do you guys recommend investing in mountain bike specific shoes for flat pedals, i don’t know if it’s worth the money if it’s not going to make a difference from normal shoes
Five Tens are fantastic, huge difference from regular shoes.
I’d say it depends…
I ride flat pedals with Shimano flat pedal shoes, they are stiffer than skate style shoes and for me and the riding I do I feel that this is a good thing. Some of the people I ride with on the same rides will have skate shoes others are on clipless pedals.
I find for longer rides and on extended downhills the stiffer sole reduces hot spots and fatigue on my arches. The guys I know who are really into jumping at parks and on trails, just wear skate shoes.
those are what i’ve been looking at, i’ll definitely consider them then
ok, i might check out some skate shoes if i don’t feel mtb specific shoes are for me
@Idealbikes, used to have a stash of 5 Tens for a good price.
Not sure if that was just to clear old stock though.
that’s the place i was looking at them at, i’m gonna take a better look when i pick my bike up
Most 5-10s are stiffer than skate shoes, and have a significantly stickier sole, approaching near clipless levels of ‘grip’. I think they’re also stickier than most other MTB specific flat pedal shoes too, but ymmv.
Skate shoes, especially the ones found in non-skate stores tend to be poorly made and don’t stand up to the rigours of mountain biking. But they’re also often less than half the price of 5-10s.
Personally, I ride clipless with 5-10 Impacts and flats with 5-10 freeriders. Both are a great combo for different types of riding.
I have some Vans Pro shoes that I wear to skatepark riding with my son and for commuting, but I’d never wear them on a trail ride. They just don’t have the grip.
the 5-10 freeriders i what i want i think. i was thinking that same thing when it comes to wearing “skate” shoes for mtb durability wise
There is such a thing as too much grip in my opinion. I don’t want clipless level grip that’s what clipless is for. I like to be able to adjust my foot position, I prefer a bit harder rubber and never found my feet flying off the pedals to be an issue even in the roughest of terrain around here.
In my experience the pedals and condition/position of the pins makes more of difference in grip than the compound in the shoe, other people’s mileage may differ.
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i don’t know what i’d really prefer right now but i’ll have to experiment i guess
My flat 510 shoes just work great on all trails here.
Durable , almost water resistant , winter warm I can even used them on fixing muddy trails. Safety wise I can unmount quickly and sole is tough hard for your feet and sticks like a gecko to your pedals. Bought them at IB bayers for 60 bucks something 3 yrs ago.
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I have 5 10 freeriders and they are amazing they hav so much grip definitely would recommend em to anyone and if u look online and local shops u could prob find some on sale
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ok
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do the freeriders work good with just metal pedals or do they work with plastic pedals too
I use mine with aluminum Shimano Saint flats (low pins, less aggressive) and OneUp composite plastic pedals (larger platform, higher pins). They both work well, but obviously the grip is less on the Saints cause the pins don’t stick out as far. But, I have never had an issue with a slipped pedal on either with my Freeriders.
Both pedals have metal pins though–nothing works well on plastic pins.
I was riding with just my sneakers on the pedals that came on my bike (it’s a new bike I haven’t changed the pedals yet) they would slip constantly. I recently got a pair of flat shimanos and even with manufacturers pedals I barely have any slip.
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ok that definitely helps
I’m running free rides on race face Chester flats, things are grippy as heck. Your feet are planted on the pedals when you get going.
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