Just when you thought things couldn’t get any lighter, Giro drops their new Prolight Techlace.
I first saw these prototype 150 gram super shoe at InterBike back in September and they were so freakishly light I honestly thought they were too good to be true. It sounded like a concept car that was more of an engineering exercise, never reaching the public. I was wrong.
At 150 grams per shoe, the new Prolight Techlace is about 25 grams lighter than the already feathery Empire SLX lace ups. And Giro was able to pull it off with some pretty unique engineering features.
Instead of the Easton EC90 SLX2 high-modulus carbon plates found in previous flagship models, the new outsole employs TeXtreme spread tow carbon fiber manufactured by Sweden’s Oxeons that uses flat tape versus the conventional yarn-shaped fibers. With such configuration, less resin is needed without losing any stiffness. The new TeXtreme outsole is said to be 22% lighter.
Moving upward, a custom monofilament fiber mesh is used as its upper. For better structure and increased durability, a thermoplastic polyurethane film by Japanese chemical giant Teijin is then strategically welded over the mesh to act as an exoskeleton, hence the seemingly two-tone looking upper.
For fasteners, the Prolight replaces the sole Boa dial found on the Factors and went with three Techlaces incorporating the comfort of shoelaces with the ease and on-the-fly adjustability of a conventional strap. The tried and trued SuperNatural adjustable insole remains, so it should have a similar fit to existing Giro shoe users.
The Prolight Techlace is available now for $400 in red, white and black. Sure, it’s a lot of dough for a pair of kicks, but these might just fit the bill if you’re looking for the absolute lightest without going full-on custom and they’re still cheaper than a pair of Yeezy Boost 350s.
