need some new spring summer autumn xc shoes and ive kind of narrowed it down to 2 at the moment, the sidi dragon 3 srs vernice in white or silver if i can get them in my size or the Bont vaypor xc, like the fact both shoes are stiff carbon soled with replaceable studs and rubber grips all round.

any opinions on these two shoes? or even other suggestions around the £200 – £250 price mark?

cheers

I tried Bont road shoes; most uncomfortable shoes I’ve ever worn in all my life. Re-moulded 5 times, still like wearing wooden boxes. Look at the Mavic Razr or whatever they are called these days, good enough for the 3 Peaks…and still white.

I have sidi energy road shoes and bont vaypot xc’s.
the sidis have the most lovely supple upper but the bonts, for my feet anyway, are a revelation. So comfy, great shape, and, the feeling of your effort going through to the pedals is something ive never quite felt before (and that’s having used top quality carnacs, gaernes, northwave, specialized, suplest,diadora – im a shoe tart…). They look bling too. Highly recommended from me.

S-Works.

Had Sidis years ago, v comfy off the bike, but very underwhelming on the bike! Spesh far better IMO.

Is this thread going to tell us that everyone’s feet are different?

I currently use specialized defrosters but as the weather is getting better they are a bit hot and heavy.

I like the facty both shoes have repolaceable grips/studs. just cant decide between the two arrghhh

Is this thread going to tell us that everyone’s feet are different?

There’s a high likelihood of that happening, yup!

I like SIDI’s, but I prefer Lake. They use higher quality materials, and generally fit a touch better. Lake make a hell of a lot of shoes for other brands too (any pro cyclist you see wearing shoes with Nike, Reebok or Adidas branding such as most of the GB squad, are all using Lakes).

Of course though, fit is entirely personal. What I do know is I’ve seen more than a couple of expensive high end Shimano XC and race shoes fall apart in an alarmingly short space of time!

Mavic fury for hobbit feet here : )

Mboy, i hear you. A friend of mine who did the prem calendar a fee years back loves lake, a little heavy perhaps, but they always seemed better made than a lot of other brands.
i like my sidi’s, I’ve had them for 13years or so, but wearing them fir 3 hours or so hurts my feet. I think I’m seduced by the look (i think that’s a major selling point for sidis, that they look better than they are).
FWIW my feet are narrow at the heel, wide at the toes, like a ducks….
spesh fit me better than any italiana, but so far bonts are better for me.
did i mention that their stiffness is awesome?

Personally I found the Sidi replaceable tread was stupidly soft, and shredded in no time. Conversely the Spesh soles last far longer.

A team mate had the Bont’s on at the weekend. Said they were great but needed a good beating before they felt good, and that off the bike they were harsh, which is most likely why he’s having a hard time shifting them in his shop.

Me, Sidi every time, road, XC, CX, great shoes that fit my feet.

Im thinking its bonts then, have wide feet by toes and narrow at heel like you aa, they are mouldable too and tbh I dont plan on walking in them, I ride as much as I can.

anything I should watch out for with the bonts? how long after feet in do they set after moulding? 5 mins or so?

I’m a fully paid up Bont fan. I use Vaypor Road and XC.

Watch out for the sizing, use the size wizard on the Bont website, if you’re close to a size, go one up. I’m a 46 in an S-Works but take 48 in Bont (i was 47 last year strangely) Follow all the moulding instructions and you won’t go far wrong. Don’t forget they do 3 widths as well as lengths. I have a fairly low volume foot and I’m on a STD width

My 1st pair weren’t that comfy at the beginning, I had to mold them 3 times to get all the hotspots out, but now, they’re like slippers and I could probably ride them without the straps tight they’re that good a fit.

I agree with what the Swedish chef said, off the bike theyre not great, but, its a cycling shoe of course. The stiff uppers do feel weird when you first try them on, but a bit of heat and perseverance pays off. I cooked mine for less time, and for a couple of minutes less than bont recommends (didn’t want to ruin new shoes!) but they conformed to the shape of my feet. The mould is good enough to satisfy me.
what i did do is put on 2 pairs of woollie boolies to give my toes some wriggle room. It worked.

another vote for Sidi, the most comfy shoe I’ve ever used, mine have been going for 5+ years now. Occasionally I give them a scrub and a load of dubbin, they come up like new.

Shimano M315 or Sworks.

Both amazingly stiff and really durable, unlike other brands I’ve tried (Carnac, Sidi, Northwave etc)

GB

ordered the bont vaypor xc in a 44 now 🙂 take a 43 in a specialized and after using the bont sizing guide i was about a 43.5 so went up a half size. cant wait to get heat moulding and transferring all that power to the pedals :0)

Keep us updated.

Did you get them online somewhere?

will do, I got them online and as they were last pair they had i got them on sale too at £180.00 rather than the £225 RRP