On durability; SIDI versus BONT shoes.

[uraqt]

10 years on sidi is just the start....I have a pair that that is close 16 years...

I have seen the issues with the heel pad, buckle pin and worn out straps however I think of checking that stuff is just shoe maintenance. Just like bike maintenance.

I think that it's one of sidi strong points, you can get replacement parts for shoes that are 16 years old.... may not be the exact same part but it's close enough that you an make it work. And you can get the parts in almost every country in the world.

C

PS BIG BIG sidi fan : ) so much so that your feet are wrong if they don't fit in a sidi

When I started wearing sidi there was really no choice I had to work with the shoe to get it fitting (I have wide feet). Now my issue is they are so good that there is no point to change... Yes I want the new wire push or the giro empire slx but my 1999 energy's work great.

C

[Liggero]

Thanks everyone for the answers. It seems like a lot of people appreciate the benefits in stiffness and stack height of bonts, and also the arch support and larger space for the fingers, but it seems like durability is much lower. I guess that for racers or those in search of top performance might the best option Bont, but considering price of shoes with carbon sole, it might be better to choose the durability of sidi's. I own 3 pairs of sidi's and never broke anything of them like straps, only the heel in the road ones needed replacement and so I did. The cheaper sole in the mtb ones is not very stiff really, so after 10 years of use I purchased a pair of dragons, and those are stiffer, but of course never as stiff as a road shoe. I think only the new drako mtb are as stiff as a road shoe.

So now in the road I regret of having bought the genious model with the plastic sole, instead of the ergo, because they are 3 years old and look like new, even after a couple washing machine seesions and also a couple of hard hand washing with tough brushes...

About fit, the stock insoles are really really bad, but after using a proper orthotics or at least a specialized BG insoles, and after a few thousand km's, the fit is perfect now, and also the comfort.

[kgt]

Don't think that in terms of performance Sidis are inferior to Bonts. Just see how many racers choose to ride Sidi among the Peloton. IMHO the only reason not to get Sidi is if they don't fit you.

[Liggero]

Don't think that in terms of performance Sidis are inferior to Bonts. Just see how many racers choose to ride Sidi among the Peloton. IMHO the only reason not to get Sidi is if they don't fit you.

hehehe... Nobody choose anything in the pro-peloton, as it is extremely and painfully obvious. It's the brands who decide how much are they going to pay to which rider to wear their brand. They will ride properly with any shoe, and they have their custom orthotics of choice inside that shoe. Sure some riders will decide to use Sidi instead of other brand, just for getting some extra cash, and some riders will decide to loose some cash in order to use a brand they like. But that is about it. And another thing is for sure; pro-riders don't care about durability. Bont performance advantages are also painfully obvious, as they are much much lighter, and much much stiffer, due to the bath tub shape that everyone who has tested can verify, and also the smaller stack height. and thermo-deformable. Also, if you look at the pro peloton, again, if you exclude those big names that sidi will happily pay them, like Rodriguez, Froome, and a few other big fishes, then remove those other riders who have f****** clue at all about performance material (think valverde mentality and similar, they are a mayority in the peloton, these guys are all all ineducated wihtout almost any kind of technical education), then remove adam hansen who make his own shoes which are light years beyond any shoe we have ever seen, you have a ton of riders who wear Bont, and that is due to performance and comfort. Wiggins will be still riding bont's if it wasn't because bont can't pay as much as giro can pay. Also nobody in the pro-peloton is riding Lightweight wheels in regular stages, but that doesn't mean that those wheels perform worse, it means that they don't spend money on sponsorship... bont is the lightweight of shoes.

I might buy sidi for my next shoes, but they are heavy, not as stiff as the best, aesthetics are quite old fashion and they innovate very very very very very little. And as i´m not pro, i care more about durability than performance. But boy, if i was on the pro peloton, I can make a list of 20 reasons why not to choose SIDI. Even Specialized can make a product that performs better... Specialized!!!

[Kayrehn]

As much as I like Bont (the new Vaypor S is so sweet!), I have to say that their heel cup doesn't keep your heel in, though it's not that much of a problem once you actually start cycling. My lbs told me it can't really be moulded to fit better cos of the thickness of the material there, but I should have insisted they try then...

[uraqt]

@ Liggero

I agree about the "pro-peloton" part of your post

However I would argue that sidi is the most innovative, I am reasonable sure that they have been the 1st in most of the shoe innovations. But that isn't the real issue right ... it's durability vs performance

Yes they are heavy and not as stiff as the best... but if that is the only two downsides ....

Also I agree that a light shoe is better than a heavy one and I that would be the one thing that could get me to buy new sidis.. however I not 100% sure that you need a super stiff sole.. I would think that with 6 or 7 hours on the bike you would like the flex to be "just right" for your feet.

