Having had an over the bars "incident" (broken wrist) whilst trying to learn how to jump in SPD's I have bought some flats (Octane ones off CRC) but have found my feet blowing off them a lot on landings. can anyone recomend some cheap flat shoes to buy as experiment and see if I get on with them?
Try tkmax get some skate shoes always a good start IMO
you can get some nike 6.0s pretty cheap on ebay, especially if you dont mind gopping colours
not as grippy as fivetens but not bad and the mids have some ankle protection, and the soles are nicely padded without being too thick!
Nike 6.0's, or some cheap Vans. Anything with a decent waffle style sole is fine if you've got decent pedals. 5.10's and the like are great, but overkill for a lot of people unless you REALLY need to be permanently stuck to the pedals pretty much! 😉
CRC has loads of Duffs on sale for £30 or less. Or Routeone for other skate/BMX shoes.
I take it you're on a hardtail? If you persevere you should adapt to moving with the bike and being more balanced.
By the way try having the flat a little further back on your sole than a SPD. I used to ride cleats around the ball of my foot, if not a little further forward. As I've been using flats more they've settled so the axle sits near the front of my instep, my toes are just in front of the front edge of the pedal. It felt odd at first, but it's a lot more stable.
Shinpads are worth it while you're finding your way 😉
Thanks for the advise will look into those suggestions, yeh I am riding a hardtail. Shin pads would be a good idea but would be shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted my shins look a bit like a snakes and ladders board already!
And keep you heels down, feels wrong to begin with...