The Sidi Dragon 5 Mega Mountain Bike Shoe offers the same features as the standard Dragon 5, but is built with Sidi's Mega last for a higher volume fit. The Mega fit is 4mm wider across the ball of the foot and has a higher instep and a wider heel cup to accommodate riders needing some extra room for their feet. The Dragon 5 Mega happens to be Sidi's top mountain bike offering that's available in the Mega fit, and is the descendant of the highly-successful Dragon 4 Mega. The new Dragon 5 Mega sees revised uppers, a more breathable tongue, a new heel cup, and a sleeker Soft Instep Closure Strap. The SRS Carbon Composite sole remains the same though, providing the stiffness you need for putting power to the pedals but with a bit of engineered flex that makes these shoes more comfortable to walk in than Sidi's top-tier shoes with a full carbon sole. This makes the Dragon 5 Mega better-suited to adventurous riding that may require dismounts, as well as cyclocross racing.
The Dragon 5 Mega shoes are constructed using Sidi's Techpro Microfiber uppers—an eco-friendly synthetic leather that's incredibly durable, lightweight, water-resistant, and offers comfortable support for your foot. The uppers are also mated to a redesigned heel cup that improves heel retention while saving weight over the previous version, as well as a new tongue that's more ventilated to improve the shoe's breathability. The uppers come in new matte colorways, and feature a reinforced toe guard to protect against rock strikes.
Additional updates include the Soft Instep 4 Closure System, which uses a sleeker and lighter upper strap that's adjustable side to side so you can center it across the highest part of your foot. The strap fastens down using Sidi's Tecno-3 Push Dial, letting you make micro-adjustments in order to dial in the perfect tension for this critical area. An additional Tecno-3 dial below the strap allows further adjustments, and paired with the padded tongue provides exceptional comfort for the top of your foot. The toe box is adjustable as well using a High Security hook-and-loop strap.
Of all the technologies Sidi built into the Dragon 5 Mega in order to help it withstand on-trail abuse, the Sole Replacement System (the SRS in SRS Carbon Composite sole) may be our favorite. SRS is simply the ability to replace the lugs and guard plates on the outsole, refreshing the shoe's grip so they can continue to last season after season. The SRS system also accommodates two toe spikes for extra traction when conditions are especially slick.