, it does hinder general comfort when descending. There’s not that much in the way of vibration damping, so deeper into longer trails, I have come up against some foot fatigue.

Elsewhere, the Chamber TR carries all of the hallmarks of a decent shoe. The mesh panels encourage plenty of airflow, which has been mega useful during our sweltering summer, and the Boa dial does a great job of providing even pressure throughout the upper portion of the shoe (excluding the toe box). The TPU upper adds some weather resistance, but with those mesh panels, don’t expect anything more than mild splash protection.

Thanks to the shoe’s more rearward and shallower cleat box, I’ve been able to place my cleats exactly where I like them without running into any weird interference with pedals’ bindings. In fact, clipping in and out with these shoes has been a seamless task.

The outsole then provides some grip, but as a clipless shoe, it’s not outstanding, understandably. But during those mid-trail not-quite-clipped-in moments, I’ve managed to keep my feet stable on the pedals until I’ve found the right time to reengage.

As for durability, I have absolutely no complaints. I’ve ridden the shoe throughout the summer months pretty solidly and apart from a film of dust, they’re looking nearly as good as new. Everything is still as it should be and there’s only a touch of scarring on the outsole cause when clipping out of pin-equipped pedals.

Giro Chamber TR shoes – Verdict

Considering that clipless shoes cost a little more in general, Giro has managed to achieve appreciable value here. For your £184.99, you’re getting a shoe with features that others just don’t. Take Shimano’s GE7, for example. This uses a Velcro and lace closure, so it’s not as simple as the Boa dial, and it costs £180. However, I found it more comfortable, and the shank gets an interesting torsional flex profile which boosts pedal feel without affecting power transfer.

A very comparable shoe is Ride Concept’s Hellion Clip Boa. It’s very similar in build, but it’ll set you back £190. However, this shoe offers D3O vibration-damping tech and perhaps a better balance of vibration reduction and stiffness.

If you can get on with the snug toe box, and you can exchange some vibration damping for extra stiffness, the Giro Chamber TR ticks a lot of boxes. There’s a lot I like about them, including their airflow, the cuff and the easy-to-use Boa dial, all in a package that’s competitively priced. It’s just my comfort qualms that hold them back. With that in mind, there are more comfortable options around for similar (if not more) money.