I’ve been nursing an old pair of high-quality boots along for several years now. They’re not riding boots—they’re hikers which I use at home a lot as well as carrying to various countries on various continents for riding rental bikes. In the event you keep fixing them yourselves, here are a couple of hints.
There’s contact cement, and then there’s contact cement. The best is solvent-based, a.k.a. “High VOC,”not latex, but better than that is “barge cement,” which is designed specifically for shoes. Contact cement in any form should be considered temporary (IMHO), and reinforced with a mechanical fix. Usually that means stitching, as you had done in CR. Stitch horizontally if the design of the outer sole allows, as well as vertically through whatever is solid. Recess the stitches so that they’re not exposed to abrasion. Lock stitch so that even if one area breaks the connected areas of stitching will remain effective.
“Shoe Goo” is another item worth knowing about. In the absence of Shoo Goo, I’ve used marine grade caulk with elasticity, adhesion, and waterproof qualities—Sikaflex is one brand, but there are others.
Lastly, I’ve resorted to wrapping with paracord on this trip. My boots have a lugged sole, so I pass the cord between lugs—again, it’s about protecting them from most abrasion. When lugs get in the way, I’ve cut grooves where I need them. Thin cording made with fibers stronger than mere nylon works well—Dyneema is one variety made for climbers—but no matter what you use it sure looks ugly. Duct tape was going to be my last resort, but I’m abandoning my boots here in Vientiane instead—the rubber materials in the sole and footbed are so thoroughly rotted that nothing’s going to hold for very long..
I know this doesn’t address your grievance with Sidi. Maybe it’s of use to someone, somewhere—or not. I got quite a few years out of these boots after they first started failing. At first I had them re-soled and repaired by a very highly regarded boot fitter in Seattle, which helped me discover a lot of the limitations of even the most expensive repairs. YMMV.
Mark
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