The Giro Riddance is Giro’s top of the line flat mountain bike shoe. It aims to compete in an arena that is crowded with a number of good options, but dominated by only a couple of manufacturers. So how does the Giro Riddance fair? Put simply, it just doesn’t stack up to similarly priced offerings by Five Ten and Shimano.

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Grip

Just as Shimano looked to Michelin to craft the soles of their GR9 and GR7 flat mountain bike shoes, Giro turned to Vibram for the sole of the Riddance. Unfortunately, the Vibram made sole of the Riddance is simply not on par with the Shimano or Five Ten shoes that we reviewed.

The Vibram Megagrip ISR rubber does not feel as grippy as the Michelin made Shimano soles, let alone the Five Ten Stealth or Mi6 rubber compounds. The lack of grip is further exacerbated by a very shallow tread pattern. Its full hexagon pattern seems to be heavily influenced by the Five Ten full dot pattern, which offers less of a locked in feel than the Five Ten multi-dot or Michelin tread patterns. However, Five Ten’s full dot tread pattern is backed up by a more grippy rubber, and the cutouts between dots are deeper, allowing for pins to lock in more than they are able to on the Giro Riddance’s Vibram Megagrip sole.

Further adding to the Riddance’s lack of grip, it has an extremely stiff sole, which doesn’t allow you to get a bit of extra grip by contouring to a pedal the way a softer shoe like the Five Ten Freerider does.

If you are mostly worried about being able to easily move your feet around on the pedal and prefer a floaty feel to grip, then you might prefer the feel of the Giro Riddance. Personally, we would rather have a shoe that offered maximum grip and simply remove a traction pin or two for more foot maneuverability.

Rigidity and Protection

The Giro Riddance is a stiff shoe, on par with the Five Ten Freerider Pro. Like all stiff soled shoes, it is great for getting maximum power to the pedals and staying fresh on long rides but suffers when walking. The Stiff sole also exacerbates the Riddance’s lack of grip, dampens trail feedback.

The Giro Riddance is heavily armored at the toe and heel and is one of the sturdier shoes in our review from a protection standpoint.

Comfort and Breathability

The Giro Riddance is a fairly narrow fitting shoe, so riders with wide feet should plan to size up or steer clear. Its stiff sole makes it less comfortable than a shoe like the Freerider for light spins and hike a bikes, but also less fatiguing on long rides.

One look at the upper of the Giro Riddance is enough to show you that it is a well-ventilated shoe. Mesh that extends from the toe all the way to the ankle of the shoe helps the Riddance breath better than most shoes in our test. Of course, this makes it less water repellent, but its lack of grip means that we would not recommend the Riddance for wet weather riding anyway.

Durability

Along with its breathability, durability is a high point for the Giro Riddance. Its Vibram sole, while not very grippy, held up quite well, as did its microfiber upper.

Additional Features

The Giro Riddance is also offered in a mid-top variant, which has a “power strap” velcro closure in addition to laces. It is also available in a women’s specific version.

The Bottom Line

We were not terribly impressed with the Giro Riddance. While much of shoe choice comes down to preference, we just felt that there were demonstrably better shoes in a similar price range to the $130 Giro Riddance.

On the other hand, if you prefer a float to grip and want a stiff, breathable shoe, you might want to give the Giro Riddance a chance.

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