I know they're great etc etc.
I can't spend £80 on shoes to go riding in, I just can't.
Are there any reasonably priced alternatives that don't look like "corrective" shoes?
thanks.

Trip to T to the K to the Maxx for some Vans, if they have 'em?

Has to be a proper waffle sole, though.

Some bargains on the likes of 661 shoes to be had as well. They look OK to my eyes.

shimano AM40's rock my world.

buy some sam hill 5:10s – they don't look 'speacial' – they're on offer on CRC and they're the best damned flat shoes I've worn. No grip issues at all. And that's on a hardtail as well.

TK maxx vans for life.

brogues

I find DC shoes are fine for me. And you can pick some up for as little as £25 if you look around.

bonj – Member
brogues

Back in the day, RaceFace made some SPD compatible two tone brogues*. Pimp.

*Can I find any anywhere? Can I eff as like!

TXMaxx, #i got a pair of element townsends for £30, nice comfy shoe, plenty of suppourt i the upper and a nice stiff sole.

Mor importantly the sole is in 2 parts, the big thick whie chunky bit which keeps it stiff (but surprisingly thin in the middle) and about 3mm of tacky rubber on the base (which has lasted nearly 2 years as my regular trainers!).

Once It does wear down it can be pealed off and a new sole glue'd on.

£30 shoes
£35 re-sole with C4 soles (the stuff 5:10 use) by that place in chesterfield

= £65 biking shoes that dont look make you look like you have special needs

Or £16 for a tin of the stealth rubber stuff, which you can glue onto any type of shoe.

I use some Nike Air Morgan's for non DH riding. The grip is similar to Vans waffle soles, but they last longer. Only problem is finding a decent coloured pair, some are nice, but some are awful. Mine cost me £45 a couple of months ago. There is a review of them on southerndh.com

the nikes are not a patch on vans proper waffle soles.

the shimano am40 are ok but i'm knackering the soles pretty quick but they are quite grippy.

i use emerica heretic 2-3.
you dont need stoopidly grippy shoes.
i like to articulate my feet on the pedals when i ride.
used to use vans as a kid but cant get on with them nowdays

emerica(skate only shoes)
etnies
ftw

I've got some dvs skate shoes with a zig zag grip, . . perfect!

Adio or DVS for me.

my emericas have file grip too 🙂

I've got some Marzhocci Bomber shoes, they are basically the same as Five Tens but possibly look a bit nicer. Trouble is they are quite hard to find, i got mine from Jenson USA for £55.00 incl postage but then I got charged £15.00 by customs, so they didn't end up being so cheap! CRC had some for £52.50 but I think they've mostly sold out now. Before these I wore my old Etnies skate trainers and these had really good grip. Rollersnakes website has some good bargains on skate trainers.

Vans

As above, take a trip to tk maxx. I got a pair of waffle sole skate type shoes for £8 in the clearance section. Couldn't believe it when I found them as they were just what I was after – high topish and a velcro strap to keep the laces tidy.

I wouldn't wear them off the bike but they're great for riding.

I have some Shimano MP 90's that I got from merlin for about £35. Ok, so if you're concerned about looks they are as bad as five ten's but they grip almost as well and should last ages. Might be worth trying to track down any remaining new/old stock. Just don't get why people recommed Vans with a waffle sole…I wear them casually but the soles are not stiff enough for riding and the pins on flatties would be through them in an hour.

Having ridden in DC's and Vans' for years i can honestly say i dont know how people can say they compare to Fivetens.

A pair of 5:10's and a pair or really grippy pedals such as Eastons Flatboys, Burgtecs or Straightlines are a whole different ball game to vans/DC/Skate shoes. I use them for DH and you have to physically lift your foot to reposition it, you can't just wiggle it about. Ive found that there's enough grip to lift the back end of the bike as if you are wearing clips.

My last pair of 5:10 Impacts best part of three years before I finally killed them (actually by tipping 1L of brake fluid over them). Compared to how fast I have found Vnas / DC wear i think its worth buying a pair of 5:10's and making them last 3 years or more and using them only for riding.

Vans

Ride with 5 10s in dry weather but in the wet I have a pair of gortex boots [£15 in sales] that have been resoled with 5 10 rubber, best of both worlds

Tracey

ooOOoo – Member
Or £16 for a tin of the stealth rubber stuff, which you can glue onto any type of shoe.

Where from?

Nike 6.0 Mogens are my current favourites.

Gonna mate them with Burgtec pedals next season.

unwieghing the back of the bike has nothing to do with grip hh!

i just binned a pair of 5-10's, they looked fine, and there was loads of life left in the soles, but for some reason 5-10 impacts have a foot-bed made of cardboard, which falls apart within weeks.

wtf?

it's shimano am40's for me now.

