Me and my concubines

On Friday, I got a package at work from a little company called DZR. DZR specializes in making SPD compatible shoes with much more everyday feel. I had seen there video for the Concubine model a few months back and since I've been hooked.

I had to have them.

Especially given my struggles with my last pair of casual 'cycling' shoes.

I haven't been able to get these out on a ride yet so this will serve as a first impression after wearing them for the last 4 days.

Walkable? Yes, very. The toebox of the shoe is a bit stiffer but still allows for natural flex to occur when walking around [it will be interesting to see how attribute feels when clipped in]. Initially when walking around in them I could feel that the toebox was slightly higher in elevation compared to the heel. The first thought was I would need to purchase different insole as to not notice this but after having them on for the full day, I no longer notice this.

Cleat Install? I had flashbacks to my shop days and installing countless cleats into Shimano shoes that required cutting out of the sole to expose the plate. Shimano and some of the other bigger names have this dialed. just enough rubber there to hold in place but not enough for you to feel like if the blade slips you might impale yourself. Needless to say, DZR has a little more rubber there requiring a little bit more elbow grease. Which did not bother me, I would only recommend to other to have a flat-head screw driver handy and as soon as you get one side cut to then slip the screwdriver in and pry up a little. Doing so seemed to aid a bit and make this process go much faster.

Click-clack? Nope not our friends over on NPR. But referring to whether you can hear, feel, or sense the cleat in the shoe when walking around. Nope, not at all. It's pretty stellar. Thus making this shoe much more appealing to use as a commuter shoe, not requiring carrying or storing another shoe at work to change into.

Velcro? Yep. I've joked with friends that these are now my adult velcro shoes. They help to firm and settle your foot into place, I haven't experienced any heal slop while walking around in them.

Clipping in? Haven't 'officially' done so yet. I have installed some new Crank Brothers race cleats into them but with the recent dump of snow, I haven't been able to get out on the bike to try them out. I did play around with them on a pedal on a bike in my studio which it had no problem clipping into the normal Eggbeater, my only wonder is how they might respond with some thing with a platform, like the Mallet, which I plan on running on Red 2.0.

Yes, you read that right, Red 2.0. She's in another transition. More on that later.

Overall, I'm supper excited for these shoes. I've even had friends notice the shoes and want the shoes simply like how the look not knowing that they were dual purpose. Some actually thought they were the Puma's that look remarkably similar.