Sidi was the last manufacture to move to the carbon sole and way last to the full carbon sole and they said that the foot needs to flex and I agree.

I would also point out at this time when everyone started moving to carbon sole's it was so they could gain market share, back then it was really just sidi vs carnac, and then north wave showed up ... my point sidi has been building pro bike shoes decades longer than anybody and probably know what they are doing. : )

That said I am pretty sure that the Bont shape that is basically clone of a foot make a lot more sense than sidi/everyone else's dress shoe : )

It's all trade offs....

C

[Liggero]

I can agree with you in some aspects, but it seems to me that sidi is a bit like campy, the best of the best for a lot of decades, great innovators, but they are like lost with the speed of current times. As I said, my next shoes will be sidi, my fourth one. But, It's very hard to me to get that innovation concept, when the mtb sole they already used in 2005, it's exactly the same as they use now (on the eagle and dominator middle range). The design of the sole is embarrasingly bad, it's designed to make you twist your ankle when walking over stones. Over ten years, and they still use the same bad sole. The inner sole is as bad as it gets, all other brands are using special footbeds, with different arch options or replaceable arch... Maybe they were the most innovative, not anymore. Still, I also appreciate on the contrary, that they don't sell BS, and when they make a modification, it is tested, it is better, and it is here to stay... It's a Leica kind of brand, not a gimmick brand like 90% of the current market trends. They also have middle sizes. durability is great, and they are comfortable after a few hundred miles... You know where you put your money, definitely, that is great. I just feel sad they don't really innovate that much lately. I also have a pair of sidi dragon 3 for mtb, and the sole it's not stiff enough yet. it's much better than their mid range sole, but... You gotta buy the Drako model to get a proper stiff sole, those are over 300€...

[Infin1ty]

I decided to try the new Bonts (Vaypor S) and will order them soon.
I have a very weird and strong Pronation (my kneecup looks the other way around), I have Ergo 3 but managed to actually stretch it enough by almost one size (less than a year).
Bont seems very promising, and the new Vaypor S's design looks cool.

Anyone knows how easy is it to clean the white Bont material? Considering going black/white instead of all white.

thanks!

[MichaelB]

I've just changed from my Sidi Pro 5 shoes to Bont Blitz.

The sidi's were about 6 years old and still going well (replaced heel pads twice and had to get new buckles/straps when the spring on one of the buckles snapped), but what really made me buy new shoes was that the Velcro was losing it's capacity to grip on the middle strap.

I couldn't find Sidi Kaos locally to try, so went with the Bont's as an experiment. Also, wanted to get away from straps, and to do that in Sidi was a bit out of my budget

I'll see how long they last !!! They do feel nice though, and I got the nice bright Neon yellow ones, so they do stick out a bit !!!

[martinSL]

SIDIs will last forever and this is their biggest problem. They no longer are snug and they after few years they look like crap. But seem to work. Well, they don't. Change your shoes every 15K miles or 3 years (all +/-) and get the new, snug, cool looking footwear.

Partially off topic - these days Gaerne are my absolute favorite.

[kgt]

The design of the sole is embarrasingly bad, it's designed to make you twist your ankle when walking over stones [...] The inner sole is as bad as it gets, all other brands are using special footbeds, with different arch options or replaceable arch... [...] I also have a pair of sidi dragon 3 for mtb, and the sole it's not stiff enough yet.

I don't agree on the innovation critique. How many shoes have a better heel support design than sidi? The inner sole is not something special but do you really need anything more? If you do you can always make custom footbeds (Why walk over stones btw?).
I also don't agree that riders choose their shoes according to their sponsoring. Many amateurs do prefer sidi also and that's for a reason.
I don't ever wear sidi (I used too) but I cannot but respect this company.

[jekyll man]

SIDIs will last forever and this is their biggest problem. They no longer are snug and they after few years they look like crap. But seem to work. Well, they don't. Change your shoes every 15K miles or 3 years (all +/-) and get the new, snug, cool looking footwear.

.

I have to agree with this.
Like everything, performance footwear deteriorates over time. You just don't notice it until you actually replace with something new.


I've got a pair of Bont vaypors, and fit wise they're okay. Build quality isn't as good as the Fizik's i've also got though, but probably on a par with my s-works (very different feel between all shoes though).

Whether i'd throw down for the expensive ones, i doubt it...

[Liggero]

SIDIs will last forever and this is their biggest problem. They no longer are snug and they after few years they look like crap. But seem to work. Well, they don't. Change your shoes every 15K miles or 3 years (all +/-) and get the new, snug, cool looking footwear.

Partially off topic - these days Gaerne are my absolute favorite.

