Price Paid:
$59.00
at internet discounter- Favorite Ride:
Shenandoah hills in March! Bike Setup:
Moderate priced, Ti framed D/A-Ultegra workhorse racebike that sees lots of miles and start lines, and a whole buncha other bikes too. I buy for value, fit and longevity and I ride stuff til it dies. These shoes fit the profile, get 'em if they fit... Summary:
Shoes fit well, and work for you or they don't. Although by now they're an "older" model, with no expensive carbon etc they're fine for USCF racing. Without a carbon sole, these went from the hottest shoes going to chopped liver when the market changed. So if you find a pair that fit you, grab them as they're likely to be highly discounted and you can be smart and avoid the hype of the newest ridiculous $200+ shoes. Mine have held together well for 2 seasons of training/racing, stiff enough but not too stiff paired with Ultegra road pedals, and are comfortable for my feet (relatively wide footbox up front and narrower heel). I think the shape might fit some women's feet well for this reason- women's cycling and bike shoes often fit me better than men's as I have moderately high arches and a triangular shaped foot. These seem to run a little large, my size 41's fit like 41.5's of some other brands, I'd probably like the fit of 40.5's a little better, but I bought these real cheap online, and they only had a couple of sizes. These would definitely feel large to someone with flat, small volume feet. I'm not normally too picky about shoes, I seem to get lucky most of the time, and a little big is OK for slightly heavier socks in cool weather or expansion in hot Summer weather. Anyway, DMT is a cyclist's company. They don't make skateboard, basketball, or running shoes. And hey, Jalabert seemed to do just fine in them! Or at least they paid him enough to smile despite the excruciating pain in his feet, who knows... Anyway, they won't help you miraculously win races, but they won't slow you down even a little bit. I prefer the 3 velcro straps to the ratchet/buckles other high end models have. These don't stretch, easy to adjust on the bell lap, and best of all, they don't pinch when you pull them tight for your sprint and they don't break right before your race starts like some buckles can! My only issue with the Chrono-X is that one of the wire loops for the top strap bent and came apart when the shoes were less than a month old. It was annoying, but I just replaced the wire with an old spoke bent into a rectangle and no problems since. It only happened on one loop, but DMT shoulda used a heavier gauge wire. I can make these real tight and still remain comfortable. Strengths:
3 non-stretch velcro straps, no buckles to break, stay tight, remain comfortable. Plenty stiff, but not too much, no hot spots. Weaknesses:
Wire loop bent and separated, wire too thin. But I fixed with an old spoke and pair of pliers, works fine and you can't even tell. Similar Products Used:
Lots of high end road race shoes, all bought on supersale somewhere, I'm self-righteously cheap- Specialized (similar fit to DMT), Northwave (fits smaller than DMTs), Diadora (fits shorter but wider toe box than DMT) Nike (fits narrower than DMT)I buy for value, fit and longevity and I ride stuff til it dies. These shoes fit the profile, get 'em if they fit...
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