I ride a lot. Now, I only ride road. I spent many years in Carnac shoes (now though, their shoes have become somewhat ... odd)
Next, I spent way too much money on the top Shimano shoe (stiff, oddly curved sole, no space in shoe, and seems to always crunch my toes in their oddly shaped toe box).
For the past few years, I''ve been reading the Giro shoe reviews (from before they were even on the market). I bought my girlfriend a pair of the Factress as she was in the same need as I was - she loves hers. So, I ordered a pair of the Giro Prolight SLX. They are everything they are supposed to be: VERY lightweight, lots of room for my toes and enough ''flat'' room for a pair of orthotics. The inserts that come with the shoes are a very good effort for a ''standard'' pair of feet, however, if you''re used to wearing orthotics or have a high arch, you''ll be using your own inserts (AND these shoes have space for your own inserts!)
I do find that my feet have signficant arches and insteps which means that I do find that top velcro strap a little ''high'' and binding which subsequently means that I have to run that top strap a little looser. Regardless, the heelcup has sufficient holding form to keep my heels in place. If I was ''building'' the ''next'' version of the SLX shoe, I''d add a little more structure to the heel (and maybe a little higher)
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If I had to do it again, I''d likely bring in the Giro Factor shoes as I love the single buckle vs. the SLX''s velcro. Regardless, this shoe does rock (and I immediately took them on a week of road-climbing in the Finger Lakes region (mid-NY state) Having said that, my mind works so that I may still bring in the Factor shoes...
From what I could find out regarding the difference in the soles of the SLX vs. the Factor: yes, the SLX is meant to have a stiffer sole (UHM carbon, vs. ''carbon''), but, if I''m running a 3/4 length stiff orthotic anyways, therefore, it doesn''t matter. Further, when I contacted Giro (US), they indicated that the SLX sole was primarily intended to be ''lighter'' than the Factor sole. [perhaps of note: I am an ex-racer. I wear a size 47, I''m 6''1" (185 cm) and weigh anywhere from 186 lbs to 200 lbs (85 - 91 kgs).]
Worth the money? Yes.
Other shoes I''d consider? Sidi''s top dogs (although, they never fit me very well, which is why I''ve never bought them... and their latest top dogs are crazzzy expensive - I mean come on, they cost a little more than my most expensive handmade office shoes)
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