Is it worth buying non spd trainers?

Bonkleg

Hi

I feel a bit of a greenhorn, I ordered a load of new stuff from wiggle to go with my new bike e.g helmet, gloves, glasses, shoes and ashtray ( forget the last one).

When I got the shoes back I realised that SPD shoes needed an SPD pedal to go with them (cringe). I am going to send the shoes back as I don't feel ready for falling sideways after forgetting to get my feet out.

Are there types of shoes are suitable for mountain biking that don't clip in or is it worthwhile just using my old trainers.

Cheer

Mancunianfightingcat

I use SPDs all the time personally, but a lot of 'flatties' users swear by 5.10 trainers as they are designed specifically for mountain biking. They have a stiff sole to help transfer the power but also have a really grippy tread that sticks to your pedals.

.blitz

You can use SPD shoes without SPD pedals. There are recesses in the soles for the cleats but they are covered by tear-off panels. The soles won't be as grippy as Five Tens but they are useable.

bails87

.blitz: True, they'd be usable. But a waste of £50 or whatever they cost, when you can get gripper shoes to use with flats for less.

Check out Sportsdirect for their Karrimor trail/approach shoes. I got mine at Christmas 2008 and they were still going strong until a couple of months ago when I thought I'd give SPDs a go. Mine were waterproof, comfy, hardwearing and grippy, not bad for £20.

Joe_Pineapples

Said it before and I'll say it again:
Shimano MP56's.
They.
Are.
Awesome.

I'm on my second pair, and as long as Shimano keep making 'em, I'll keep buying 'em!

BlueAdvocate

bails87 wrote:

.

Check out Sportsdirect for their Karrimor trail/approach shoes. I got mine at Christmas 2008 and they were still going strong until a couple of months ago when I thought I'd give SPDs a go. Mine were waterproof, comfy, hardwearing and grippy, not bad for £20.

+1 for the approach shoes. Have used them for years. Grippy on flats and the ones I have give some ankle protection. Either that or cheap skater shoes

butcher of bakersfield

Plenty of shoes will do you for riding. You can go and splash out on shoes but they'll not necessarily be any better than something for half the price. Skate shoes tend to be popular, because they do the job well, hence why they cross over into the BMX world. Go into a skate shop, or a BMX shop and the shoes are the same. But they're not always cheap either...something in a similar style will get you going for now.

Once you've ridden in them for a while, you'll get a better idea of what you'd like out of your shoes.

nick1962

Joe_Pineapples wrote:

Said it before and I'll say it again:
Shimano MP56's.
They.
Are.
Awesome.

I'm on my second pair, and as long as Shimano keep making 'em, I'll keep buying 'em!

But they double in weight when they get wet and don't half pong...or is that just my feet

Gazlar

I agree with bails, the karrimor trainers are great value

If you are using flat pedals with pins however, maybe a pair of "skate" trainers, I very often ride in a pair of DC's which have a grippy sole. You can get airwalks from Sports Direct or Duffs from TK maxx very cheap too

If you want to spend and get specific non spd trainers, something such as shimano am40's (my current shoe, very good too) or five tens are a good bet, but will cost you a fair few pennies

another good place for skate shoes by the way is rollersnakes, just google them and have a browse

Tartanyak

Before I got 5-10s I actually went into a few shoeshops with a pedal to see which design of waffle clung the best... I got strange looks. Worked though. I recommend it!

paulbox

Joe_Pineapples wrote:

Said it before and I'll say it again:
Shimano MP56's.
They.
Are.
Awesome.

They may be good, but they look like shoes that the "special" kids used to wear...

Atz

Got to TKMaxx. Buy some skate shoes. That's all really you need to spend whilst you're not sure what you're looking for.

The Rookie

My Daughter uses Airwalks and loves them, due to an operation she has little feeling in her left foot, so a good grippy trainer is a must, they were £12 from TKMax.

Simon

Ronocco111

Tartanyak
And which design of waffle did you find to be the best?

hounslow

Ronocco111 wrote:

Tartanyak
And which design of waffle did you find to be the best?

probably vans, as they are the only company with a waffle sole.

Tartanyak

They were vans and it was a loose(ish) zigzag waffle.

By waffle, I kinda meant all the soles really.

The other patterned ones are crap - especially those that have a different style under the ball of your foot.

I suppose it all depends on the pins in your pedals too.

Hitby

Buy some spd pedals for 20quid. You won't regret it. I've not fallen off once due to them since I switched and I wouldn't ride without them now!

mcj78

+1 for sports direct for some cheap rugged footwear, never tried the karrimor ones but I got a pair of nike ACG gore-tex trainers for £30 recently, comfy, grippy, waterproof, cheap - sorted. I find shoes like this are far more forgiving when out riding than a pair of more skate style shoes & less likely to fall to pieces after a few outings, I never could get on with spds off-road - on road they're great, but when riding fast over rough stuff I never felt completely secure with them.

J

cobby1970

I use spd's on my roadbike all the time but for the mtb I use platforms and skate shoes(very grippy) just my personal preference as I dont like been clipped in whilst flying round the trails

Tartanyak

cobby1970 wrote:

I use spd's on my roadbike all the time but for the mtb I use platforms and skate shoes(very grippy) just my personal preference as I dont like been clipped in whilst flying round the trails

I'm the same. I like to be able to bail quickly

5-10s are better than any skate shoe I've ever had though.

Quirrel

Bought some Karrimore shoes in SD the other week, 21 quid, and my feet DON'T stay on the pedals. My old faithful, Columbia shoes with no laces and the grips worn off still stick like sh**.

Older versions of these
http://www.marshallleisure.co.uk/index. ... rrency=GBP


I went out with some local riders a few weeks back and had my feet bouncing all over the place on the ride. Couldn't get a firm grip on the pedals. Since then the Karrimore have been religated to walking only.

Alphabet

+1 for 5-10s

I've got a pair of Karvers (£50 brand new on ebay) and they stick like gaffer tape to my DMRs. Swap them out for SPDs for the road though. Don't believe the hype about falling over because you can't clip out. I have had mine on the tightest setting since i got them. so long as you're not stupid enough to forget you've got spuds on, you'll always get a foot down.