Sidi Dust MTB review

Sidi’s Dust MTB shoes are designed for both mountain biking and gravel riding, quite the broad spectrum for a pair of shoes to fill.

They’re positioned above Sidi’s MTB Gravel Shoes on the brand’s gravel spectrum but sit below the carbon-soled Tiger 2, Drako 2 and Dragon 5 in the mountain bike shoe range.

And the result? Sidi has largely delivered and the Dust MTB performs excellently on all terrain, although it’s pricey and a second closure dial might further improve the fit.

Sidi Dust MTB shoe construction

You can tell the Dust MTB is a Sidi shoe straightaway and, as you’d expect with the Italian brand, the shoe packs in plenty of well thought-out features.

The Dust MTB’s outer is constructed from a three-layer Politex material, claimed to be durable and abrasion-resistant. Mesh panels and strategically placed perforations ensure your feet don’t overheat on warmer days.

There isn’t any cat’s tongue material on the inside of the shoe, which can be effective in preventing heel lift.

The toe section is rubberised with a golf-ball like texture to protect the shoe against impacts or debris.

A single Tecno-3 dial closes the shoe and runs across its length. The proprietary dial is intuitive to use – simply lift the lever of the dial up and twist it to tighten the shoe. To release, press on the two spring-loaded release buttons while twisting the dial in the opposite direction.

The dials are serviceable and replaceable. It’s a wise idea to keep them clean because from experience, the dials can be susceptible to jamming when dirt and debris inevitably work their way into them.

The Dust MTB features an integrated heel cup, which is reinforced to avoid deforming and flexing under effort. There is a reflective insert at the base of the heel cup to ensure you're seen in darker conditions.

The Dust MTBs are finished with Sidi’s MTB SR17 sole. This is a nylon sole with polyurethane inserts and Sidi claims it allows for good grip, mud clearance and stability.

The toe tread is also replaceable and Sidi says you can fit studs if you wish.

Although you may expect a carbon sole for the £260 asking price, Sidi claims the nylon sole “represents the ultimate result in terms of pedalling stiffness and flexion for walking”.

Speaking to BikeRadar, the brand says unlike its carbon-soled mountain bike shoes, it didn’t want to market this shoe specifically towards cross-country. Sidi says it's also designed for downcountry, where you need a little extra comfort.

The brand says it also wanted to balance the need to walk or run in the shoes with still performing well when pedalling. Carbon-soled shoes, on the other hand, almost always sacrifice comfort when off the bike.

The shoes on test are in the Deep Teal colourway. They're also available in Rust/Black and Black/Black.

I weighed my size-45 sample in at 360g each.

Sidi Dust MTB shoe sizing and fit

My feet are reasonably wide with a narrow heel, and I tend to take a size 45 in most brands, up-sizing to a 45.5/46 for Sidi.

I settled for a 45.5 on the Dust MTBs and the fit was exemplary, with its narrower heel cup and wider toe box.

The shoe is available in a wide range of sizes, from 38 to 48, with half sizes throughout, other than a 47.5 option. It’s worth clarifying that the sole length for a whole size (ie. 45 and 45.5) is the same, however the upper on the half size has more fabric to allow larger volume for width and height.

Sidi doesn’t offer its ‘Mega’ variant in these shoes for those with extra-wide feet.

The shoes fitted me almost perfectly, with the toe box nice and roomy. I could have done with the heel cup being a hair tighter, but I didn’t experience any heel slippage in testing.

Some of Sidi’s higher-end shoes feature the ‘Adjustable Heel Retention Device’ and this could have been a good addition to enable minute adjustment.

As with all cycling shoes, sizing and fit will, to a certain extent, come down to the shape of your feet and personal preference. As a result, we’d highly recommend trying shoes on for size before purchasing.

Sidi Dust MTB performance

I tested the Sidi Dust shoes in a variety of weather conditions and cycling genres. Temperatures ranged from 3°C to 23°C and they were tested on Shimano XT M8000 pedals

The shoes were tested predominantly on a Niner RLT 9 RDO gravel bike on a mix of shorter evening rides, through to three to four hour-plus escapades and one seven-hour epic.

They were also tested on a variety of mountain bike rides, from boggy, steep trails on the outskirts of Bath in the south west of England, through to trail centres at Cwmcarn and Peaslake.

The Dust MTB proved an excellent performer and felt very comfortable, no matter the ride length.

I replicated my cleat position from my other off-road shoes and got both sides spot-on straightaway, setting them reasonably rearward. I didn’t have any issues with hotspots during any of my initial rides.

The first ride the Dust MTBs were subjected to was a muddy and boggy three-hour mountain bike ride and the shoes were comfortable from the off.

The shoes are easy to walk in and I didn’t experience any heel slippage. I recently reviewed the Sidi Zero Gore 2 winter shoes in a smaller size 45 and experienced this issue with them.

Ventilation seems to be excellent, although 23 degrees is hardly hot enough to fully test their upper limit.

I detected some flex from the nylon sole on more powerful efforts, but the shoes were sturdy enough and I don’t think this is detrimental to their performance.

A carbon sole doesn’t necessarily provide any more comfort and I’d rather have comfort over sheer performance. These shoes are ideal for longer sojourns where a carbon sole might be too rigid.

The single Tecno-3 dial is a mis-step though and I had to tighten it right to its very limit to get the shoes to fit comfortably. Having a second dial would better distribute the load and if you happened to break one of the dials, you could theoretically rely on the second one.

Also at £260, the Dust MTB is very expensive, especially when compared to its rivals – carbon-soled shoes rule the roost at this price point. That said, you are paying for the ability to replace some of the parts when they wear out, which somewhat justifies a premium price but even so, it’s a chunk of change.

I really admired the gloss Deep Teal colourway and the shoe was easy to keep clean, especially when laden with winter slop.

Sidi Dust MTB bottom line

The Sidi Dust MTBs are excellent multi-purpose shoes that are particularly comfortable over long distances. A second Tecno-3 dial would be a winning update, enabling you to further dial in the fit.

Perhaps Sidi is onto something by sticking with a nylon sole for what are decidedly performance shoes.