Shoes

steve_sordy

Wedding Crasher
Nov 5, 2018
8,925
9,259
Lincolnshire, UK
I like my Shimano AM41 flat shoes. No longer made ( :) ), which is why I've patched up the flaps with Gorilla tape (for the third time). Over time, brambles and pedal strikes make a mess of the flaps.
Shimano AM41.jpg

I moved to AM41's after the 510s just got too heavy when wet and took too long to dry out. The look of the AM41s is an acquired taste, I admit. I wouldn't go down the pub in these even when new, especially when new! In fact I wouldn't go anywhere not on my bike in these. But functionally they are excellent. :love:
I have a nearly new second hand pair somewhere safe! :)
 

Zimmerframe

MUPPET
Subscriber
Jun 12, 2019
13,998
20,747
Brittany, France
I like my Shimano AM41 flat shoes. No longer made ( :) ), which is why I've patched up the flaps with Gorilla tape (for the third time). Over time, brambles and pedal strikes make a mess of the flaps.
View attachment 29908
I moved to AM41's after the 510s just got too heavy when wet and took too long to dry out. The look of the AM41s is an acquired taste, I admit. I wouldn't go down the pub in these even when new, especially when new! In fact I wouldn't go anywhere not on my bike in these. But functionally they are excellent. :love:
I have a nearly new second hand pair somewhere safe! :)
I can't see where the tassels attach ?
 

R120

Moderator
Subscriber
Apr 13, 2018
7,819
9,190
Surrey
They only problem with Vans, and I ride in them a fair bit, is the build quality is shocking, and they fall apart easily especially if using them to ride hard, but then again they are not designed to be ridden in. Nike used to make a BMX trainer called the 6.0 Team Treated Air Mogan, which was the best trainer I have ever used for MTB, and took some serious abuse, shame they dont make em anymore.

Vans do now make some BMX shoes that I might give a go, might hold up better

Vans Old Skool Pro Bmx Ty Morrow Biking Red/Gum
 

steve_sordy

Wedding Crasher
Nov 5, 2018
8,925
9,259
Lincolnshire, UK
................

AM41s are the heaviest biking shoes I've ever had.

I don't know what else you've had so I can only agree with you. The 510 Impact Low lived up to its write up in terms of grip. It was so grippy that I couldn't adjust my foot if I didn't get it exactly in the correct place on the pedal, not without lifting off anyway which wasn't always practical. But my main reservation came when the wet season arrived. Those 510's had the absorbency of a sponge, but clung on to the water for days and days. Consequently they weighed a ton when wet and took ages to dry out. I later discovered that this was a common complaint at the time, one which the makers of the 510 have addressed since, I believe.

By comparison, the Shimano AM41 may have weighed a bit more when dry (I never weighed them to find out), but they stayed dry. The unexpected bonus was that the Vibram rubber sole was marginally less grippy, but only just enough such that I could adjust my foot position without having to lift clean off the pins.

Edit: Initially I wrote 510 Freerider, I meant 510 Impact Low (now corrected).
 
Last edited:

Pyr0

E*POWAH Master
Sep 22, 2019
533
387
Wirral, UK
I've just been wearing a pair of Nike airmax 95 trainers recently.
I'll ride in anything comfortable though including Timberland boots
Wouldn't mind trying a pair of the new Adidas Trailcross
 

Gary

Old Tartan Bollocks
Author
Subscriber
Mar 29, 2018
10,496
10,702
the internet
I don't know what else you've had...

Just to confirm, I'm talking about SPD AM41s. They're the heaviest shoes flat or SPD I've ever used. the list of SPD shoes I've used is quite long and includes more traditional XC race style SPD shoe designs and more skate shoe inspired DH/BMX style SPD shoes like the old 661 Launch and older Shimano DX

I don't like grippy soles at all, with flats or SPDs (for the foot positioning reasons you state) and I don't like stiff soles on a flat pedal as they take a way pedal feel and sole conformity.

