The code is key. Get the code and you can unlock the secret of performance, a pursuit of many a cyclist. Is it a cipher or a shoe? In this case, the Code is the Giro shoe that Levi Leipheimer, sometimes known as a pro roadie who has finished on the podium of a few Grand Tours, literally took out of the box and on his first ride in them won the Leadville 100 mountain bike race, setting the course record and beating the reigning national mountain bike champ in the process. Pretty impressive performance. And the Code is an impressive shoe, whether or not a Giro-sponsored rider fresh off the Tour de France can destroy a field of pro mountain bikers on his virgin ride with their mountain bike shoes. The first big thing about Giro shoes is that they fit great regardless of who wears them. Like their road shoes, Giro went through 16 iterations before they found the last, aka foot form, they wanted to use to design the shoe around. This last has to accommodate for a wide range of feet, accounting for variations in volume, heel width, arch height, toe length, and so on. Shoe makers pretty much have one shot at designing a good last, the first one is what they'll be stuck with pretty much forever, so it needs to be good. Nailing the last is a great first, but any shoe also has to allow for the upper to be adjusted; the material and the straps have to account for differences small and large from foot to foot to foot. Here, too, Giro has done a stellar job. You can see it from the deep, but not too constructed, heel cup. You can see it in the shape of the top strap and two-position buckle. You can see it in the middle strap that goes across the mid-foot to keep it from moving, eliminating pressure on the metatarsal bones by pulling equally from a large swath of fabric on the inside of the foot; when you pull on the Velcro, the entire panel becomes the strap. The bottom strap takes up any loose space in the forefoot and the toe box design means that there is a wide range of adjustment and it's nearly impossible to get that aesthetically-displeasing pucker that some one-piece toes can get when at the far edges of their adjustment range.A big thing to know about the upper shape is that it was designed with the idea that people can install their own after-market insoles. This means it has a good shape but minimal construction around the heel cup and a neutral, flat (as opposed to canted) sole that better accommodates wide feet or oversized insoles.The upper, in addition to the shape, is a work of smart materials design. It's made of Teijin microfiber and reinforced with high-frequency welded polyurethane in areas where your foot is likely to bash rocks or get bashed. Take a look at the pictured shoe; it's the matte Black stuff. The polyurethane makes the upper feel a bit stiffer than it would if it were 100% Teijin microfiber, but as you ride, the poly will soften a bit and conform to your foot a lot. The sole has been designed with the help of t
