Discussion: Mountain Biking Shoes

i need a new shoe. i have been through two pairs of sidi dominator 5s. i like them. i perhaps only need a size bigger. but since i'm in the market i figured i'd see if there are any other shoes out there. possibly with a bit bigger toe box.???

Sidis are great for durability, by far my favourite shoe!

i'v a pair of cannodale's but its more a road shoe... still very comfortable.

Specailized shoes tend to run big in the front which is why I wear them both on road and MTB. Also, if you have hip alignment issues like I do, the BG inserts allow you to change the plane of the footbed which can have a surprisingly positive affect on your stroke. For MTB, I use the BG Comp. Reasonably light, reasonably priced, and not too bad to run in (which you sometimes have to do in an Adventure Race).

I am on my second pair of adidas marathon. fit is good for my slightly wide feet. price was right. sidi seemed expensive.

I quite often find MTB shoes too wide, as I have narrow feet (size 5). I tend to use just some waterproof all purpose activity shoes (regatta upstream), but these have lots of disadvantages...

I'm thinking of buying MTB shoes, and using them for road biking. I like to do a lot of walking while I'm on a ride: restaurants, bars, concerts...the whole RAGBRAI thing.

I'm hoping the MTB shoes, with their built-in treads, will be more comfortable than walking on cleats for a couple of hours, as you do with road shoes. The last thing I need after a couple of beers, is slippery footing. Has anyone else had that problem? Does this sound like the best solution? Any suggestions about pedal systems? I'm thinking of Speedplay...this link provides more than you ever wanted to know about pedals, but seems to confirm my reasoning.

Clark, RAGBRAI is where I discovered the genius of cycling sandals. I'm sure I've piped up about cycling sandals many times on AP, so I'll just say this time that they are pretty comfortable for riding and for hanging out/walking around. The cleats are recessed and there's a little tread to them. And they're sandals, which is what the gods intended for us to wear on our feet as much as possible.

I like Time ATAC pedals - really good in mud, and I'm told that they're better for people with knee problems. (Although I haven't tried any other kind, so I can't compare.)

http://www.rei.com/product/710633

....genius of cycling sandals...Click "Sole" in upper right corner for view of SPD-compatible undercarriage.

Kiki...is this approximately what you meant? I gotta admit, much different than what I had in mind. But if it's cool at RAGBRAI, who's to question it?

Clark, One thing to consider if going for a SPD style pedal for road biking is that they dont have the same sort of stability that a road pedals does. Meaning that the shoe, regardless of how stiff the sole is, can tend to roll around slightly, this on some riders will cause hots-spots on the feet which can become quite painful on longer rides.

If you decide to use speedplay pedals be warned that the cleats are uber expensive (much more so that SPD or time). Usually thats not a problem, but if your walking around in them and they are coming into contact with the ground or getting fouled wiht dirt, it can wear them down and make them costly to run.

I assume you're considering the Speedplay Frog and not one of the road pedals. I use Speedplay road pedals and they are great for riding, but an absolute disaster off the bike. If I know I'm going to be walking around, I ride my hardtail mountain bike with slicks (which isn't really much slower at easy effort - aerodynamics don't count for much unless you're hammering). Any MTB shoe will be better for walking than any road shoe. I have no problems wandering around on foot in my Specialized shoes, but if I really want to be comfortable walking, I wear my Pearl winter shoes. I haven't tried sandals, but everybody I know who has loves them.

I got a pair of Lake MX165's a few months ago. They are available in medium and wide. They've got a vibram sole and a pair of replaceable/removable mud cleats in the front. A bit on the heavy side, but a well made shoe and very comfortable. Seem to run true to size. Quite happy with them so far.

speedplay would be a disaster on a mtn bike. Stick with eggbeaters. They are the best all around pedals and have the best ability to clear mud and clip in.

As for walking around in any bike shoes for couple of hour...why risk screwing up you feet, ankles, archilles, etc. If you are just hitting the bars, use are pair of regular shoes and stomper pedals.

Well, my typical biking day can include 80-100 miles of biking. I really want something more efficient than stomper pedals.

When you ride in RAGBRAI (a truly unique 450mile bike ride) you're riding 60-100 miles a day in a continuous carnival atmosphere, across the state of Iowa, for seven days. Both you and your equipment must be up to the challenge.

You can go from sipping a beer at 10am, to cranking 25mph while only 2" off someone's wheel in a monster double-pace line, back to lying in someone's front yard eating home-made peach pie and listening to a local bluegrass band. You want a shoe that will be safe and comfortable 18-hours/day in all settings.

http://www.coloradocyclist.com/product/item/SIDZFS...

