First impressions: Giro Rumble VR (2019)

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The mountain-bike shoes that I have are from 1997 and they are a tad too tight for a comfortable longer ride. They have served their purpose in the dirt but now that I'm planning a bikepacking ride / bike tour through Europe I need something that I can wear every day both on and off the bike.

Disclaimer
I bought this product myself and this is my opinion on them. I am in no way affiliated with the manufacturer of this product. I like to link to other sites and I am not paid for that.

Why Giro Rumble VR?

Both my old MTB shoes and road shoes are Shimano and both shoes do their job but get a little uncomfortable after a few hours. My requirement for my trip is that the shoe must be comfortable for 6-10 hours per day, both on and off the bike. There is no need for performance, i.e. super sturdy soles are not what I am looking for this time.

I've been eyeing the Giro brand for some time now but never got around to test them. Especially as they design with laces instead of Velcro straps or boa.

So my requirements

• The shoe must be walkable as I don't want to change shoes when I hop off the bike
• Roomy and comfortable over performance. I.e. softer sole but still work well with SPD pedals.
• They must look good
• Maximum 100€ to fit into my budget

The shoes that got on my short list were the following:

• Scott Sport Crus-R 
• I did not like the look of these, otherwise I think they would have made it
• Shimano SH-MT501
• As I've had trouble with longer rides in Shimano shoes before, I think that I need to look at other brands
• Bontrager Flatline MTB
• Like the looks, but no SPD
• Giro Rumble VR
• Similar look to the Bontrager Flatline.. With SPD...

As I already have looked at Giro shoes for my road bike I thought that this would be a good way to try out the brand.

Also I read the following reviews before buying the shoes

• Ride or pie: Giro Rumble VR: A review one year out
• Bike Radar: Giro Rumble VR MTB shoes review
• Road.cc: Giro Rumble VR MTB Cycling Shoes

Size

This is the reason I rather buy shoes in a real world store. Sizing is just so random.
My 'normal' shoe-size is 44/45 EU.
My running shoes are 46 EU
My old MTB shoes are 44 EU (Shimano) and they are a tad too small, and my road shoes are 45 EU (Shimano) and they are a better fit..

The size chart provided by Giro really did nothing to help as the measurements were of the outside fo the shoe.. I.e. not the size of your foot. Very strange if you ask me.

After a lot of pondering I ended up ordering a pair in the size 45 EU hoping that they will fit.

Unpacking

The box is nothing special.. Does not even say that it contains the Rumble VR, just Giro.

Box opened and the left Giro Rumble VR is made visible.

A lot of stuff in the shoe that needs to be removed

The Vibram sole of a Giro Rumble VR. Looks walkable. Hope it is.

Trying on the left Giro Rumble VR. The sole feels a little more relaxed compared to my other cycling shoes but really stiff compared to my day to day sneakers.. Could work.

And in the bottom of the box is the manual for the shoes.

So nothing out of the ordinary here. Just a cardboard box with two shoes and an instruction manual..

And they fit like a glove. First impression is that there is room to move my toes and that is always a good thing.

Sole adjustments

I laughed a little when I saw that there was an instruction manual included. But luckily I eyes it through as it turns out that the Giro Rumbles come with an adjustable inner sole to get a good fit for the foot arch.

But nothing of it was included in the box. This seems to be just an advertisement to make you spend an additional 30€ on the Supernatural Fit Kit by Giro.

I am not impressed. Don't state that it is a manual for the thing you bought if it is just an advertisement for more stuff you manufacture. It is OK to include that as well, but just don't label it as an manual. This made me feel a little mislead.

Walking

I've done some walking indoors just to see how well they behave.

The Giro Rumble VR still feels a little clumsy when walking, the sole is flexible but not to the degree of an ordinary shoe. Compared to my other cycling shoes these walk great. The small degree of sole flex does make a difference.

The shoe laces

Ah yes. The shoe laces. The first negative thing that pops into mind is that it takes  a little bit longer to get the shoes on and off compared to Velcro/Boa.
There is an extra strap on the top of the shoes where you can attach the laces so that they don't get jumbled into the drive-chain.
But as the purpose of these shoes is to be comfortable I don't think that I will tie them as tight as my road shoes and thus there is no need for adjustments on the ride. We'll see what I think about them after some real use.

Update: -5°C - 10°C Early Spring Commuting

I've managed to put in some hours on my Kona Sutra the last couple of weeks while commuting to work. The shoes do behave good, but I had to drag neoprene overshoes over them to keep the warmth. The textile on the top of the shoes is thin... Almost a mesh. Meaning that they have a little too good ventilation for this time of year. But after sticking them into a pair of overshoes there was no more issues!
Really like the width of the shoes as well, no cramping from too tight shoes.

Update: 3 day bikepacking trip. 160 km per day

I thought I should update this after some long days in the saddle with together with these shoes.
First of all, I like them. Only negative I could say was that after around 6-7 hour park per day together with longer climbs with heavy packing, my feet started to numb. But honestly, that is pushing it. Until that point, they were more comfortable then my other cycling shoes (Shimano road and MTB shoes). The other shoes tend to start giving me problems after 2 hours, so 6-7 hours with these is a good rating.

And, we must count into this that I've not spent days in the saddle for a while as I was sick pretty much the whole 2018, this trip was pushing my limits far from my comfort zone. But still, numb feet after 7 hours is numb feet after 7 hours, I rather not get them at all.
Also at that point in time I started to feel the SPD pedal as well, it might just be that these shoes are a little more bendy then racing shoes, i.e. not as stiff and that's why the problems occur.

I have a bikefit booked in the next few days, might just be something that can be fixed. I'll update this when I know more.

The bikefit resulted in cleat move, and new innersoles. Felt a lot better, wish I'd done it earlier!