David Herbold is a long-time fixture at the raucous community that is DrunkCylist.com (known there simply as Gnome). When he is not moderating the mayhem, you’ll find Dave decompressing on epic all-day mountain bike voyages that take him all over Northern Arizona. Dave’s experiences as a bicycle racer, mechanic and all-around cycling enthusiast shine through in everything he does from transporting his son around town on the back of his Xtracycle to continuing to put in impressive results in our regional endurance and 24 hour races.
With a due date three weeks down the road, 12 weeks later my experience rocking a pair of DZR Strasse sneakers has been top notch. Why do they even matter? Because this set of DZR’s is a casual vans-style unit which also clips into clipless pedal systems.
The concept is nothing new. RaceFace produced a limited run of clipless Fluevogs in the late 90’s. I owned a pair; hardly wore them saving for the swank affairs. Unfortunately, their souls, so rigid, broke in half after a short run. Then, of course, there was the ever-present Shimano clip-in sandal. A unit that screams uber bike geek. A smattering of others have provided variations on the theme as well. Now, with the DZR, things have changed as much as they have stayed the same.
The hi-top hits on laid back casual style and whisper “beer ride” throughout the day.
In the weeks that I have been rocking the shoes, they’ve worked great both on and off the bike. This includes all elements of my daily life; grocery shopping, bar runs, bank robbery, and trips to the dog-park or the daycare. Instead of slipping around in race shoes, the DZR’s were comfy and stable. The cleat is recessed enough that no tap dancing occurs on the grocery store floor.
Performance on the bike was a good as a lace-up can be expected to run. In that, there was a bit of foot float. If you don’t like that, you may have to run one smaller size than standard. As well, for all day use, the shoes are a bit too stiff. I’m unsure of why this is. It could be due to DZR wanting more cycling performance or it could be a necessity of a clipless design. Either way, it hardly matters unless you’re on your feel full time.
Last notch in the bedpost for DZR is that these shoes have an incognito reflective heel that glows bright in car headlights. That is a subtle yet top-notch detail to include in a pair of casual cycling shoes.
Construction is on par with any Vans-style shoe I’ve seen… including Vans themselves. Durable, heavy glue. The style is also top notch, IMO. One could rock these for a Tweed Ride, or for toe protection at the Double Down and nobody will know that your geek-check is rocking close to eleven. That is, unless you show them the bottom of your foot. Either way, these units rock.
