Sidi Atomus MTB Shoes

Sidi is perhaps better known for its road shoes, but the Sidi Atomus MTB Shoes mean business for the enduro crowd. They’re clipless and aimed at hard riding with a supportive midsole and an outsole engineered for shock absorption. The lack of half sizes and slightly narrow shaping may cause problems, however, and while the tread blocks are aggressive the sole’s compound is not the grippiest when you’re pushing back up.

Sidi Atomus MTB Shoes – Technical details

The upper features abrasion-resistant ripstop fabric, with plastic side panels to support the lace enclosure and add a bit more protection. The wide toebox gets full wraparound reinforcement for rock strikes, and the heel collar feels has a bit of reinforcement too. There’s a decent amount of padding, with a distinct ridge to prevent heel lift.

These use a five-hole lace closure, and it’s good to see a lace garage to stop the laces from flapping about.

The insole feels plush and offers 5mm of cushioning under the balls of your feet, plus Firmor support – a feature found on many of Sidi’s high-end road shoes – that’s said to enhance lateral stability, increase power transfer and stop your foot rolling outwards.

The impact absorbing sole features Sidi’s ‘Land on Bubble’ tech to soak up impacts, so it will be interesting to see if I can eke out enough radness to do them justice!

The outsole uses Sidi’s own Materiis sole compound (inspired, allegedly, by motocross), and the deep tread pattern is well spaced, although cut from a pretty rigid compound. There’s also a long cleat slot, which I like as I tend to run my cleats far back.

The Atomus is available across a broad range of sizes, but no half sizes, and they come in black, print black (tested), light sand and military.

Sidi Atomus Shoes – Performance

I’m a UK7 but pretty much always go up a half size to allow for my boxy feet. Having tried on both size 7 and 8, I eventually settled on the 7, even though they felt snug at the sides – especially from the midfoot through to the toe box. The UK8, unfortunately, just had too much heel lift due to the extra length. If your feet are anything like mine, the lack of half sizes may be an issue.

I’ve worn plenty of size 7 shoes that fit fine, but these are just a bit narrow and snug if your feet are broad. Plenty of other brands offer half sizes, including Five Ten, Shimano, Specialized, Fox, Giro and more, so perhaps Sidi could step up (ahem) its game here.

There’s a level of plushness to these shoes, and despite the snug fit they never created any pain when pedalling. I didn’t need to loosen the laces for more space. My feet felt a little constricted, but that never translated into pain or discomfort while on the bike.

There’s plenty of scope for cleat adjustment, so I could mount them a long way back for a good heel-down position, and there isn’t any interference when clipping in and out; there’s enough float to move around a little.

These are supportive. They feel awesome to pedal in as power transfer is good, and when descending on fast, rough trails there’s no pain, hot spots or foot fatigue. My feet felt planted and super-stable, without being the sole being too stiff. These more than earn their gravity credentials in my book and, although I wasn’t crushing it on the Vanta Line at Bikepark Wales, I pushed them as hard as I am able.

Although the deep tread works well to dig into the trail when pushing up, it’s certainly not super-grippy. They’re okay for short push-ups over roots and rocks, but I wouldn’t want to do any prolonged hike-a-bike in them. After a while off the bike they caused me a little discomfort at the outside edge of the balls of my feet.

They did a good job of keeping my feet dry on mucky, wet rides, but they don’t feel like they’ll breathe well enough come the summer months. They’re quite thick and bulky.

Finally, I really like their aesthetic. The paint splatter effect sits in well among the likes of RideConcepts and some of Fizik’s models, and overall they have a great finish. It all feels tough, too.

Sidi Atomus Shoes – Verdict

At £169, these are competitively priced, but the lack of half sizes may be a deal breaker for some. Ride Concepts’ enduro-focused Hellion Clip BOA shoes are a bit more at £190, but obviously you’re getting BOA dials there instead of laces. They balance comfort and stiffness well for some serious gravity action, and really impressed our reviewer.

Crankbrothers’ Mallet Trail BOA Clip-In Shoes may well top out your budget at £220, but they offer everything you’d expect from a top-end gravity shoe, and look darn good doing it. They impress in

The fit of these Sidis is the only thing that stands in the way of a higher score. They’re almost there, but not quite… half-sizes could make all the difference for those with non-standard feet. If you’re lucky, they’ll fit you perfectly, and if so you’ll be rewarded with really supportive, comfortable shoes that can take some proper trail abuse.