Giant Surge Elite HV shoes review

A behemoth of the bike world, Giant has made huge strides in providing almost all additional equipment in house. From wheels to tyres and saddles to shoes, including these, the Giant Surge Elite HV. They sit one rung below the Giant Surge Pro shoes, but feature many of the same technologies.

For starters, the brand has continued the use of its ExoBeam sole. It's a mixture of carbon and glass fiber composites (the Surge Pro is pure carbon) but the theory behind it remains the same: it produces better pedalling efficiency while reducing knee pain.

While it's hard to comment on the provision of better efficiency without some serious pedal stroke analysis, I did find the sole to be stiff, stiffer than the Fizik Tempo Overcurve R4 shoes I tested recently. It provided a great platform to complete hard efforts when on the indoor trainer. Giant also says the cut away sole keeps the weight down but on our scales they weighed in at 543g for the pair, almost 30g heavier than the Fiziks.

The upper is made of a PU material and features Giant's ExoWrap technology that sits free of the shoe and when tightened using the Boa wire pulls up from the base, providing support around the whole foot. Much like the Fizik Tempo Overcurve R4 shoes that came in at the same price, the Giant Surge Elite use a single Boa dial to tighten.

The size 43s tested here came up small despite them being one of Giant's high volume (HV, for short) models. Rather than feeling spacious, I suffered rubbing across the top of my toes - particularly my big toes - and the sides of my feet were pinched. We found this to be the case with the Giant Surge Pro shoes, too, but did find that they 'gave' in time. While I'd recommend sizing up, it's best to try before you buy as everyone's feet are different.

Happily there was no nipping around the ankles and the grippy material in the heel helped keep the shoe seated even when doing tough high cadence efforts.

The white and black shoes look smart and although the colour might be prone to showing scuffs the PU upper feels tough and resistant to wear. Those that commute by bike will also be pleased to know that the heel elevates the ExoBeam away from the floor, reducing scuffing.