Etnies , have lasted me 2 years in all weathers and still plenty life left in them. ebay search Etnies for around £25.

da funk

I use Duffs, currently using the “4130” High in lurid Green and Black, fantastical but probably not the same level of grip as 5-10s… may get them re soled one day

Tended to Muller Vans and DCs just had good wear out of Duffs so stuck with em, plus I found the Duffs soles nice and stiff where Vans vary from model to model and year to year…

Some dirt cheap deals about TK-max or even try Flea bay as shops do still use it for stock clearance…

biking shoes that dont look make you look like you have special needs

I hate to break it to you but as far as appearances go, mostly grown men playing in the mud for fun, what your shoes look like are the least of our worries.

I really like my Am40s. I also wear Nike Air Whistlers and they are less comfy, you can kinda feel the seams and the soles are no where near as grippy as the AM40s.

Skate shoes are not stiff enough for me, esp. waffle Vans.

Some old skool Vision leatherette boots would be good for DH I reckon (not the canvas / suede ones).

shimano DX's got a kick arse review in the hammered section of this months dirt… guy rekonned he'd have them over 5 10's. I have 5 10's and the review made me think…

think the model is the sh am40's as menitoned above with vibram sole

"A pair of 5:10's and a pair or really grippy pedals such as Eastons Flatboys, Burgtecs or Straightlines are a whole different ball game to vans/DC/Skate shoes. I use them for DH and you have to physically lift your foot to reposition it, you can't just wiggle it about."

That's true, but it's also meaningless as a test. Nobody doubts whether 5 10s have more grip, they definately do, the question is whether the Vans have enough. I own both but I tend to wear my Vans, they're just nicer shoes and don't soak up water as enthusiastically. I guess if I was dhwnhilling I'd want more but the only time the Vans ever lack grip is if I unweight them, and the 5 10s will slip then as well.

I had the same epiphany all 5 10s wearers do- I stuck my foot on the pedal and it felt amazing, tried to squirm my foot around, it was stuck! It was only later that I really thought about the difference on the trail and found there wasn't much.

(incidentally, the best Vans sole for mtb use isn't the waffle at all IMO, it's the older round tread sole, but it's pretty much died out)

Oooh Vision Street Wear. That takes me back to skating as a kid. Might get a pair of them myself.

Erm, downhilling in skate shoes results in sore feet. On a hardtail this can take about 5 minutes and can be unbearable. This doesnt happen with 5 10s or AM 40s.

Downhilling in the wet with skate shoes results in feet slipping off the pedals. Happens less with AM 40s, and has happened to me once in 3 years with 5 10s.

Skate shoes fall apart when you use them on the bike. 5 10s or AM 40s last a year of hard riding, my current 5 10s are 2 or 3 years and still going strong. I've had them so long I can't remember when I bought them.

Surprisingly enough bike specific shoes are better than a cheap trainer from tkmax in exactly the same way a Meindl boot is better than a pair from tesco.

Ive just recently started using the new 'freerider' 5:10s

Clicky

First set i got to use on the bike and they are superb, not quite as grippy as the impacts but certainly better than any vans etc ive ever had. Certainly look a lot less 'special' too – so much so ive just bought an extra pair of the scribble ones just for general use.

MisterGnar, what downhilling does or doesn't do has pretty little relevance to most riders…

But I will say, my Vans have lasted for considerably more riding than my 5 10s look to do, so my experience is pretty different to yours. The 5 10s soles are lasting but they're wearing elsewhere- some seams are stretching out, one's burst a little, and the inner upper is badly worn. That's my main gripe with them, they're just not especially good shoes once you get above the soles.

The Vans soles on the other hand are pretty worn now but they've covered a lot of miles, as well as a classic scottish winter in which they never dried out fully once Not to mention the fact that I only started riding in them because after a couple of years as everyday shoes they were getting a bit tired.

Mike – here
http://www.joe-brown.com/outdoor-equipment/rock-climbing/rockboots/5.10-stealth-paint.html

Mr Gnar – you talk some amount of shite!!

Northwind – Member

MisterGnar, what downhilling does or doesn't do has pretty little relevance to most riders…

I disagree – I feel it's relevant because, pissing about a fireroad doesnt present a great challenge grip wise for any shoe and a slip probably won't result in a serious injury. The opposite is true for what we will broadly refer to as dh style riding.

But I will say, my Vans have lasted for considerably more riding than my 5 10s look to do, so my experience is pretty different to yours.

Perhaps you got very unlucky, or I got very lucky. Judging by the people I ride with I'd say you were unlucky and got a dodgy pair.

GW – Member

Mr Gnar – you talk some amount of shite!!

Really? Dont read my posts then you tit.