Sidi Dragon 2 SRS Carbon Shoes Pro Review - By Russell Clark
- Carbon Sole Replacement System (SRS), a pure carbon insert reaching from the heel to the toe
- Patented Techno II buckle system and Caliper buckle
- Sizes - 39 to 48
- MSRP - $429
My name is Russell Clark. I’m an avid cyclist who dabbles a bit in competitive road cycling and cyclocross racing. Road cycling is a pretty big sport in Europe, and has really gained notoriety in the last decade with stellar performances by a handful of American riders. Cyclocross, on the other hand, is not as popular. I’d say it’s followed by more of what I call ‘the sub-culture of cycling. Cyclocross is a sport which transcended from more of an off-season training regime for professional road cyclists to stay in ‘cycling shape’ during the fall and winter months. In modern-day cyclocross racing, individuals are often challenged by the cold and wet elements of fall & winter. Additionally, courses are designed to challenge the riders’ skill level, often requiring them to dismount, run over/jump obstacles, and remount the machine to carry forward.
The demands of a competitive cyclocross racer are such that his or her shoe must be one that is stable, be compliant enough for the running/jumping bit, offer good traction, and be stiff enough to efficiently transfer the pedal power to forward motion. In my experience, Sidi has been one of the leaders and most highly sought-after shoes for this sport: Cyclocross.
During the past 3 months, I have been testing a pair of “mountain” shoes made by Sidi. This shoe, the Dragon 2 SRS Carbon was the shoe provided by Sidi for me to test. Mountain bike shoes are, for the most part, synonymous with cyclocross shoes. The shoe need for both sports are in parallel, with the added need for running & jumping of barriers, in cyclocross. Now, 3 months might seem like a long time to acquire data, but all weather & terrain conditions were considered…and only recently came to my disposal. My first few rides with the Dragon 2’s were short ones. Once the cleat position was dialed and the 2nd foot bed added, I was ready to venture further than the local trails. I think it took about 4-5 rides for the Dragon 2’s to break-in for me. As I have a low instep, it was necessary for me to add a 2nd foot bed to the shoe for proper fit. Once this was done, the shoe fit perfectly.
