Gone are the days of awkwardly clanking your way into a café wearing clunky SPD bike shoes, spandex pants and oversize windbreakers. The days of dorky bike gear are over, and in their place, a highly stylized selection of urban bike wear, almost indistinguishable from the highly stylized street wear. And lucky for us, San Francisco is leading the way in hip new gear. Among the cadre of cool local bike designers are the husband-and-wife duo of DZR shoes.

DZR is putting out some sweet kicks. These stiff-soled bike shoes are great for flat pedal touring or urban riding. And if you’re a roadie or more aggressive rider, they’re SPD cleat compatible for any type of pedal (Shimano, Crank Brothers, Time, etc). But the beauty of the DZR line is that they aren’t just bike shoes that look like sneakers; they’re bike shoes that look like cool sneakers—like sneakers you’d actually wear, even if they didn’t have the fancy tuck-a-way component for your cleats.

For a fledgling company (they’re just over a year old), DZR already have an impressive line of shoes—and even more coming in the spring. I found the all-leather Kowloon shoes the most comfy and ready to wear. But I would easily sport any of the ladies line, which, like the men’s shoes are muted colors and simple patterns. Thank you, DZR, for making women’s shoes without purple cursive writing or flowers.

My only complaint is that removing the rubber piece to throw your cleats in is an awkward, somewhat dangerous undertaking involving a razor blade and a lot of concentration. I recommend asking the bike shop where you get them to help you cut it out. The DZR line is sold at Huckleberry Bicycles, Mission Workshop and through DZR’s website.

So grab a pair of these babies, pedal (clipped or not) to your favorite café and rejoice in knowing that you’ll never have to geek out in bike gear again…or at least that you have a choice. All hail the new era of biking!