I own over 20 pairs of riding shoes including 2 pairs of 5:10s, impacts (The ones which suffer from the spongy poor drying traits you mention) and Freeriders (newer models, which dry far better) I've actually never worn the Impacts for a proper ride and only worn the Freeriders a handfull of times. They were bought to experiment with pedal grip levels on my DH bike (timed racing being different than riding) when tempted to race again.
I ride mtb in non cycling Etnies Skate shoes (have 8 pairs) or when riding in civies my every day Vans (have 10 pairs). I always use SPD pedals and shoes on my roadbike and only very occasioinally on mtb (have 6 pairs of SPD shoes)
 

steve_sordy

Wedding Crasher
Nov 5, 2018
8,925
9,259
Lincolnshire, UK
Error correction:

Just to make clear that in my post #38 above, I first wrote 510 Freerider. I meant 510 Impact Low. (Brainfart! :giggle:)
And for the avoidance of doubt, in either case they were for flat pedals and not SPDs. Ditto the Shimano AM41s were flats, not SPDs.
 

Gary

Old Tartan Bollocks
Author
Subscriber
Mar 29, 2018
10,496
10,702
the internet
My AM41s are flats, not SPDs.
I believe that the SPD version were the AM42s, not sure.
Yeah. sorry. You're right. I meant AM45s. The uppers are the same so look very very similar and I thought you were riding clips. (a mate rides in the same AM41 version you have and it always confuses me when I notice he's on flat pedals)
The AM41 isn't quite so heavy due to having a different sole.

#CoronaDementia #CovidBraindamage_19
 

steve_sordy

Wedding Crasher
Nov 5, 2018
8,925
9,259
Lincolnshire, UK
Yeah. sorry. You're right. I meant AM45s. The uppers are the same so look very very similar and I thought you were riding clips. (a mate rides in the same AM41 version you have and it always confuses me when I notice he's on flat pedals)
The AM41 isn't quite so heavy due to having a different sole.....

Once I'd got past the plastic pedals that all bikes used to come with and then those cheap metal skeleton pedals, I bought some "proper" pedals. Influenced by the MBR bike mag I went SPD. I resolved to give it a minimum 3 months no matter what. Many comedy falls and 18 months later, I finally switched to flats. My problem was not the actual unclipping, it was where on the crank rotation I had to unclip. If my pedal was anywhere near the top quadrant, I did not have the knee/ankle flexibility to unclip. Because 50% of the time, unclipping on the other side was of no use at all, the other 50% involved an involuntary dismount, seldom with comedic effect! It took a 3-day guided ride in the Yorkshire Dales to convince me that I ought to switch to flats. If I'm going to be riding the local tarmac, I switch back to SPD now and again, just to keep the muscle memory intact. :)
 

Gary

Old Tartan Bollocks
Author
Subscriber
Mar 29, 2018
10,496
10,702
the internet
Yeah. I thought you must've meant seated.
Trying to unclip your foot whilst at the top of the pedal stroke while seated is pretty poor technique TBH. You'd have thought 18months of falling over would have been long enough to work that out :ROFLMAO:
 
Last edited:

Gary

Old Tartan Bollocks
Author
Subscriber
Mar 29, 2018
10,496
10,702
the internet
Unclipping while standing means you'll have less leg bend at the top of the stroke (so less knee flexibility required). Because of this you should still be able to unclip an inside foot fairly easily when cornering (to drop a foot, etc) or riding cambers with your outside foot down.
Apart from climbing, any situation where you're looking to increase grip you should be standing. so when cornering you should still be able to get that inside foot unclipped. Ideally in most situations you want to begin unclipping your foot from level. or if coming to a halt, from the bottom of the stroke.
Decent foot technique is about foresight, looking and thinking ahead and positioning your feet/cranks apropriately. This is true whether on flats or clips. So many riders these days rely on sticky soles and grippy flat pedals to keep their feet in place and because of this many beginner/novice riders are actually rarely weighting the bike correctly.
 

