SIDI Shoe Lug Repair

SIDI's, add-ons, templates and cut leather pieces

When the lugs on my SIDI's wear out, I have added on and built them up using hard leather. A while back I took them into the local Shoe Repair place and they wanted around $45 to add on some of the lugs. I could buy some of their hard sole material for $35 a sheet. This stuff was really hard and looked like the original lug material. These shoes are still in nice shape after over 5 years, so I needed to do some repairs.

Out of my price range, so I'll do it myself. Also, I took my MTB PI shoes into a Vista shoe store 4 years ago and wanted some patches put on both shoes, over the small toe area, where it was bulging-out and wearing thin. They did the job and it looked like crap. He glued & sewed a big piece of vinyl over each side. FORGET IT! Awful workmanship for that money!

This stuff will stick anything, even your fingers!

First off had to remove the edges and rough file the lugs. Then I wiped them all down with alcohol. I rounded up some hard leather from several coasters Zaharah had lying around. Made some templates of the worn lugs. Traced them over on the leather. Cut them carefully with a X-Acto Knife. You have to use some really strong glue to hold the pieces on. Not Super Glue for sure. After a tip from Joe Morgan (Nytro Multisport), I used some Goop on both surfaces. Let it dry for 3 minutes. It's like Contact Cement, but thicker. Then it's time for the leather pieces and let it all dry for 24 hours or longer.

They work really well and add height to your soles near the clip-ins. It was quite hard to get them clipped in at first. No leg movement or side-to-side, but they loosened up after a 100 mile ride. After cleaning up the shoes, I polish them with Kiwi Heel & Edge Black Polish. Makes them nice and like-new shiny! Also adds a tough waterproof layer over the leather. This should last till next year! The money I saved will go to my rando bike-packing/dirt bike fund. Ya, right?

-randorides