What if I told you there is a shoe out there that is stiff enough to ride on the road, easy to walk in, and wouldn’t look out of place walking into the coffee shop, farmer’s market, or the office?
Last year, we introduced you to the Giro Republic when we spotted them at the Red Hook Crit. The shoes are part of the New Road line of versatile cycling apparel that delivers performance, comfort, and style on and off the bike. The Republic completes the line, providing a shoe with good looks and versatile functionality.
The heart of the Republic is the DuPont Zytel nylon sole with replaceable rubber walking pads. The light weight sole is stiff for gravel grinds or touring, but comfortable enough for a trip to the coffee shop. The replaceable pads offer the traction missing in a road shoe without the bulky soles of a mountain shoe. When the pads wear down, they are easily replaced by removing four hex bolts.
The perforated microfiber uppers have been very comfortable from the first ride. Ventilation could be an issue later on in the year when the temperatures rise, but so far have let enough air in to keep my feet cool in temps into the 60’s and warm without covers into the mid 40’s.
Along with the Empire, Giro has taken a different approach by using laces on the Republic, instead of ratchets, velcro, or dials. The laces give the shoe an old school look and offer infinite adjustability across the entire length of the shoe. Whether your feet are relatively normal, or unique, the laces will give you a custom fit rarely found in other shoes. The non-slip laces keep the shoes from loosening up during the ride, and come in two colors to give the Republic a subtle or bold look. Some may worry about mid ride adjustments, but so far, I have yet to stop and tighten or loosen them, and have had no problems with heel slip. Oh, and don’t worry about the laces getting caught in the chain like when you were a kid. There is an elastic loop on the tongue to hold them in place.
One of the only negative I’ve found is that the Republic is not waterproof. With all the snow here in Pennsylvania melting, a recent ride with lot of puddles left my feet soaked early on. Few shoes are waterproof, but I was surprised how easily the water soaked through.  Sno-Seal did the trick to seal them up, but other wax based waterproofing products would probably work too. They could effect the Republic’s ventilation though.
The Republic is available in four colors, white/black, black/silver, black/gum, and lead/gum. The gum shoes have white mid soles with gum traction pads, while the others have all black mid soles and pads.
These shoes should be able to take care of most of the riding you do on the road and light trails, as long as you don’t mind using an SPD pedal. For the commuter that also races, the soles are stiff enough that you could get away with using them if you didn’t feel like swapping your pedals for your road shoes.
$150
Heckling Editor, Image Taker, Crash Test Dummy, and Beard Master at Bikeworldnews.com
~Veggie Powered Athlete~
Location – Lancaster, PA
Current Testing Rigs – 2024 Van Dessel Arch65, 2019 Van Dessel Full Tilt Boogie, 2018 Van Dessel Motivus Maximus LTD, 2016 Van Dessel Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, 2015 Bianchi Sempre Pro, 1978 Trek TX900
Dream Bike – I’ll tell you when they make it
Discipline – Cyclocross, gravel, road and duathlons (ride/run)
Favorite Rides – Quiet country roads of Amish Country, some of the best roads around.
Food of Choice – Sweet potato roll
Beer of Choice – Unibroue Grand Reserve 17, aged four years
Bourbon of Choice – Widow Jane 10 Year