Louis Garneau Ergo Grip Review

By Konarider
Aaahhhh, the smell of new shoes. Not much can compare, especially when you're used to a pair that are over a year old and well worn!

Rheal Jaillet of Fitworks in Moncton supplied me with a pair of Louis Garneau Ergo Grip mountain bike shoes. Louis Garneau is a successful Canadian company specializing in many cycling products from shoes, gloves, helmets, pannier bags, clothing and even bikes... Louis Garneau has you covered!

My first impressions included the aggressive lugs on the sole. You definitely wont have any problems climbing off the bike when necessary. The sole design itself has a patent pending. It's nice to see three velcro straps to secure the shoes. I've always preferred three straps for the general feel and security aspect. Aesthetically the black / grey / red combination looks good. My cycling clothing is usually pretty bland looking and this graphic scheme is a nice change.

Cleat installation is completed easily via a sliding plate and precut holes in the sole. The soles themselves are very stiff providing great power transfer in your pedal stroke.

I used and abused the shoes the best I could over a month or so to get a good feel for them. My first ride with the Louis Garneau product was in French Fort Cove. Weight wise they're good to very good. They aren't super light but with lightness comes compromises in general so I was more than happy with the weight. I did find at the end of the ride my toes felt cramped. They were definitely the proper size so this was disconcerting.

My second ride was in Hillsborough. The few times I had to climb the grip was excellent. Again my toes felt a little cramped but far less so than the first ride. I made the assumption that they just need to stretch out a bit.

Third ride was at Fight Trail in Halifax. I did a fair bit of walking as it was at 9:30-10:00 at night and I've only ridden the trail twice in the past two years. The grip was great. I was able to walk up just about any rock face or root ascent without a problem. Though I did find that I had to be careful with my balance due to the race oriented nature of the shoe design. My toes were fine this time around. I was right, the shoes just had to stretch a bit.

I've had several other rides since and they still feel great. The grip is fantastic as well. I'm very satisfied with the three-strap system. One thing I will say it that with the multitude of shoes I've worn these are definitely more for the racer set. They are stiff, and due to the grip pattern can be a little tricky to walk in maintaining one's balance over technical terrain. On trails where you will be just riding or walking / climbing that is dirt / roots these shoes are excellent. If you're riding more technical trails and / or will be required to walk over technical areas it can be tricky with these shoes to make stream crossings without getting a soaker.

Overall, I would recommend these shoes for the value, construction, and fit, once they break in!

Posted by O9man at October 14, 2008 12:47 PM

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