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Giro Shoes - WARNING!!!!

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Giro Shoes - WARNING!!!!

Old 04-14-19, 08:08 AM
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sooni
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Giro Shoes - WARNING!!!!

I bought a pair of Giro Trans E70 from Merlin in 2017 as a back up set as I was concerned about my Sidis finally dying out on me (they did not). I used them a handful of time until couple weeks ago.

I set up for my first long weekend ride of the season and things didn't go so well. I put the right shoe on and was testing the tightness. I pulled the buckle to the tightest setting and it got stuck. I tried my usual methods to release a stubborn strap like with my Sidis and nothing worked. I calmed down and hopped over to my laptop where i looked up ways to get the strap loose. I found a couple posts on forums where people had similar problems with suggestions that did not work ("try pulling this way and that way") but no solutions. Giro's website did not have any tips. So while I continued to work on my straps with needle nose pliers and flat head screw driver my wife started to examine the left shoe to find a solution. We tightened the left strap to its highest setting and the same thing happened! Completely stuck!

After about an hour I had no choice but to cut the shoe off my foot. Not happy, since these were barely used, and I did not misuse them in any way. I simply tightened the strap to its tightest setting!

I contacted Merlin and fair enough, the shoes have a year warranty on them so they suggested I contact Giro directly.

Here is a quote from Giro Customer Support: "Sorry you had trouble with your buckles.This can happen, in fact, we have specific instructions for releasing them when they’ve been tightened too tight. At any rate, your straps/buckles are both replaceable. Unfortunately, we don’t ship to Canada so you would have to reach out to www.ogc.ca to inquire about a warranty exchange. They should be able to point you towards a local shop that can help!"

Well, I followed their instructions and www.ogc.ca sent me a friendly screen cap of Giro's 1 year warranty policy from their website and cut off communication completely ( a factor that was already addressed wtih Giro Customer Support). I also asked Giro to guide me to the instructions for releasing the straps and they have now ignored my emails.

Normally I would accept the 1 year warranty if it was some other type of defect, wear tear or user error. However, this is how the shoe is built and Giro have admitted to me that it is a problem. Giro and their distributors also think it is acceptable to leave me with this shoe that I have used a handful of times:

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Old 04-14-19, 08:17 AM
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Very interesting. I have these same shoes but in white. I've never had the issue you describe but then again I've never tightened them to the tightest setting. I'm curious, what are the instructions that Giro has for releasing an over-tightened buckle?

Though I've never had this issue with these shoes, I can say they are not my favorite shoes by any means. I always found the fit to be a little off, despite trying different sizes, resulting in a bit of annoying heel slip.

I think, since I rarely wear these shoes and would love to have a justifiable reason to replace them, I'll go try to over-tighten them and see if my buckle gets stuck.
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Old 04-14-19, 08:21 AM
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Yup. Mine just got stuck, too. Cool. Now I have a good reason to buy something with laces

What a terrible design.
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Old 04-14-19, 08:27 AM
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eja_ bottecchia
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This is the reason why I love my Sidis, after 1000s of miles and years and years of use they have never let me down. The few times that I have needed to replace parts, they are always readily available.
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Old 04-14-19, 08:29 AM
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Originally Posted by roadie2019
Yup. Mine just got stuck, too. Cool. Now I have a good reason to buy something with laces

What a terrible design.
The messed up thing is that I didn't "overtighten" I just tightened them to the highest setting!
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Old 04-14-19, 08:30 AM
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Originally Posted by eja_ bottecchia
This is the reason why I love my Sidis, after 1000s of miles and years and years of use they have never let me down. The few times that I have needed to replace parts, they are always readily available.
Yes thankfully I still have mine from 8 years ago.
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Old 04-14-19, 08:31 AM
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Originally Posted by sooni
The messed up thing is that I didn't "overtighten" I just tightened them to the highest setting!
Yup. Same here. So where were Giro's instructions for getting the ratchet unstuck?

I think I'm going to stick with my Sidi's.
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Old 04-14-19, 08:32 AM
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On the plus side that looks like an easy repair.

What were the instructions to release when they're "too tight"?

Nevermind, took a few seconds but became obvious - push in as far as possible and the ratchet either releases enough tension to push down or hits the notch and pushes itself up enough to allow release.

Last edited by Spoonrobot; 04-14-19 at 08:36 AM.
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Old 04-14-19, 08:33 AM
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Originally Posted by roadie2019
I'm curious, what are the instructions that Giro has for releasing an over-tightened buckle?
I asked and received no response. Unfortunately the warning does not come in the box, so you are stuck without a pair of shoes on the road or at home like myself.

I used my Sidi's for touring in Japan last fall, I was close to bringing the Giro's. That would have been really fun!
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Old 04-14-19, 08:36 AM
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Originally Posted by Spoonrobot
On the plus side that looks like an easy repair.

What were the instructions to release when they're "too tight"?
Unfortunately I can't repair myself and Giro and the distributor they directed me to are completely ignoring me.

The did not respond back with instructions.
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Old 04-14-19, 08:37 AM
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It seems pretty impossible to get the thing unstuck; just by the way the release buckle needs to be pressed down but is blocked by the strap.

What sucks is that I can't even donate them to Goodwill, now.

