I’ve been wanting to switch to flats for winter, improving technique and those trips to the park with my daughter for pootles.

The problem is I can’t find a nice fitting pair of flat shoes. I’ve tried a couple of five tens (freerider contacts and maltese falcons) both of which felt too wide. I’m not sure if this is to do with having snug fitting spds for years. I’ve also tried a pair of Spesh 2FO and they felt too clumpy/stiff.

Any others I should consider?

just got some adidas crosstrail sl. got em on now, seem ok.
cheap on the adidas site.

You might want to try the freerider element, it’s a totally different shoe from the contact and the fit’s a bit different. (there’s various freeriders but the element’s the best winter 5 10 I’ve tried)

The freerider is good for grip, but the standard one is rubbish in the wet and I don’t find the soles stiff enough for longer rides.

The Giro Jacket is a good shoe; not quite as grippy as 5 10’s but narrower and has a good sole for pedalling. Not too bad in the wet either.

Freerider element. I added an extra inner sole and fit well. Five tens are brilliant for flats

Cheers folks. Will take a look at those. With the Five Tens not suiting and those being the most popular / benchmark flats I was wondering what options I had.

I find the Five Tens on the wide side, however the FreeRider Contact is a narrower fit to the others I found, but be aware that the plastic sides on the Freerider contact (there’s like a see through section on the side) does eventually crack over time and will leak in splashes etc, there more of a summer riding shoe, but I’d still recommend them, most comfortable footwear for both riding and walking in, they have the Stealth sole, it’s the one without the pimples, they look like they may not have any grip to due a non existent tread pattern , but it’s all about the rubber, they grip like….to a blanket. You can’t go far wrong with any Five Tens to be fair.

I upgraded from “normal” skate shoes to shimano this year as I had a voucher and thought why not. I’ve not tried freeriders or anything else so can’t compare but I think these are excellent. Decent toe protection, do a good job of keeping reasonable amounts of water off (as the laces have a pull over part thingy), great grip and very comfortable.

These I believe: – http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/shimano-am7-mtb-shoes-2016/rp-prod138002

Really impressed with my latest Freeriders, which are the uniquely distinctive ELC version. Once they’re covered in mud people will stop commenting on the style (but I think they’re jealous…)

They retain the good points of the Element (not waterproof but close enough for something with a big hole where you ankle goes where water gets in anyway) but improve upon it by having a lace cover to keep the mud off the laces and more water out, a slightly stiffer sole, and a harder wearing version of the 5.10 sticky sole (it’s not quite as sticky but it’s more than sticky enough, better than anyone else’s shoes I’ve tried). And the tongue is much comfier where it meets your ankle. And the sole is fully stitched to the upper so the durability should be much better.

This is the more subtle looking version:

(Not being sarcastic…)

Vaude Moab Low Am, or Moab Mid stx am .

I got pair of these, Low Am

Snug, more like approach shoe like fit. I got rather narrow instep and these fit well. Takes few rides to break in.

Solid shoe

My thoughts on the Vaude Moab Mid STX are Here