This sounds actually very true. My Eagle 5 from 2006 still not broken, but you can feel how the sole is definitely not as stiff as it should. I use it for commuting now though, still so much better than platform pedals, and for commuting I don't plan to replace them, yet... although the lorica Dominator seems like perfect for north europe weather... hum...

[guyc]

Don't think that in terms of performance Sidis are inferior to Bonts. Just see how many racers choose to ride Sidi among the Peloton. IMHO the only reason not to get Sidi is if they don't fit you.

hehehe... Nobody choose anything in the pro-peloton, as it is extremely and painfully obvious. It's the brands who decide how much are they going to pay to which rider to wear their brand. They will ride properly with any shoe, and they have their custom orthotics of choice inside that shoe. Sure some riders will decide to use Sidi instead of other brand, just for getting some extra cash, and some riders will decide to loose some cash in order to use a brand they like. But that is about it. And another thing is for sure; pro-riders don't care about durability. Bont performance advantages are also painfully obvious, as they are much much lighter, and much much stiffer, due to the bath tub shape that everyone who has tested can verify, and also the smaller stack height. and thermo-deformable. Also, if you look at the pro peloton, again, if you exclude those big names that sidi will happily pay them, like Rodriguez, Froome, and a few other big fishes, then remove those other riders who have f****** clue at all about performance material (think valverde mentality and similar, they are a mayority in the peloton, these guys are all all ineducated wihtout almost any kind of technical education), then remove adam hansen who make his own shoes which are light years beyond any shoe we have ever seen, you have a ton of riders who wear Bont, and that is due to performance and comfort. Wiggins will be still riding bont's if it wasn't because bont can't pay as much as giro can pay. Also nobody in the pro-peloton is riding Lightweight wheels in regular stages, but that doesn't mean that those wheels perform worse, it means that they don't spend money on sponsorship... bont is the lightweight of shoes.

I might buy sidi for my next shoes, but they are heavy, not as stiff as the best, aesthetics are quite old fashion and they innovate very very very very very little. And as i´m not pro, i care more about durability than performance. But boy, if i was on the pro peloton, I can make a list of 20 reasons why not to choose SIDI. Even Specialized can make a product that performs better... Specialized!!!

Essentially a post full of crap.

Contact points are the one area where they care and know way more than you or I. Calling them uneducated smacks of arrogance.

Wiggins was wearing Giro before they started officially supplying him. That's just one example. And they care very much about durability. Their job depends on kit not failing.

[Liggero]

Don't think that in terms of performance Sidis are inferior to Bonts. Just see how many racers choose to ride Sidi among the Peloton. IMHO the only reason not to get Sidi is if they don't fit you.

hehehe... Nobody choose anything in the pro-peloton, as it is extremely and painfully obvious. It's the brands who decide how much are they going to pay to which rider to wear their brand. They will ride properly with any shoe, and they have their custom orthotics of choice inside that shoe. Sure some riders will decide to use Sidi instead of other brand, just for getting some extra cash, and some riders will decide to loose some cash in order to use a brand they like. But that is about it. And another thing is for sure; pro-riders don't care about durability. Bont performance advantages are also painfully obvious, as they are much much lighter, and much much stiffer, due to the bath tub shape that everyone who has tested can verify, and also the smaller stack height. and thermo-deformable. Also, if you look at the pro peloton, again, if you exclude those big names that sidi will happily pay them, like Rodriguez, Froome, and a few other big fishes, then remove those other riders who have f****** clue at all about performance material (think valverde mentality and similar, they are a mayority in the peloton, these guys are all all ineducated wihtout almost any kind of technical education), then remove adam hansen who make his own shoes which are light years beyond any shoe we have ever seen, you have a ton of riders who wear Bont, and that is due to performance and comfort. Wiggins will be still riding bont's if it wasn't because bont can't pay as much as giro can pay. Also nobody in the pro-peloton is riding Lightweight wheels in regular stages, but that doesn't mean that those wheels perform worse, it means that they don't spend money on sponsorship... bont is the lightweight of shoes.

I might buy sidi for my next shoes, but they are heavy, not as stiff as the best, aesthetics are quite old fashion and they innovate very very very very very little. And as i´m not pro, i care more about durability than performance. But boy, if i was on the pro peloton, I can make a list of 20 reasons why not to choose SIDI. Even Specialized can make a product that performs better... Specialized!!!

Essentially a post full of crap.

Contact points are the one area where they care and know way more than you or I. Calling them uneducated smacks of arrogance.

Wiggins was wearing Giro before they started officially supplying him. That's just one example. And they care very much about durability. Their job depends on kit not failing.

Wiggo used Bont's way before Giro, and everyone knows that. Go back to the pub with your dickhead buddies, Manchester United game almost started.