Platform shoes for Fred Flintstone?

[Jeffsy29]

I'm a 10.5 EE-EEEE in dress shoes depending on the brand. I've had good luck with Sidi Dominator Mega for the a cleated road shoe, but having little luck with platform mtb shoes.

Currently wearing FiveTen Freeriders as the 'least uncomfortable', but they're not ideal. That thick tongue drives me nuts too. The Freerider Pro was narrower toe box, could barely get my foot in. Same with
Ride Concepts Livewire.

Does anyone have some good recommendations that would be as stiff and sticky (or close) to the 5*10 Freerider, but more roomy with a thinner tongue?

 

[urastus]

Looking myself - have you found anything? I've read that giro are pretty wide; the few I've read reviews on lack the grip of the five tens

 

[Gary]

have you thought about cutting the padding out the tongue?

 

[Darren66]

 

[GrahamPaul]

View attachment 36505

You don't have acacia thorns in your woods, then...?

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[Darren66]

You don't have acacia thorns in your woods, then...?

Acacia tree thorns: Más de 7795 fotos de stock con licencia libres de regalías | Shutterstock

Descubre Acacia tree thorns imágenes de stock en HD y millones de otras fotos de stock, objetos en 3D, ilustraciones y vectores libres de regalías en la colección de Shutterstock. Se agregan miles de imágenes nuevas de alta calidad todos los días.

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Thankfully, not in the UK
Nettles and Brambles are about as bad as it gets...

 

[KeithR]

Thankfully, not in the UK
Nettles and Brambles are about as bad as it gets...

Sloe/Blackthorn thorns aren't much fun - I had one over two inches long go right though my foot from bottom to top, a few years back.

 

[Jeffsy29]

Looking myself - have you found anything? I've read that giro are pretty wide; the few I've read reviews on lack the grip of the five tens

@urastus. I ordered some BONTRAGER FLATLINE. They haven’t shipped yet but I’ll let you know when I’m able to try them out.

 

[#lazy]

I’ve used 5.10 freeriders , great grip but soles don’t last . Freerider elc with the lace flap , have less grip but soles last longer !
Also have some Shimano gr9 which have goodish grip but are light , wide at the toes and are by far the comfiest Mtb shoe I’ve tried plus cheaper !

 

[urastus]

I’ve used 5.10 freeriders , great grip but soles don’t last . Freerider elc with the lace flap , have less grip but soles last longer !
Also have some Shimano gr9 which have goodish grip but are light , wide at the toes and are by far the comfiest Mtb shoe I’ve tried plus cheaper !

Thanks for the heads up and concise reviews

 

[urastus]

Well, I've finished my own researching and settled on Ride Concepts Powerline. They get pretty good reviews as being better made and longer lasting than five tens; not quite as grippy but close. Also big toe box area and a fair bit of protection including inside ankle. They also have gusseted tongues, which I like. I hope they fit, and I went for the red, which matches my bike. I think the colour will mute down a bit with a life time coating of dust / mud that will happen after the first ride. I'll return here with my thoughts when I have some experience with them. Another review. I also pay as much attention to the comments on reviews - there's often more insight there; kind of similar to forums.

 

[AWB]

A topic I am very much interested in. I have very wide feet and even if I find shoes wide enough I have to go up up 1-2 sizes to have them remotely fit acceptably.
My solutions up to now:
Scarpa Zen Pro in summer and Keen Wanderer in Winter.

 

[urastus]

A topic I am very much interested in. I have very wide feet and even if I find shoes wide enough I have to go up up 1-2 sizes to have them remotely fit acceptably.
My solutions up to now:
Scarpa Zen Pro in summer and Keen Wanderer in Winter.

I also bushwalk, and scarpa are a big name in walking boots. Most Italian boots, especially scarpa, are long and skinny. Keen walking boots aren't very well made (always delaminate, wear quickly, poor grip in steep country), but awesome roomy toe boxes.

 

[AWB]

The Zen Pro is not too bad, actually. Of course, I have to size up. I have worn worse.☹
The soles of Keen hiking boots are horrible on loose surfaces, but at least they are wide enough. ?
In envy people with "normal" feet.

 

[urastus]

They look awesome! Most people have some sort of issue I've got one big left foot with limited movement. My partner is 4'11"! It's only the last couple of years that there have been good quality 24" dual suspension bikes. Nothing on the horizon for her in emtb yet

 

[AWB]

If you are on ghe edges of the bell curve, size-wise, you save a lot of money. Because, for all the "choice of products" on the market, nthere is not much to spend money on. Or, to put it bluntly, there is a whole lot available, but basically its all the same.

 

[Kentish]

Oh, I thought you meant these platform shoes...

 

[urastus]

If you are on ghe edges of the bell curve, size-wise, you save a lot of money. Because, for all the "choice of products" on the market, nthere is not much to spend money on. Or, to put it bluntly, there is a whole lot available, but basically its all the same.

So you're literally using walking boots! I didn't realise, I thought you'd found flat pedal shoes from scarpa and keen. Great idea - although the keens aren't that stiff. I always assumed keens were huge toe box because they are from the US. So many people seem to have wide or high (me) feet, and there isn't much to accommodate them. That's exactly what keen did and even here in Australia one out of three bushwalkers are wearing them (more I think).

I have a pair of zamberlain boots that are stiff and heavy. The soles are hard, yet they grip better than anything (everything here is steep - Tasmania). I always thought I'd retire them to motorcycle duty when they've worn out their grip, but there's a dude here who can re sole them

Is there a particular keen boot that is stiffer than the rest?

