Sidi Cycling Shoes – How Did My Sidi Road Cycling Shoes Stand Up To 10 Years Use

Sidi is one of the top road cycling shoe brands. Sidi shoes have been worn to victory by most of the top pro racing cyclists over the last 40 years, including three-time winner of the Tour de France, the stylish Spanish rider Alberto Contador. Yes, many of those pro riders were sponsored to wear the shoes, but no amount of money would persuade a professional to wear uncomfortable shoes, and they do like to look good!

The shoes are designed and hand-crafted in Italy. Taste is a personal opinion of course, but to my taste, they are very classy cycling shoes. I also know from personal experience that Sidi shoes are very comfortable, even on long rides on hot days. If you have ever suffered from foot problems cycling when still 40 miles from home or your car, then you know how important that is. I once had to ride 5 miles home one-legged because my left foot had cramped up really badly due to wearing uncomfortable bike shoes!

Many moons ago I had a pair of Sidi cycling shoes which served me well for a number of years, but they were quite old-fashioned looking. They were an all-black design. I much preferred my second pair which I bought in 1999 – Sidi Shadows. That more modern and colorful design came on the market in 1997, but I was lucky enough to find a pair my size gathering dust on a shelf of a small bike shop near my home and got them at a good price.

I’ve worn my shoes for 10 years of summer cycling on my best bike. They don’t see much rain because I ride a cheaper bike and cheaper shoes in bad conditions. I’d say that I have ridden 20,000 ‘sunny’ miles in them, or 32,000 kms if you prefer metric units. They have worn remarkably well. The buckles and straps are still functioning as well as the day I bought the shoes. The soles are scuffed of course, and the heel pads are worn, but the uppers are in good condition though the colours have faded slightly. The only obvious wear is on the top of the right shoe, at the back, on the left side of the shoe. I tend to ride ‘heels-in’ and sometimes my right shoe catches on the bicycle chain. I don’t think that I can blame the shoe for that!

In summary – my Sidi road shoes stood up well to moderately heavy use over a decade of cycling. If you’d like to see what they look like now, there is a short review video on my website…