French rider needed a bike change @ U23 Worlds. Did you see it?
This is why you have a CX bike, and practice dismount/remount once in a while!
Diadora ProRacer 3 review...
First up was the seat height issue. It's not a big, fat, hairy deal to figure out what your seat height should be when you get new shoes.
If you get the exact same pair of shoes, nothing changes.
If you get the new version of your previous shoes, take the time to make sure your fit stays the same.
These PR3s have a full carbon sole that is VERY thin, thus, my seat height needed to be lower.
Seeing as the Ridley is a seatmast bike, and changes to the saddle height do not come quickly, nor easily, I opted to dial the new kicks in while riding the Salsa. Not an issue, as the cockpit measurements are exactly the same between the two bikes. Once the correct height was ascertained, the numbers just got transferred over.
Fortunately, I only need to lower the saddle 5mm...a nice, round number, which also happened to be one of the thicknesses of spacers available to go under the seatcap on the Helium. The 10mm spacer got pulled, and a 5mm went in...voila!
I then dropped the stem 5mm to keep everything hunky dory.
As I said, the soles are full carbon, and dead-ass flat. None of the tilted sole Specialized crap. This is nice when you have particular fit issues, as I do. Just a few rides of experimenting with some wedges under my cleats, and under my insoles, and they were dialed.
Speaking of cleats, the soles are drilled in the standard three hole configuration, which means pretty much every cleat/pedal system will work out of the box. Well, except Speedplay, and all you need there is the three hole to four hole adapter plate. Remember though, this ADDS stack height, so you'll need to RAISE your saddle, and likely scootch it forward a bit, b/c when you go up, you go back too!
Now, onto the shoe itself...
The PR3 is light, even considering the buckle. The weight difference between this shoe, and my first generation PR is appreciable. I attribute this to the full carbon sole, which the original PRs did not have.
The straps haven't changed much, if at all, from the first gen shoe. The buckle is simple, easy to use, and highly adjustable. The velcro...well, it's velcro for Pete's sake.
The shoes are somewhere in the medium fit area. If you have narrow feet, they'll likely work. Wide feet...maybe not so much. They are built on the same last as the ProTrail Carbon mountain shoes, which I also ride, so I pretty much knew what I was getting.
The sizing is true. I wear a 46 Diadora across the board, and a 11.5 Nike sport shoe.
As for volume, there's plenty for whatever insole you may need. Diadoras seems to stretch and mold themselves to your foot as well, which makes for a comfy shoe.
That thin carbon sole I mentioned? Yeah, it's farging stiff! Waaay stiffer than my old first gen shoes.
The also have a really nice, and replaceable, heel pad, so you don't sound like a large draft horse walking to the drink cooler at your store stop! The buckle and strap are also replaceable, should the need arise.
I've strayed from the herd a few times, and tried other shoes, but always come back to Diadora because they fit, and they look the part. And to be honest, I think the quality of the materials is higher than most other manufacturers, adding to the lifespan of the shoe.
My old PRs are 5 or 6 years old, and still look, and fit, just fine. Well, they're looking pretty beat these days, but they're still operational.
Now for the big question...the cost. Well, they ain't inexpensive! Full metal retail is $439. Fortunately, I got the super-bro deal from my boys @ RealCyclist, and paid considerably less. Even at retail though, it's not a bad deal. If they last 4 seasons, they only cost you $110 a year, and let's be honest, that's pretty minimal considering the cash we all drop on other bike stuff.
The new, 2013 shoes are coming down the pipeline, so if you know where to look, you can get them for less.
Okay...time for some errands...
The WeCola ride leaves at 6 now...
Enjoy your Tuesday!
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