the new versions are even more gopping than the old so are out and the soles didnt last as long as i`d hoped.

i quite like hte look of 510 karvers but £90 for a shoe i`ll abuse, neglect and probably destroy the sole on?

vans gravels?

i`ve had nikes and they are horrible to wear in the wet but at least are cheap!

any good deals on a robust bike shoe that keeps the water out?

cheers

FiveTen Freeriders look ace and grip like a grippy thing.

It’s a bike ride, not a fashion show.

But yeah Freeriders are good – though I save them for the dry now that I have a pair of AM41s

I’m a big fan of 661’s myself. Wear them til they fall apart (about 12 months), buy new pair. Repeat.

BTW: Could I just applaud your use of language. ‘Gopping’ is a term seen far too seldom in thread titles 😀

have you seen the new AM41’s (or whatever they’re called) fo’ real, or just on tinterweb?

they’re just black with a few white bits, after a few rides they’re just grubby black with a few grubby grey bits.

they’re less ‘marmite’ than the old white ones…

The soles on my AM40s are pretty much shot too, I was going to send them to Feet First for a 5.10 resole.

£45 though, so it depends on whether you’re very happy with the ones you’ve got. I think I’m happy enough. Saves a bit of landfill too, if you like that sort of thing.

ahwiles, they’re still rather “special” looking shoes….

By contrast;

i suggest that we meet half way.

AM41’s are (imho) odd looking things, but less odd than the old white ones.

most of the ‘oddness’ comes from the lace-cover, which is however a very usefull thing.

i don’t long for the good old days of struggling with cold fingers and softened fingernails to untie a wet, double-knotted shoe lace that’s covered in freezing mud.

The AM41s actually don’t look that bad on, and the lace cover is an absolute godsend. They wipe clean too.

Another one for 5-10 Freeriders. I’ve got one pair for riding and one for casual use. They are very grippy and the bike ones seem to be standing up to over a year of a lot of abuse including much hike-a-bike

As a devoted AM40 wearer it upsets me to confess I shall not be investing in the odd looking AM41’s. 661’s sound worth giving a go.

what are the freriders like for riding in the rain? they look more sponge like/trainery than the AM41’s??

the am40 dont seem to hold that much water. especially compared to something like the nike 6.0’s.

i’ve seen the spd versions of the new ones in the flesh. maybe you are right about getting them worn in.

anyone tried the Vans gravels in the rain yet?

Mmm. Wipe clean…

I found the freeriders were too thin in the sole, I could feel the pedal spikes on the soles of my feet and the shoe seemed to deform around the pedal. Went back to Impacts.

661 are spd only from what i can see…

Anyone else get the boak at the thought of spending £70+ on a pair of trainers you only wear on your bike?

I’m currently rocking an ancient pair of Vans Rowleys that are just about to disintegrate. I alternate them with a pair of ultra cheapo Asda sannies that cost me £8.

Anyone else get the boak (?) at the thought of spending £70+ on a pair of trainers you only wear on your bike?

no more or less than the thought of paying £50 for a pair of tyres that will only last 1 trip to alps-land.

or £100ish quid on a front wheel that’s on it’s last legs after only 5 years.

Who cares what they look like. Yeah, they wouldn’t exactly be my first choice of footwear for wearing down the pub, but I only bought them to wear while riding my bike. And at the end of the day, most cycling gear makes the rider look at least slightly foolish (although they don’t look as bad once they’re on).

They’re much cheaper than 5:10s (I got mine for £60 online), will almost certainly last longer, and the wipe-clean material and lace cover makes them a much more sensible design for UK riding. I’ve never ridden with 5:10s, so can’t comment on the relative grip levels, but I’ve never had an issue with a lack of grip with the Shimanos.

Grippy, comfy, well priced, durable and reasonably water resistant…being slightly weird looking isn’t enough to outweigh the positives for me.

Anyone else get the boak (?) at the thought of spending £70+ on a pair of trainers you only wear on your bike?

Aye. My AM41s were £60 on pricematch from Evans though.

I found the freeriders were too thin in the sole, I could feel the pedal spikes on the soles of my feet and the shoe seemed to deform around the pedal

Never, ever found either of those with the Freeriders and I do use reasonable length pins

CaptainMainwaring I know, I found it very odd but that is definitely what was happening. I do run a pair of these though so maybe that’s the issue:

Is that a pedal or medieval torture instrument?

the Am41s while a bit joey deacon in the publicity shots do not look half as ‘gopping’ when you wear them, and are grippy, weather resistant, laces out the way, wipe clean etc etc

£53 I paid

Anyone else get the boak (?) at the thought of spending £70+ on a pair of trainers you only wear on your bike?

