Having not bought/used MTB shoes before,what’s the benefit of them,being looking at buying the five tens but is it gonna be a waste of money, only ever worn my trainers before, I have everything else I need so I wanted to finish it off by getting the shoes but don’t want to spend out for no benefit..
Cheers,Paul

They are much grippier than ordinary shoes. So your feet stay put and you have better control of the bike. They are also a bit stiffer than most trainers, and some models offer some light protection and/or weather proofing.

For me, flat sole so I can use my midfoot. Most trainers have an instep that doesn’t work so well with flat pedals. Also, the sticky rubber is helpful. However, I dislike the cardboard lasting board in 5:10s. I prefer teva but they’ve stopped making them.

You can save your trainers for the pub after biking and not have to leave the same pair of wet shoes on? 😆

Grippier, best for grip on the market in fact, though it’s possibly more than you need
Depending on model more protective than a pair of trainers
Soak up water like a sponge 🙁
Mine only lasted 12 months 🙁 🙁

There are other flat soled shoes around which give sensible amounts of pedal grip – pay money, make choice!

I always use trainers or whatever approach shoes I have at the time. I have some 5:10 approach shoes that I wear for climbing/scrambling etc. and wore them once because my other shoes were wet.
They have too much grip for my liking. Its like having glue on the bottom of your shoe. I prefer my shoes to move around a bit (only realised when I wore the 5:10’s).
So if you want more grip then get some. If you currently have enough grip then don’t bother.
I would also advise looking at the 5:10 approach shoes over the bike shoes. The bike shoes all look a bit special.

Grip is the main one, but I also noticed a lot of benefit from the stiff, thick soles – it’s a bit disconcerting at first, you get a lot less ‘pedal feel’ but once you’re used to it, you’ll never go back.

As above, I prefer Teva – the 5.10 shoes offer too much grip for me, I hate it when I misplace my foot on the pedal and can’t adjust without lifting, but most people prefer 5.10s.

I hear the Spesh 2FO shoes are a good compromise between ultimate grip and movement.

Cheers for the replies..
I was looking at the five ten freeriders, I’ve seen a pair I like the look of as some of them just look at bit much IMO

I’ve recently converted to flats when I bought a full suspension bike.
I bought 5 10s and am amazed at how grippy they are (I use the superstar plastic pedals).
They’re almost too grippy to the point where you have to lift your foot off to re-adjust position.

Da benifit iz bein down wiv da kewl kidz init. 8)

The grip they provide is in another league to trainers, however, if your happy with the grip your trainers provide, stick with them, it’s not like they’re not going to turn you into a riding god.

Whats the sizing like, I usually wear a dinky size 7 in most shoes but I have to wear size 8 in Adidas gazelles as they’re quite small fitting..was gonna split the difference and get 7.5, don’t really want the cost of sending them back with the prices that the Royal Mail rob you on.

I’ve been wearing 5:10s and shimano ‘proper’ flat biking shoes for years. I had to wear my trainers for a ride the other day, I couldn’t believe how aware I was of my feet not having any grip. From this limited sample I think you’ll be pleased with the difference.

Like P-Jay, I found the thick sole more beneficial than the increased grip (although that was very welcome, too). Thick sole helps dampen vibration and also makes for more effective power transfer to the pedals.

Not looking forward to the day my shoes need replaced, though. Although good shoes are worth it, £80 is a lot of money.

I’ve found both teva and 5:10 to size accurately.

Sizing wise they’re pretty much spot on in trainers. I go up 0.5 a size in running shoes to allow for swelling but my 5.10’s are spot on my normal gym trainer size.

The Freeriders and the newer VXi are much more robust than the original impacts (which is mostly where the “soaks up water and fall apart” reputation comes from.

The stiffness comes in 2 forms though. There sole is solid rubber, not a foam like running shoes. This makes them much more efficient on the bike. They’re also stiffer in that they won’t bend which helps too, stuff like approach shoes will have the grip but won’t be stiff enough. I added some stiff insoles mine to stiffen them up even more which helps with comfort on long rides.

Basically the better they are as a bike shoe, the worse they become as trainers (and by the same token, approach shoes and trainers make rubbish bike shoes). They’re stiffer than average and the sole doesn’t grip into mud either so climbing anything grassy/muddy becomes a bit of a challenge.

I was happy riding in running trainers for years. Bought a pair of Shimano flat shoes 5? years ago, and not been happy in running trainers since. Squishy, flexible midsole, instep, ramped midsole so your toes were closer to the pedal than your midfoot. Pedal spikes ripped through the sole in no time.

any flat soled shoe is better than that. as long as the tread is small and closely spaced to mesh well with the pedal spikes, rather than big knobs like a hiking boot that might lose them, that’s 90% of the benefit.

“proper” mtb shoes will have some or all of: a stiffer sole (but some prefer flexier), grippier rubber (but some prefer less), armour and some mudproofing eg flap to keep laces clean. You might not need or want any of these, in which case you can choose any flat-soled shoe as above.

The Guide Tennies I use have a nice stiff soles and stick like anything to the pedals, and can be worn in the pub too if you’ve dry feet or waterproof socks on.

I Can’t fault them, compared to non sticky trainers they’re like night and day, recently did my first bunny hop in them with flat pedals, quite pleased.

Five ten brilliant shoes used same pair for 7 yrs. Just bought a new alternative by Adidas for bikes using stealth five ten rubber as adidas own five ten now. Really nice, a lot lighter and feel more trainer like. Stiffer pedal interface area too.

Sometimes feel like the extra grip is kind of wasted, most decent flat shoes have more than enough grip… But some 5 10s are just really good allround shoes on top of that, really liking my Freeriders and Freerider Elements. Hated my Impact VXIs though, and my old Impact 2s fell apart after a couple of months, build quality of Asda trainers.

The extra grip comes into its own when I’m tired and ****ing up though 😆

I also used to love 5:10s, but having recently swapped to Spesh 2FOs, I won’t be going back in a hurry! Apart from the fact that 5:10 Freeriders look better than my 2FOs that is.