Just looked at those scarpas - looks like they are stiff too. The way you have laced yours, is that to give you more room in the toe area?

I have a two pairs of keens - I wear them when the walking doesn't include any climbing or boulder hopping, and travel. I'm going to check out the non keen dry pair

 

[AWB]

Yes, I laced this way for more room and because I have a very painful Hallux rigidus. Since the Zen Pro has a very comfy upper part, padded luxuriously, its perfect for me. Also its quite hard in the sole, much more than a 5.10. Of course, it being a hiking/approach shoe, the Vibram sole has a good profile and so I experimented a bit with the length of the pins, to get a good grip on pedal. Its ok for me, but since I am into XC I cant really comment on the more extreme, albeit standard, kind of use.

With Keen I found the very first generation, USA-made to be much roomier in the toe box/forefoot than later EU-made ones. Since I did reviews of a whole lot of Keen in past years I know this brand rather good. For me, they are a good compromise, because they fit without pain, something I rarely find in shoes. The Wanderer is my preferred model on the bike, because of its shaft height.
Generally the moulded sole, as used throughout the range, is plenty stiff on pedal. The sole's profile is horrible in loose sand, gravel etc because, compared to a good Vibram, its profile is too shallow and the heel lacks a decent edge.
Outside the Scarpa I use an older pair of 5.10, the Camp Four, on bike. The only one of its brand to have been roomy in the toe box, but sadly discontinued after Adidas took over.

 

[AWB]

Oh, I thought you meant these platform shoes...

View attachment 36610

Like these?!

 

[urastus]

Yes, I laced this way for more room and because I have a very painful Hallux rigidus. Since the Zen Pro has a very comfy upper part, padded luxuriously, its perfect for me. Also its quite hard in the sole, much more than a 5.10. Of course, it being a hiking/approach shoe, the Vibram sole has a good profile and so I experimented a bit with the length of the pins, to get a good grip on pedal. Its ok for me, but since I am into XC I cant really comment on the more extreme, albeit standard, kind of use.

With Keen I found the very first generation, USA-made to be much roomier in the toe box/forefoot than later EU-made ones. Since I did reviews of a whole lot of Keen in past years I know this brand rather good. For me, they are a good compromise, because they fit without pain, something I rarely find in shoes. The Wanderer is my preferred model on the bike, because of its shaft height.
Generally the moulded sole, as used throughout the range, is plenty stiff on pedal. The sole's profile is horrible in loose sand, gravel etc because, compared to a good Vibram, its profile is too shallow and the heel lacks a decent edge.
Outside the Scarpa I use an older pair of 5.10, the Camp Four, on bike. The only one of its brand to have been roomy in the toe box, but sadly discontinued after Adidas took over.

I think I have a targhee II mid waterproof - hate it. It's delaminating a bit from new, too flexible, shit grip, and pseudo waterproof, hot and sweaty. The other is a voyager mid, not waterproof. Much better boot; stiffer, not falling apart, cooler. I'll stick to my runners till the new shoes come. I don't want to cycle in an ankle high boot.

Just saw this - didn't know keen makes a wide! And these keen jaspers! They might be a better fit than the scarpas! Probably too flexy but they do look good

 

[Jeffsy29]

OP here: Currently trying out the Specialized 2FO Flat 1.0 (size 44): Not quite as roomy toe box as the 5.10 Freerider (size 10.5), but much flatter tongue and nice neoprene enclosure to keep out sticks/pebbles/debris. Much quicker drying! Not sure if I'll keep these long-term I need to try again (only got 2 rides on them since I tore 3 rotator cuff tendons).

RE: Ride Concepts Livewire in 10.5 were unusable - returned immediately to AMZ.
I felt similarly about the 5.10 Freerider PRO (size 10.5) - very narrow and stiff toe box was a dealbreaker.

I can live with the Specialized 2FO Flat 1.0 but wished I went to 44.5 for extra width. Hoping the Bontrager Flatlines will work out well since they're rumored to be wide/big.

 

[AWB]

Thanks for the info about the Specialized 2FO Flat 1.0 being even less roomy than a 5.10.

 

[AWB]

Just saw this - didn't know keen makes a wide! And these keen jaspers! They might be a better fit than the scarpas! Probably too flexy but they do look good

Keen "Austin" should be stiffer in the sole. (They dven made a SPD-compatible verdion some years ago)

 

[steve_sordy]

All you big-footed guys. By any chance are you good at swimming?

 

[GrahamPaul]

All you big-footed guys. By any chance are you good at swimming?

No... I find it quicker to walk across the surface...

 

[Pivot]

I really like riding in Palladium canvas boots. My feet are well ventilated and comfortable, the sole has a good thread to match the pedals and they go into washing machine after wading across the streams.

I can recommend a pair of those:

PALLAKIX HI CANVAS

Iconic lightweight Pampa 2.0 Hi cut sneakerboot in soft canvas upper material and comfortable honeycomb footbed. UPPER: 14 OZ canvas in cotton LINING: 8 OZ canvas in cotton SOCKLINER: molded PU with honeycomb for comfort, cushioning and breathability - cover in 100% polyester BOTTOM + TOE CAP ...

palladiumboots.co.uk

 

[AWB]

@Jefsy29, fyi I just had the chance to try some Five Ten "Impact (Pro)" and they were among the widest platform shoes I have ever tried. Much wider than the Freerider, really comfortable in this aspect, but also with a heavily padded tongue.
(Unfortunately my Hallux Rigidus doesnt agree with them)