Giro has ceased to be known as just a helmet manufacturer in recent years as the brand branches out into other areas of clothing.

First there was eyewear, which has been nothing if not a runaway success. This was quickly followed by the launch of a (huge) range of gloves. And now it’s added shoes to its range. We got a first look at Eurobike last week, here’s the skinny on the essential facts:

We’ve been impressed with Giro’s recent debut into eyewear and gloves, with the company’s determination to deliver a product of a very high standard obviously clear when testing those items. We expect no less with its new footwear range – which has been a year in development – and indeed it seems the same attention to detail that led to Giro becoming more than just a helmet manufacturer with is in evidence.

Here’s what Giro told us about the development process: “We developed Giro shoe lasts over the course of 16 revisions, with a multi-disciplinary team of footwear designers, last makers, biomechanical experts, and professional riders. Every aspect of fit was considered, including separate men’s and women’s lasts, half-size grading and the relationship between the shoe upper, footbed and outsole.”

The shoes, of which there are both mountain and road specific models, are built using Giro’s “SuperNatural Fit System” which allows customisation of fit through an insole with adjustable arch support. Three arch supports are supplied and are colour coded for simplicity.

There’s three shoes in the mountain range, two men’s and one women’s. At the top of the men’s range is the Code, a shoe that uses an EC90 unidrectional carbon sole with a ‘lugged’ outsole for decent grip on sticky trails. Two Velcro straps and one ratcheting buckle secure the shoe onto the foot and an offset D-ring on the mid-foot strap relieves pressure points. The upper is a Teijin light weight microfiber that “shapes to your foot.”

More at www.madison.co.uk and www.giro.com