I got my AM40s for £55ish I think. But even paying full price, I’d rather spend £140 every 2 years on one good pair of bike shoes and one good pair of running trainers than £50 every 6 months on running trainers that get ripped apart by metal pins they’re not designed to cope with.

The AM41’s one of the very few properly hideous things that actually looks worse in reality than it does on a computer screen. Gimp helmets for feet. And am I right that they lack the adjustable stiffness inserts of the AM40 as well? Just seems like it’s all steps back.

OTOH my AM40s will be dead soon and I’m not that enthused about buying another pair of 5 10s that’ll last about 1/3d as long before they self destruct. TBH I’m tempted to go out and buy some of those ridiculously expensive last-stock AM40s while they’re still available.

my 5.10 impacts, esp the soles, have lasted already 2x longer than my AM40s (white versions). those vibram soles started to fall apart very quickly round the pedal pins, to the point of really being quite crap at acutally gripping the pedal.

5.10 sole, whilst softer and much more grippy, also seems, possibly because of said softness, to be content to remain in one piece for a lot longer still.

Also find that I suffer a lot less pain the sole of my foot as it curves over the pedals on 5.10s than shimanos, which seem a feeble little shoe in comparison.

All comments re lace cover and cleanability of shimanos are correct, that is much better than impacts.

5.10 impacts FTW!

I agree pretty much entirely with Big Scot Nanny. My AM40s, whilst good shoes have got no grip left around the pins as the vibram sole just tore apart. My Impacts have been ridden much more and are still in much better condition. Just got a pair of the new Five Ten Barons and they seem excellent. Much less clumpy than the Impacts and with just as much grip.

Northwind – Member
…OTOH my AM40s will be dead soon

Just the soles, or the uppers/lining too?

If there’s some life in the uppers and lining, a resole might be worth it, specially given the “AM40 uppers/lace cover > 5.10, 5.10 soles > AM40” comments.

http://www.feetfirst.resoles.co.uk/cycling_mtb_shoe_repair.php

I honestly think it’s 50/50 when you add the £8 P&P to the £45, but I might go for it anyway as I’ve got some rock shoes I can get into the same P&P.

It’s the top that’s coming apart on mine… Fair enough really, they’ve lasted very well. The sole’s a little chunked up but still grips well.

(my old 5 10s were the same tbh, the sole outlasted the rest of the shoe, but in their case it was because the upper part of the shoe fell apart ridiculously fast, rather than the sole being durable)

Decided to put my money where my mouth is and buy one of the last pairs of AM40s, £78 🙁 But worth it I think

I’m very happy with vans gravels, they seem to have an actual insole rather than compressed cardboard (5ten) that is comfy. I’d wear them down the pub too as they just look like neat black trainers. Durability has been very good so far and it certainly feels like they will out last my old freerides (although the new freerides have improved the construction techniques where mine failed). They wont be as good as the shimanos in the wet but I’ll take the trade-off then it gets a bit warmer!

Those of you who think the AM41s are not sylish enough should post pictures of yourself in your most dapper riding kit.

😉

15% off Five Tens @ Freeflow right now

http://www.freeflowbikes.com/clothing-and-accessories/shoes-socks-and-over-shoes/five-ten.html

Just bought a pair of 5:10 freeriders and was going to ride home tonight but saw the rain, thought “they’re too nice to get dirty” and got the train home instead!

In my defense I’m going to christen them at fort William on Sunday instead, and yes, 70 quid is ridiculous.

chakaping – Member

Those of you who think the AM41s are not sylish enough should post pictures of yourself in your most dapper riding kit.

I’ll have you know I’m super fresh to the max.

<edit> Actually, I know I look like a spakker, I’m just worried that the AM41s might push things so far that I just get sectioned on the spot.

My AM40s been going well for over a year now and I really like them even though they are mostly white, so much so that I ‘insurance bought’ another pair before they went out of stock.. were £45ish .. IIRC with the CRC £5 voucher before the creditcard meltdown… 😉

the shimanos aint to bad in the flesh but my 510 karvers are awesome look good and grip like hell. they seem to take some abuse aswell. fair enough they are £90. but i would say they are deffinately worth the cash.

i prefer the performance of my am40’s over my 5.10’s