I've trained and raced in lots of shoes including dominator 5. I've found for my foot Sidi provides an extremely good fit and are very rugged for their weight. I wish I could find a pair of running shoes that fit this well. My last two pair have been the Sidi Dragon and Side Dragon2 Carbon. Expensive but found at an awesome price at the link above. Super responsive fit even down to the adjustable heel cup. Replaceable tread cleats.

sorry, I don't usually ride 450 and drink at the same time. Is that illegal? something like a PWI. Still, go with the eggbeaters. The have the most float and easy for unclippping while drunk.

Pearl Izumi came out with a good shoe that might fit the bill, the Seek X-Alp.

http://www.pearlizumi.com/product.php?mode=view&pr...

It's got the X-alp SPD sole on a running shoe upper. It's more rigid and lighter than my Cannondales I used to use for adventure racing. At the Coast Raid there were a few times we trekked in them while all the others changed shoes. Too often in AR we end up scrambling over logs and rocks in biking shoes, so these are a great compromise.

Clark, those Keen sandals look more or less like the one's I've used (except for the closed toe, which probably isn't a bad idea... not that I'd go for it). Can't tell from the photo whether you'd be able to walk without crunching, but it looks like it's designed that way.

Clark, I got some inexpensive Performance SPD shoes and peddles for my road bike (peddles were single side - should really update) many years ago when I was doing a lot of riding, about the time they were invented so you know how old they are. They worked fine then for heavy duty pace line action and 100s around Colorado. Still do fine now though I've been doing too much running in the woods to use them much these days. They're light and comfortable to walk about in for a bit. With the stiff sole they don't walk all that great but much better than regular road cleats.

This probably wouldn't have happened, if he'd just had the right shoes and pedals!!

http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news_update/200807...

I realized the other day that I have only bought 2 pairs of biking shoes ever and have done over 18,000 miles in them in the past 5 years. No big issue but the total $$ spent on both shoes =$60!! That?s a pretty good return on investment if you ask me. I've done mainly 1 hr commutes along with lots of MTB trails / MTB races / Adventure races (3hr to 4 day) with these spd shoes and never managed to break them. Granted they can hurt sometimes on much longer rides but on a 150 mile Ramrod the Pearl Izumi vagabonds worked fine.

So - I still can't justify spending $200 on a pair of shoes - YET!

I take the opposite approach. Since bike shoes last so long, you might as well spring for something nice. I typically get 25-30K out of a pair and had one set that went over 40K. That's not even a penny a mile with top-of-the line comfort.

I agree entirely, but I sure don't log 40 000 miles/pair. Particularly as I get older, I find expensive, lightweight sports equipment makes all the difference in enjoying the sport. And it allows me to continue to train for modest competition. Occasionally there's justification for spending large sums for equipment specifically designed for the older anatomy, such as this.

But I think Europeans have a different philosophy. Being married to one (a Finn) I admire my wife's stern rejection of anything that smacks of elitism or excess. And she continues to log more than a thousand miles/year wearing nothing but flip-flops in the summer, and construction boots in the winter.

I'm not sure I agree with that - I saw an awful lot of fancy shoes when I was in Rome and the Germans sure aren't shy about pouring money into their cars. I think we (USA) certainly lead the way in excess, but we hardly have a monopoly on the practice.

I'm on my 9th pair of road shoes, 3rd set of mtb shoes, and still using my original shoes for the track bike (on the rare occasions that I ride it). In today's dollars, the value of those shoes is something like $2500. Hardly excessive when spread over 30 years and 300,000 miles.

My bill for tires over that period, well, that's pretty excessive (would buy a fairly nice German car).

An update on my LAKE MX 165 MTB shoes purchased in April '08.

Last night I was having problems clipping in. Checked the shoe. The vibram sole has delaminated from the shoe and a big chunk was torn loose.

Called LAKE customer support. Tread delamination is not covered under warranty. They are willing to look at a picture of the damage but they said that replacement was not an option. Apparently, it's my fault the tread delaminated: has to do with the terrain I'm walking on and the way I unclip. They're frigging MTB shoes!

Shoes aren't even a year old! Potentially $120 down the toilet.

My PI's lasted 12 years and nothing ever even looked like it was going to come loose.

Stay tuned, but at the moment I can't recommend the shoes or the company.

That sure does sound bogus. I've never had the sole of an MTB shoe go bad, even when I've used them in adventure races (which typically have you off the bike quite a bit).

I bought a pair of Specialized MTB carbon pro shoes a few months ago, and I loved them so much I bought the equivalent Road shoe.

I find the fit perfect, very comfortable to ride in which is hard to find when you have small and narrow feet!!

I have a wide foot and really liked the fit of the Lake. I have plenty of room for heavy wool socks.

I have a race coming up in 2 weeks so I'll have to do something quickly...