I asked a question a couple of days ago about cold feet/warm socks. As a consequence I’m now convinced that my shoes are not quite big enough and they may very well be the cause.

I need the moon on a stick I’m afraid, a sticky, durable, inexpensive shoe. I’m tempted by the am41 (curently under £60 at merlin) but can anyone suggest an alternative. I’m a size 9/10.

see Sports Direct (*also selling on flebay) they were doing Muddy Fox shoes for £20 to £25. I got a pair, they fitted fine, felt fine but I haven’t biked in them yet and have no idea of durability quality.

Sombrio are worth a look. I’ve been using a pair for most of this year, as good as/better than the AM40 in terms of grip and weatherproofing, but more durable. (soles are holding up really well on mine)

For under £60…no. I use them and they are great up to a point. Complaints – If you dab down in the mud, no grip. They do let water in in the worst weather (but to be expected) and mine started coming apart after a dozen or so rides.

Still happy with mine after 12 months though and gladly buy them again (especially if they’re under £60.00). Would try Five Ten’s, but they’re way expensive.

What pedals are you running thepurist? I’m currently using nukeproof electrons – generally reviews seem to suggest they’re pretty grippy but the specialized shoes that I’m looking to replace don’t seem to get on with them very well. Made a rather impressive selection of holes in my leg on a wet summers day when my shoe decided not to grip at all at the bottom of a steep hill.

I had some AM41s that i used for Commuting/MTB/general cycling. Covered about 5000miles in them over the year or so that i had them, but they quickly started to wear. Leatehr finish came off the left shoe near the toe, both developed deep pedal gouges pretty quickly (right through the sole to the upper on the right foot!) and eventually the left shoe sole came away from the upper.

Bought some Sombrio high-top type shoes with a lace cover from CRC about a month ago and have been great so far (think they were circa £60). great grip, warmer than the AM41s and feel a bit more trainer like off the bike. Not had them off road yet thought though so no idea about weather protection yet. firts impressions are good though!

The sombrios are certainly looking like a possibility £63ish at CRC today with the 10% off code.

How do you find the sizing?

Code is for £100 or over so you’ll need to buy something along with the shoes?

d00m – Wellgo MG1s for me, but as usual they’ve got the odd pin missing. Sizing is the same as my normal shoes & I’ve just about got room for some wooly socks.

Just got a pair of AM41’s as a second pair of shoes for when my Impacts are drying out! If you decide to go for them I suggest going half a size up if possible. I usually take 9’s but they were out of stock so I went for the 9 1/2. On receiving them they fit perfectly. I bought them as they are lighter than the 5 10’s and a bit more weather proof / less like a sponge 🙂

edit – and the Merlin price is a bargain at the moment.

mine started coming apart after a dozen or so rides.

yeah mine too, poorly made for the big S. And I miss the stiff sole of the AM40, for hunks like me they are too soft, I use superfeet in mine to make them stiffer.

Teva Links are very nice. My only problem is that I do miss the grip of Five Tens sometimes. Still noticibly grippier than any skate shoe/trainer I’ve biked with though, so it depends on how much you want.

I got a pretty good deal on mine on Evans. Bike-Discount has also done deals on certain colours/sizes.

Curse you crashtestmonkey, I now have no choice but to find something else to buy.

So so far a fairly even split between sombrio and shimano it would seem – hmmm.

Just got the call from Feet First in Chesterfield to say my Inov8 Goretex boots are about to be shipped back to me complete with 5-10 sticky dot rubber. Should be interesting! Given it’s an experiment, I got a pair cheap off ebay to try.

heihei – Keep us updated with the results. Sounds like a very nifty experiment!

Boots arrived, and very neat job. First ride out today in the Slurrey Hills and toasty dry feet, but with bags of grip on my Nukeproof pedals. All in all seems a bit of result.

I have AM 41s and use them with Nanos and Gusset Slim Jims. I like them and have no complaints. The top cover overt the laces is soft and gets nicked quite easily but it doesn’t affect how they work. Grip is good – less than 5.10s but That suits me. Weatherproofing is OK but they’re not a winter boot. I’d buy them again. Oh and my feet are about your size and a 44 suits me fine.

The sombrios are certainly looking like a possibility £63ish at CRC today with the 10% off code.

I got the Sombrio Shazam X with the 10% off.

Not worn them on the bike yet but I’m really impressed with the fit, the way they’re put together and how comfy they are.

And as if in protest at being usurped, one of my Freeriders has finally given up the ghost, with a hole erupting down out of the sole.

I did try the AM41s, but they were a bit flimsy. Sole tore up on my pedal pins and upper expired, with fluffy white stuff coming out.