Ok. Now I'm going to take them to the garage and use all sorts of tools them!
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Old 04-14-19, 08:38 AM
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Are you tightening them to the tightest setting because they need to be, or are you doing it for the hell of it?

I have Trans Boas and I have never needed to tighten them to the tightest setting, and I don't have cankles, so not sure why you would need to? I love my Giros.

Seems like if you need to tighten them all the way, you are buying the wrong shoe?
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Old 04-14-19, 08:39 AM
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Originally Posted by roadie2019
It seems pretty impossible to get the thing unstuck; just by the way the release buckle needs to be pressed down but is blocked by the strap.

What sucks is that I can't even donate them to Goodwill, now.
Haha You were warned!
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Old 04-14-19, 08:40 AM
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Originally Posted by Spoonrobot
On the plus side that looks like an easy repair.

What were the instructions to release when they're "too tight"?

Nevermind, took a few seconds but became obvious - push in as far as possible and the ratchet either releases enough tension to push down or hits the notch and pushes itself up enough to allow release.
On mine, I can't push them in. The strap is blocked in every conceivable way by the buckle.
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Old 04-14-19, 08:41 AM
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Originally Posted by puma1552
Are you tightening them to the tightest setting because they need to be, or are you doing it for the hell of it?

I have Trans Boas and I have never needed to tighten them to the tightest setting, and I don't have cankles, so not sure why you would need to? I love my Giros.

Seems like if you need to tighten them all the way, you are buying the wrong shoe?
Yes I was testing to see how they felt, but you are absolutely missing the point. I am sure the trans boas are fine since they don't have the same design flaw?
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Old 04-14-19, 08:43 AM
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Originally Posted by roadie2019
On mine, I can't push them in. The strap is blocked in every conceivable way by the buckle.
I spent a good hour on mine. No dice on either the left shoe off my foot or the right shoe on my foot,
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Old 04-14-19, 08:45 AM
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Is your other shoe locked up? Post a pic of this section of the ratchet, I'm curious of they changed their strap design.


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Old 04-14-19, 08:49 AM
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Originally Posted by sooni
Yes I was testing to see how they felt, but you are absolutely missing the point. I am sure the trans boas are fine since they don't have the same design flaw?
No I get the point, the point is you've sort of been shafted by the company, and that sucks. Hope you can get it sorted.

The Trans Boas are fine and I'll never know if they have the same issue because I will never tighten them all the way unnecessarily, I just tighten them until they are snug but not too snug for riding to account for foot swell as the ride goes on.

I would suggest in the future to only tighten any shoe until it's where it needs to be.
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Old 04-14-19, 09:37 AM
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Perhaps not the most graceful of solutions, but a solution none the less:
  1. Using a set of needle-nose pliers bend the release tab back (this is a very pliable plastic) just enough to create a small amount of space necessary between it and the strap to press it and release the strap.
  2. If you are unhappy with this new modification to your buckle, contact Giro or go on ebay and purchase a new N-1 buckle.
  3. Never tighten to the tightest setting again.

Last edited by mrblue; 04-14-19 at 10:29 AM.
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Old 04-14-19, 09:43 AM
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The cut strap is not replaceable, it's integral to the upper of the shoe. Repair would require sewing the halves back together, easy enough to do by hand with the right tool but most likely too expensive to be done professionally.
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Old 04-14-19, 10:19 AM
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I'll think fondly of this thread whenever anyone mentions that they don't like BOA. I don't own a single pair of shoes with a buckle of any kind, but can tell you that replacing a BOA is free, and takes about 10 minutes.
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Old 04-14-19, 10:29 AM
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Originally Posted by mrblue
Perhaps not the most graceful of solutions, but a solution none the less:
  1. Using a set of needle-nose pliers bend the release tab back (this is a very pliable plastic) just enough to create a small amount of space necessary between it and the strap to press it and release the strap.
  2. Contact Giro or go on ebay and purchase a new N-1 buckle.
  3. Never tighten to the tightest setting again.
N-2 Buckle, which is like finding hens teeth.
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Old 04-14-19, 10:33 AM
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Originally Posted by DrIsotope
I'll think fondly of this thread whenever anyone mentions that they don't like BOA. I don't own a single pair of shoes with a buckle of any kind, but can tell you that replacing a BOA is free, and takes about 10 minutes.
I like the concept behind the boa but always found the knob looks weird. Like a mushroom shaped tumor growing out of your shoe/foot.

I've been eyeing the Giro Empire ACC's. I like the laces. They look cool/retro and if you ever have to replace them finding a set of shoe laces shouldn't be a very daunting task. Sure they're not as fast or as adjustable on the fly as boas, buckles, and velcro, but, personally, I never have to adjust my shoes on the fly, nor am I ever really in that much of a hurry to get my shoes on or off.
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Old 04-14-19, 10:34 AM
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Originally Posted by LAJ
N-2 Buckle, which is like finding hens teeth.
I thought the N-1 is the buckle and the N-2 is the strap.

When I do a search I get the buckle as N-1 and the strap as N-2.
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Old 04-14-19, 10:37 AM
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I see. Yes, the N-1 is for the Trans E70, while the N-2 is actually for the Factor ACC (which I also have). At least that's how it looks from the pics I've googled on the web.
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