Australian Cycling Forums - Bicycles Network Australia

It has come time to upgrade from my trusty entry level Specialized road shoes.
I know they're cheaper online but I want to try and buy shoes in Sydney so they fit.
I'm particularly interested in Sidi, but any other recommendations and where to go for a good range and reasonable price?
Budget around $300 or so. City, Inner West and East location.
Cheers,
Peter

bike bug at north sydney.. i have a big foot (size 48) and they had 15 pairs to try on. i settled on some DMT's!!

Cheers!
Sounds good, i really want to try a variety to see what the best fit is, and i have a wide foot.

cell bikes in annandale has a decent range of shimano and sidi. the staff didnt seem to know a lot, but the kit was there if you know what you are after.

humanbeing wrote:Cheers!
Sounds good, i really want to try a variety to see what the best fit is, and i have a wide foot.

they have the biggest range of shimano, sidi, DMT and a few other brands i have seen..

If you have a wide foot, try Specialized, Bont and the new LGs ..

i found the bonts to be great fitting shoes and i have a set as a backup shoes..

I currently wear Bonts - awesome shoes, just take a while to get bedded in..

george-bob wrote:cell bikes in annandale has a decent range of shimano and sidi. the staff didnt seem to know a lot, but the kit was there if you know what you are after.

Depends on who you talk to in there. I find Tank and John the best for advice.

Have a look at Bicycle Garage and Ashfield Cycles as well.

Thanks guys this is great!
Cell is not far from me so easy to check out.
Who stocks Bont? Research suggests they might be hard to come by in a LBS.
Anyone been to Wooly's Wheels in Paddington? Their site suggests a fair range of Sidi, including the Mega for wide feet at reasonable prices.
I might give them a bell.
Thanks again,
Peter

I don't like to give negative reviews, but I was pissed at having driven to North Sydney to BB, for a waste of my time.

After having told the guy I was ready to drop $400+ on a pair of Sidis, he sat me down and I got my first pair to try. Took all of 30 seconds to see they didn't fit. Meanwhile, someone he knew walked in and he went for a chat - no prob, I will wait.

After the chat, he came back and gave me another pair to try. I was trying to explain what I wanted and for what use they'd be put. With him staring around the store, I was beginning to gather that there wasn't a whole lot of interest on his part.

Then after the third pair he left me to try (none of which corresponded to what I asked for - "just try them on for size"), he leaves me for a walk-in who wanted to know everything there was to know about frame pumps.

Twenty mins later (no exaggeration), the guy doesn't buy a pump and leaves, as he was not able to get one for "less than 10 bucks".

my friendly assistant sees me still patiently waiting, but decides to go to a far more interesting young group of three, who appear be his friends... Judging by their talk of what they were going to get up to that night.

At that point, I quietly take my things, still not managing to get his attention, I walked out - he didn't even notice - and there was a wasted trip and lesson learned never to set foot in there again.

I wanted to buy the damn shoes, had the cash and my old shoes with me, for comparison fit - and got stuff all for my trouble. I'm all for giving people a break and understanding they can all have "off days", however, i got the feeling that his heart just wasn't in it with me...

I don't want to buy them online, I want to try them on and don't mind paying a little more for "service".

Yes I've had several frustrating service experiences in bicycle shops.
But luckily the good out weighs the bad

dale79 wrote:i have a big foot (size 48) and they had 15 pairs to try on. i settled on some DMT's!!

size 48 isn't big - it's normal isn't it? well i think so

I'm really pissed. I'm trying to find wide shoes, I really wanted to try out the Bont A3's, but the Australian distributor won't even respond to emails. I've managed to find some Shimano's in wide from the U.K., which I'll take a risk on, but it pisses me off that unless you are 'average', the retailers won't even try. Clothing and shoes are the things I really try and buy locally, because that's what will keep the LBS's alive... but customer service is definitely not high on the list of priorities for retailers or distributors in Australia.

Twiz, I might be able to help.

Sent from my not iDevice using Tapatalk 2

I can't find any Sydney shops that admit to stocking Bont.
Wiggle have in stock my size (according to the Bont size chart) A1 shoes for $250.
Arrrgggh!
Cheers,
Peter

I used the RED distribution list to find the old retailers, and assumed that GKA would have retained them.

Try Jet Cycles on Clarence st as well as Cyclery on the same street. I am fairly sure both stock Bont.

Cheers, going to visit CBD bike stores Saturday. However Clarence St Cyclery has to be the most expensive bike shop in Sydney

humanbeing wrote:Cheers, going to visit CBD bike stores Saturday. However Clarence St Cyclery has to be the most expensive bike shop in Sydney

Just Sydney? I think you'd be able to expand that statement quite considerably!

goneriding wrote:

humanbeing wrote:Cheers, going to visit CBD bike stores Saturday. However Clarence St Cyclery has to be the most expensive bike shop in Sydney

Just Sydney? I think you'd be able to expand that statement quite considerably!

I think you're right.
Continental GP4000s $90 each
Rent must be expensive.

twizzle wrote:I'm really pissed. I'm trying to find wide shoes, I really wanted to try out the Bont A3's, but the Australian distributor won't even respond to emails. I've managed to find some Shimano's in wide from the U.K., which I'll take a risk on, but it pisses me off that unless you are 'average', the retailers won't even try.

The irony of all this is that Australians on average have wider feet than Europeans. The ski boot distributors realized this years ago and imported the wider fitting designs.

In bike shoes, Sidi's are a very narrow fit. They make a wider "Mega" range but its rare to find these in stock in a B&M store.

And they wonder why everyone's buying off c r c and Wiggle.

twizzle wrote:... but customer service is definitely not high on the list of priorities for retailers or distributors in Australia.

The way that some carried on, you really wouldn't know they were doing it tough in an uncertain retail environment.

Fortunately, there are some good 'uns around, that keep us coming back.

I've spoken to GKA *Bont distro* a week or two ago, and they said that Renegade Cycles in Lane Cove and Cheeky Transport in Randwick were the ticket. They also suggested Clarence St Cyclery but a call to the store confirmed that they were getting out of them. Renegade said they had sizes 42 up? I think it's just about at a point where a trip to Kingsgrove to visit the Factory might be a better plan.

It's feeling like there is likely 1-2 shops in Sydney that could realistically sell what you want if it's a 300+ item.

Xplora wrote:I've spoken to GKA *Bont distro* a week or two ago, and they said that Renegade Cycles in Lane Cove and Cheeky Transport in Randwick were the ticket. They also suggested Clarence St Cyclery but a call to the store confirmed that they were getting out of them. Renegade said they had sizes 42 up? I think it's just about at a point where a trip to Kingsgrove to visit the Factory might be a better plan.

It's feeling like there is likely 1-2 shops in Sydney that could realistically sell what you want if it's a 300+ item.

Thanks for that, is a trip to the factory a realistic idea?
Going to call, Cheeky Monkey in Randwick, Renegade and Bont.