With its lace-up Empire shoe, Giro found favour with riders who liked the fit offered by laces or who just liked the look.
Where it fell down was in adjustability – the Empire couldn’t easily be loosened or tightened on the fly – which is where the Techlace comes in.
‘We knew we had a winner with the fit of the Empire,’ says Giro product manager Simon Fisher.
‘We also recognised many customers still want to tweak the fit while riding, so we designed the Techlaces. They have the comfort and fit of laces and the convenience of straps.’
The shoes marry the redesigned laces with a Boa dial at the top of the closure system.
According to Giro, riders typically set and forget the bottom tier of a closure system, adjust the middle some of the time but often tweak the top strap, so it decided this was the best place for the dial.
‘The Boa is intuitive, proven and offers a greater mechanical lockdown in 1mm increments,’ says Fisher.
For those who think the Boa dial spoils the aesthetic of an otherwise classy shoe, Giro will soon be launching the Prolight Techlace – an all-Techlace superlight shoe.
Verdict: Does well to combines the aesthetic appeal of laces with the convenience of straps and Boas – provided you're happy with the slightly busy design.
£289.99, zyrofisher.co.uk