Shimano AM41 Flat Biking Trainer Review...

capoz77

So after much help from this forum, I ended up buying the Shimano AM41's, which i'd never even heard of until then

Looks :
I'd say they are a very marmite trainer, you either love or hate them, they certainly look different. I'm quite fond of them, very minimal styling, white piping, and black to hide the trail dirt. These are the size 47's and they do look huge!





Sizing:
I'm UK 11.5, and the main concern was sizing them, no where has them in stock to try on, so I ended up going to Decathlon and trying on the Shimano SPD's in 45, 46 and 47. They were all way too narrow. Chain reaction made it easy to order both 46 and 47 and send the wrong pair back with the free of charge collectplus+ sevice

Was pleasantly surprised at just how wide they are, on par with my old Nikes, nothing like the narrow SPD's.




Protection:
The storm flap keeps all the rubbish out, and laces away from moving parts. On this mornings ride when the torrential downpour started feet stayed bone dry, no need for seal skin socks anymore.




Build quality:
Fantastic durable finish, which without a doubt would offer far better crash and rock protection than what i'm used to.




Grip:
The important bit and what got me wanting to change from my running trainers which have served me for 3 years. I started getting foot cramps half way through a ride, the Nikes were flexing too much around the pedals and digging into my feet. Looking underneath them and where the pedal would sit in the centre they are pretty unsuitable anyway, the thinnest drawn in part where I need the most grip! Along with the recessed nature of the pattern theres not much biting area for the grub screws on my DMR V12's.




Comfort:
Super flat, super stiff, with no flex when riding, and performed that well in todays maiden voyage i'm starting to consider whether I even need to change my V12's (was waiting for superstar nano's to come back in stock)

Feet stuck that well I was pedalling in a way similar to SPD's not just downstroke, but cadence with up stroke too. Stuck like glue on the descents, and the raw take off speed after hard braking, or starting off was the most noticeable difference, probably down to the extra torque from both feet doing more work.






Conclusion:
I've been riding with my old nike trainers for over 10 years, whenever a pair gets knackered I use them for biking and bin the old pair, rinse and repeat, never thought anything of it. Cramps got me searching for bike specific flats, but hated the weight (and price) of 5.10's. Seems a real gap in market at £50-£60, and the Shimano's ticked all the boxes. Seems i've been doing myself out of faster more secure riding for all this time using trainers i thought were adequate, but until riding these, the difference is night and day. Only downside is my legs had some different muscles aching after the ride which i've probably not used before





Great purchase 9/10

pete_s

Good review, although to be fair you were kind of comparing a Reliant Robin to a Ferrari.

I've bought these shoes from Chain Reaction, too, and hope they're as good as you say they are. I find it interesting as well that bike shops don't stock these (at least none of my local ones), as they seem pretty popular and are always reviewed positively.

capoz77

pete_s wrote:

Good review, although to be fair you were kind of comparing a Reliant Robin to a Ferrari.

I've bought these shoes from Chain Reaction, too, and hope they're as good as you say they are. I find it interesting as well that bike shops don't stock these (at least none of my local ones), as they seem pretty popular and are always reviewed positively.

Forgot to mention I also owned some Vans, but I preferred my Nike trainers. Tried on all the 5.10 range at local bike shop and all were far too heavy, so Nike trainers came tops again. So although Reliant Robin I still favoured the Nikes over some of the other options.

Its almost as if the bike trainer manufacturers think everyone who rides XC or wants lightweight flat pedal trainers will be using SPD's, just leaving the burly downhill crowd left to cater for.

paulbox

Don't really get what you're saying about the pedal position on your foot, it sounds like you're pedalling with the arch of your foot rather than the ball. That might explain the cramp you were getting in your feet. Though I'm not saying that you should be going back to using running shoes...

Personally I'm not a fan of how these shoes look, they remind me of the shoes that a disabled friend was forced to wear when we were at school. But if they work of you that's all that matters.

capoz77

PaulBox wrote:

Don't really get what you're saying about the pedal position on your foot, it sounds like you're pedalling with the arch of your foot rather than the ball. That might explain the cramp you were getting in your feet. Though I'm not saying that you should be going back to using running shoes...

Personally I'm not a fan of how these shoes look, they remind me of the shoes that a disabled friend was forced to wear when we were at school. But if they work of you that's all that matters.

on clip in's they force you to use the ball area, but on flats the ball of foot should be in front of the pedal, I ride mid-foot as per


"From a functional movement point of view, trying to place the ball of your foot directly on top of the pedal axle is not the best position for your foot to be whether you are on flats or clipless pedals. Driving through the ball of the foot is what you want to do when you are propelling your center of gravity forward - like when running or jumping - but this is not what is happening when we pedal out bikes. When pedaling you are driving the pedals away from you, much like when you squat or deadlift, and that type of leg drive is much better delivered from a more mid-foot position. This more mid-foot position also allows improved recruitment of the hips during the pedal stroke, especially when standing."
http://www.pinkbike.com/news/Shoe-Pedal ... -2012.html

paulbox

Wow, I've never heard that before. Will give it a try, but it doesn't sound natural to me.

capoz77

PaulBox wrote:

Wow, I've never heard that before. Will give it a try, but it doesn't sound natural to me.

I never gave it a thought till my SPD mate said I need to put my foot further forward like his SPD position that will stop the cramps, but they got worse So went back to midfoot like in the vid I linked.

cooldad

I don't agree with that - you get power/spring and flexibility using your foot/ankle.
I fail to see any similarity with dead lifting.

pete_s

Isn't this one of the best things about flats though? Instant change in foot position that's best suited to the terrain you're riding on? When ascending I like to use the middle of my feet but on downhill I move more towards my balls ( :roll: )