steve_sordy

Wedding Crasher
Nov 5, 2018
8,925
9,259
Lincolnshire, UK
Yeah. I thought you must've meant seated.
Trying to unclip your foot whilst at the top of the pedal stroke while seated is pretty poor technique TBH. You'd have thought 18months of falling over would have been long enough to work that out :ROFLMAO:
Surprisingly, I had worked it out!
But I never chose to unclip at those inconvenient moments!
When I chose the timing it was never a problem. But occasionally the timing chose me and if my foot was at the top of the pedal stroke or nearby and I was either seated or close to it, then I was lucky to avoid a comedy fall. I had been riding an mtb for about two years at this point.

Some falls were no laughing matter. It was one in particular that persuaded me to move to flats. I was laid on the floor with the bike still attached wondering where the hell I was and the person that came to my aid yanked on the bike. The outer chain ring stuck into my calf and I bled like a stuck pig. The eight puncture wounds demonstrated that if there had a been a slight sideways movement, I would have been looking at a big slice through the calf muscle. :eek:
 

geehaw

Active member
Nov 17, 2019
107
86
Melbourne Australia
For winter use on the moors I've used the O'Neals Loam shoes as they are waterproof and warm, and have a fairly grippy sole for hikerbike moments.
Shimano MTB shoes have vent holes which allow water in and I don't want to try to undo muddy laces.
However in summer I usually just use a pair of trainers that have a firm sole .


View attachment 29865
Do you use these as flats and if yes are they reasonably trippy?
 

geehaw

Active member
Nov 17, 2019
107
86
Melbourne Australia
While on the subject of shoes. Thoughts on the warmest, driest, flat pedal shoes. As we are starting to get into our winter which is typically wet and down around 5C during the day.
Thanks
 

Gary

Old Tartan Bollocks
Author
Subscriber
Mar 29, 2018
10,496
10,702
the internet
Thoughts on the warmest, driest, flat pedal shoes.
It doesn't really matter.
just buy Sealskins and you can ride in wet shoes with warm dry feet just fine.

Many noobs buy them too small and don't realise for them to work best you need wear a thin pair of sports socks underneath and not wear them with shoes that are too tight shoes or tie your laces too tight.
Wearing trousers on rainy days will also stop any wet getting in through the cuff at the top of the sock.

You could probably do with toughening up a little if you genuinely think 5deg C is cold ;)
 

geehaw

Active member
Nov 17, 2019
107
86
Melbourne Australia
It doesn't really matter.
just buy Sealskins and you can ride in wet shoes with warm dry feet just fine.

Many noobs buy them too small and don't realise for them to work best you need wear a thin pair of sports socks underneath and not wear them with shoes that are too tight shoes or tie your laces too tight.
Wearing trousers on rainy days will also stop any wet getting in through the cuff at the top of the sock.

You could probably do with toughening up a little if you genuinely think 5deg C is cold ;)
Will look into those. Cold is all relative ??, but then I don't mind riding in 35c when everyone else is complaining about the heat...
 

Gary

Old Tartan Bollocks
Author
Subscriber
Mar 29, 2018
10,496
10,702
the internet
And on an Ebike ,why would you?
it's not like you need to actually put much effort in on the climbs is it?
:cool:
 

geehaw

Active member
Nov 17, 2019
107
86
Melbourne Australia
It doesn't really matter.
just buy Sealskins and you can ride in wet shoes with warm dry feet just fine.

Many noobs buy them too small and don't realise for them to work best you need wear a thin pair of sports socks underneath and not wear them with shoes that are too tight shoes or tie your laces too tight.
Wearing trousers on rainy days will also stop any wet getting in through the cuff at the top of the sock.

You could probably do with toughening up a little if you genuinely think 5deg C is cold ;)
Looked at the sealskin site. Do you typically go one shoe size bigger when ordering?
 

EMTB Forums

Since 2018

The World's largest electric mountain bike community.

552K
Messages
27,897
Members
Join Our Community

Latest articles


Top