Which shoes for MTB? Clipless?

John_Carter

Hello people,
I'm new to Mountain Biking and so far loving it.

I'm looking for proper shoes, I don't want to continue ruitning my trainers with mud, but at the same time want to stay with flat pedals...

Shoes also need to be waterproof as this is England...

Any ideas are welcome, I understand it doesn't have to be a 'special' MTB shoe coudl also be a trail shoe...
How about these: http://tinyurl.com/m7cq9u2 ?

I'm open to ideas, thanks!

markhewitt1978

So do you want clipless or not?

John_Carter

markhewitt1978 wrote:

So do you want clipless or not?

Sorry,
I meant regular shoes for regular pedals... ;-)

Thanks!

miceden

While they will work those Merrells are not cycling shoes or even trail shoes imo... I would point you in the direction of Shimano AM45 shoes - they are waterproof, provide some ankle protection, fairly warm in winter, comfortable to wear & walk in and you can use them with flat and clipless pedals.

You may or may not make the transition to clipless, depends how you get on, but for now you may as well have a shoe that will let you do both yet work equally well on either.

John_Carter

miceden wrote:

While they will work those Merrells are not cycling shoes or even trail shoes imo... I would point you in the direction of Shimano AM45 shoes - they are waterproof, provide some ankle protection, fairly warm in winter, comfortable to wear & walk in and you can use them with flat and clipless pedals.

You may or may not make the transition to clipless, depends how you get on, but for now you may as well have a shoe that will let you do both yet work equally well on either.

Thanks Mate,
these Shimanos look greta and are spot on - I'll get a pair -

Thanks again!

Lewis A

AM45's are clipless! AM41's are for flats. They're also not waterproof, I would say more 'weather proof' but IMHO it's not a problem at all. These are the ones you want http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/shim ... -prod55371

miceden

AM45's are the clipless version yes but you don't have to run them clipless, you can leave the cleats off, the soles are identical no? I suggested the AM45's in case the OP decides to go clipless one day

Lewis A

Then there'd be a big hole in the sole wouldn't there? I don't believe that there is extra supplied to fit the hole where the cleat was, like 661 do (did?) on their filter shoe

miceden

Well the only hole would be where the cleat bolts on but (valid) point taken... I've a feeling this would fit with a bit of persuasion though: http://www.singletrackbikes.co.uk/m4b22 ... tAodA2wAbg

Lewis A

The AM41's are only £3 more...

John_Carter

Thanks guys,
I do want to get the clipped version (AM45) using it with regular pedals but having a future option of trying clip less pedals..

So would the AM45 come with cleats covers or would I need to get them extra?

Thanks,

lawman

AM45's come with a cover that you have to take off to use with cleats, so they're ok to use on flats. If you want to use on both flats and maybe transition to SPD's they're maybe not the best choice, the soles are pretty hard compound and won't be fantastically grippy. Bit more expensive but FiveTen Hellcat's are going to be a lot grippier on flats, but not as weatherproof (They're more like giant shoe shaped sponges in wet weather)

peter413

miceden wrote:

AM45's are the clipless version yes but you don't have to run them clipless, you can leave the cleats off, the soles are identical no?

Nope. AM41's use a Vibram sole that has a completely different tread design. AM45's have a huge hole for the cleat, use a pretty hard rubber compound and the tread is no where near as aggressive as the AM41's. They are rubbish on flats and not as good as the old MP66's on clips either.

My AM45's don't have a cleat cover either so that's either a pretty new thing to happen or you're thinking of other shoes (perhaps the MP66's?).