I was converted to clipless pedals the moment I saw Big Bernard wearing them in the mid-eighties. I loved the secure-sounding click of the early Look system, though I was less fond of the peculiar Penguin-walk and continual plastic cleat replacement which went with it.
For a while, I converted to metal-SPD's and double-sided pedals for commuting and Look for racing and weekend riding, until the annoyance of two systems became too much and I binned the Look's for good.
Imagine my annoyance, then, when I discovered that Shimano had decided to replace the trusty old SPD with a new Look-style affair (I know this happened a while ago, but I wasn't paying attention, and I think I missed the memo), rebranding the originals as for mountain bike use only. Which meant that I couldn't buy new road shoes with SPD fittings. It's hard enough buying decent shoes for my (size 13 US) feet, but this was an added blow.
Which is why, after a prolonged hunt on e-Bay, I have taken delivery of the most extraordinary pieces of footwear I have ever seen. Brand new Sidi racing shoes, complete with all original fittings and packaging, for a ridiculously bargain price.
They date from, I would guess, the early nineties and their colour scheme is beyond description. The attached photo does not do justice to its true fluorescent and pastel horrors.
But I don't care, and when the weather improves I shall wear them with pride. My fashion sources (teenage daughters) tell me that the whole nineties' fluoro thing is big this year (see Assos's limited edition jerseys) and I will be briefly at the cutting edge of bike couture.
No comments:
Post a Comment