Giant Bicycles Shuttle Flat Shoes: At The Finish – by Guitar Ted
This shoe review has gone on all Summer and now it is time to finally wrap this up. Why so long? Well, I had intended on a specific ride to occur which I was going to use these shoes for, but plans changed and well….. Anyway, it is time to wrap this up! Please check out the previous update on this review here for my earlier thoughts on the Shuttle Flats.
Ride Performance: The Shuttle Flat shoes are a “general purpose” kind of shoe which I found appealing. They are not just for MTB. I used these on gravel roads, (obviously), on the dirt, for commuting, and sometimes they were “just shoes” that I wore for the day. So, first things first- You get more than a cycling specific shoe with the Shuttle Flats and more than just one sort of cycling shoe. It isn’t easily pigeon holed into a category, if you have an open mind, that is.
Flat pedals are just fine for gravel and adventure riding too. Yes…..racers are turning up their noses now, but for the general purpose rider, flats are perhaps the best pedal to use. You need shoes for flat pedals and the Shuttle Flats are a great shoe to match with them. They have good grip on the pedal, but not as good as say, a Vans shoe, which I compared these to. That said, the Vans shoe isn’t as comfortable over a longer ride since they are not very stiff. Plus, the Shuttle Flats have a really great ability to be cleaned, resist moisture intrusion, and have really good airflow over the feet. Canvas shoes? Not so much.
The Giant shoes are also not only stiff for pedaling, but have that desired walk-ability factor. I can wear these for a while as just street shoes, but eventually my feet do get fatigued because of the stiffness. They don’t ever bother me on the bike though. So, with regard to riding, or some walking, these are good shoes.
At The Finish: The Shuttle Flats have a decent amount of air flow and are not bad in hot weather. Actually, they were discernibly cooler in hot weather than the other Giant shoes I tested here. I don’t think they make the most comfortable street shoe, but they aren’t terrible. They are not anywhere near stiff enough for the person looking for those last few “sparkle-watts” of performance, but for the individual who doesn’t want to have to deal with separate shoes for cycling and everyday wear, these would get the job done well.
NOTE: Giant Bicycles sent over the Shuttle Flat shoes at no charge to Riding Gravel for test and review. We were not paid nor bribed for this review and we will strive to give our honest thoughts and views throughout.