Shoes

[steve_sordy]

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.

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.
I have a nearly new second hand pair somewhere safe!

 

[Zimmerframe]

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.
I have a nearly new second hand pair somewhere safe!

I can't see where the tassels attach ?

 

[Gary]

I like my Shimano AM41 flat shoes.

I have a couple of pairs of those too.
I don't ride clips too often so they're likely to last my lifetime

I moved to AM41's after the 510s just got too heavy when wet

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

 

[55plusmxinsanity]

This, customs:

 

[Husky430]

Have got a pair of these in their Black, black, black 'colour' scheme, excellent shoes as the waffle sole grips the pedal pins and is thin enough to give you great feel through them.

 

[latefordinner]

Nice . What make ?

 

[R120]

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]

................

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).

 

[steve_sordy]

I can't see where the tassels attach ?

I don't show just anyone where all my tassels are!

 

[Pyr0]

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]

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)

 

[aarfeldt]

I own over 20 pairs of riding shoes including 2 pairs of 5:10s, impacts .... bla..bla....have 8 pairs...more bla bla bla....have 10 pairs...even more bla bla bla....have 6 pairs of SPD shoes....

It's normally girls that has this many shoes ;-)

 

[EebStrider]

I’ve bought some of these five 10 things the other day


I like them

 

[steve_sordy]

Error correction:

Just to make clear that in my post #38 above, I first wrote 510 Freerider. I meant 510 Impact Low. (Brainfart! )
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.

 

[steve_sordy]

I have a couple of pairs of those too.
I don't ride clips too often so they're likely to last my lifetime

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

My AM41s are flats, not SPDs.
I believe that the SPD version were the AM42s, not sure.

 

[Gary]

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]

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]

If my pedal was anywhere near the top quadrant, I did not have the knee/ankle flexibility to unclip

While seated?

 

[steve_sordy]

While seated?

Seated, every time. If standing, it varied.

Getting started on steep and loose climbs also gave me a problem from time to time. That was about ten years ago and I haven't tried SPDs since, except on tarmac.

 

[Gary]

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

 

[Gary]

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]

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

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.

 

[High Rock Ruti]

High Rock Ruti

I use 510 impacts high backs on flat pedals, a little hot, but fantastic support through mid ankle.

 

[geehaw]

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]

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

 

[latefordinner]

Put my muck off wellies on the other day , absolutely brilliant ?

 

[Gary]

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]

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]

And on an Ebike ,why would you?
it's not like you need to actually put much effort in on the climbs is it?

 

[geehaw]

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?