This article was produced in collaboration with Sidi and was published in Issue 138 of Rouleur
Adjustable cleats. Carbon fibre soles. A dial-based lacing system. All are things that cyclists, both on and off-road, have come to expect on a premium pair of shoes. And it’s the pioneering Italian producer SIDI that we have to thank for their introduction.
Founded in 1960 by Dino Signori, SIDI – which takes its name from the first two letters of his surname and forename – initially focused on hiking and motorcycling before entering another two-wheeled world in 1970.
A passionate racer in his youth, Signori was keen to fix the issues cyclists faced in the footwear department. He didn’t take long to make an impression, and his adjustable shoe-plate fixing system from 1973 – a precursor to today’s adjustable cleats – enabled riders to alter the positioning of their feet on the pedal, aiding comfort and ultimately performance.
Signori was just getting started. His company would become renowned for its groundbreaking advancements in cycling and motorcycle footwear, which are still designed, refined and assembled on the construction line in its factory in Maser, a small commune located near the foothills of the Dolomites and northwest of Treviso. Athletes were always the focal point, and SIDI built up quite the palmarès – Bernard Hinault, Miguel Indurain, Chris Froome and Paolo Bettini all wore the Italian manufacturer’s products as they powered their way to Grand Tour and Classics victories.
Soul searching
It was these advancements, and its constant drive for rider-focused improvements, that were at the forefront of the company’s rebranding. “Our main idea was to respect and maintain what SIDI has always been,” says Massimiliano Mirabella, SIDI’s chief marketing officer. “The story of SIDI is deeply rooted in being a brand that innovates and one that has made leaps in the amount of performance that riders could get.”
Mirabella admits that the continuous flow of innovation slowed during the last decade as Signori entered his eighth decade, but there has been a revolution in its offering since SIDI was acquired by the investment holding company Italmobiliare S.p.A. in December 2022.
“We’ve launched more than 10 new models of shoes and aren’t finished. We’re going full gas, covering segments that we didn’t have, such as winter and gravel shoes, redoing segments that we own, and also filling up areas of a collection that were missing like our €200 entry-level Prima range.”
The rebrand is a culmination of this re-energised approach, and a sign that its pioneering spirit is back. “Over the last five years, there has been a trend in which brands want to be completely impersonal, but we wanted our brand to bleed what SIDI is.”
Its ethos can be seen in the ‘S’ of the new graphic identity. Split in two horizontally, the top half has a hook-like design, while the bottom is streamlined and smooth.
“It shows the two souls of SIDI,” says Mirabella. “The top is like the tread of an off-road tyre – that’s mountain biking but also motocross because we are the leading brand in the world for boots. The other is slick and minimal, and represents everything that happens on the road, which is the huge history that SIDI has in cycling, but also its presence in motorcycling – MotoGP and World Superbike – over its lifetime.”
The new look will start to trickle down to its existing collection, but this revamped SIDI is no longer content to rely on its 65-year heritage – it wants to pioneer once more. “It doesn’t necessarily mean that every year you have a breakthrough innovation because that doesn’t happen overnight,” says Mirabella. “You also need to have a new development that runs parallel.”
Silver bullet
The new Shot 3 is firmly in the breakthrough channel and embodies SIDI’s constant pursuit of athlete-led performance gains. The brand’s premium race shoe was prioritised, and UAE Team Emirates’ Mexican rider Isaac del Toro was brought on board to provide invaluable insight and feedback. “He fits our brand soul perfectly because he’s really dedicated, determined and down-to-earth,” says Mirabella.
The aim was not to make a shoe that was just a simple update, with a new logo and colourways.
“Everything is designed to channel watts and power, so the first thing we started with is the sole,” Mirabella continues. The new release sees the heel and sole made from a single carbon piece, called the Duo-Fit carbon chassis, which allows for improved energy transfer. The stack has also been lowered to offer better biomechanics for professional riders’ central pedal positioning.
The Shot 3 is also the first release to benefit from a reimagining of its proprietary dial system, first launched in 1988. “We wanted to bring back our philosophy of the dial system,” says Mirabella, who adds that SIDI’s dials are the preferred choice of NASA for its spacesuits because of their tension and strength.
The result is the NUUN 001C dials. Two remain but have been made smaller to aid aerodynamics. Both feature a pop-up aluminium lever to allow for higher and more precise tension, but its squared-off edges enable fine-tuning when not popped up – ideal for when wearing aero overshoes. The cable, previously made from Dyneema – the planet’s strongest fibre – has been replaced with SIDI’s own improved iteration, Tractus, which is Latin for traction and strength.
The dials retain the Shot’s signature positioning on the tongue, keeping the outer and inner sides of the shoe’s monocoque, microfibre uppers clutter and turbulence-free, and the fastenings out of harm’s way of the cut-and-thrust nature of racing in a professional peloton.
Elsewhere, features like the heel adjuster also remain, but have been refined – the solution to heel slip now modifiable on the go with your finger, rather than a screwdriver like before.
Finished with a high-density memory footbed and extra rubber at the toe and heel to make walking comfortable, the Shot 3 shows that SIDI have left no stone unturned – and it is a shot across the bows of the premium cycling shoe market.
See sidi.com for more details.
