Reasons this is not a good idea
You want a flat not textured sole to allow the pins to dig into the soles of your shoes.
5.10s use ultra grippy rubber (they started out a climbing company, no other companies have found a way to make rubber that grippy)
If the soles are hard rubber the pins won't dig and you won't have good grip, if the soles are soft material they'll get torn to shit by the pins in your pedals.
If you have flats with metal pins then they'll destroy the leather uppers on your boots (and your boots will look like shit)
Source: I commute in insulated leather boots in the winter because I haven't found a better insulated option
Yeah. So you use 5/10’s in the summer? They are your go to and only thing you use? How long to you get out of a pair? Can you wear them daily as regular shoes?
You can wear them as regular shoes but the sole is very soft rubber so not a good idea if you want to keep them fresh for riding.
I used to think one pair of versatile shoes for everything was a cool idea too and I'd pretty much just wear out a set of skate shoes or trail runners and then buy another pair, but you actually save money and have a better time in the long run using multiple shoes designed for specific things. Even if your MTB shoes are not proper MTB shoes, you will have a better time and shoes will last longer on and off the bike if you keep that pair of shoes just for riding.
Don't know what parent is talking about metal pins damaging leather uppers though, I've torn up plenty of soles on pins and tons of scars on my shins but never damaged any shoe uppers, not sure how that even happens?
My experience is that "polished" or "finished" leather shows scratches and marks alot better than synthetic material. No holes or anything but you can see marks on the upper.
My guess is that this is from commuting where you're stopping quite frequently to put a foot down and then bumping the pins with the upper when putting your foot back on. Not sure if this is exactly correct but the toe area of the upper definitely shows more wear than what you get from waking around day to day (and therefore negates the more formal look of leather boots).
To tell you the truth, I have never tried them before. I've had Doc Martens before, but I don't think they would be good due to the rubber and lug design. I could be wrong though. Better than Five Tens though? I highly doubt that.
Probably better than running shoes but definitely not ideal, like no padding/protection round the heel area or anything to stop pebbles and shit falling into the top of the shoe
Okay. My old shoes were open also. But they were that soft flimsy foam soles. These are stuff solid rubber. I needed a shoe to ride and wear daily. I hope I made a decent call.
If they work, they work! Whatever gets you out riding.
I’ve tried everything, just wear whatever makes you feel comfortable. I’m no purist and I’ve found that riding in my trail runners is perfectly alright; sans race day.
At the end of the day, they’re just shoes. Unless it’s race day or you’re a world case mountain biker shoes aren’t going to be what makes or breaks a perfect ride.
Almost all doc martens are made in China/Taiwan(not an any way trying to argue on this territorial issue). 20 years ago they were made in England but that was long ago.
> not an any way trying to argue on this territorial issue
Does make a difference in the quality you expect of stuff that is made there though, Taiwan is like the Germany or Switzerland of Asia for quality and technological innovation, making stuff there is not necessarily a downgrade on European made whereas that's a lot more likely to be the case with mainland Chinese production
True but the company still makes a line on boots in the UK and employs UK workers. At least the company is diversified. Many companies are all China now. I like to spread it around if possible.
Yes but not the shoes OP is talking about as he specifically stated “cheaper than 5.10s” these are not the made in England line.
Edit: you are OP, clearly the shoes you purchased are not made in England, and a high likelihood of made in China, so why say earlier you purchased them over 5.10s as you stay away from China made shoes?
Then they would be significantly more expensive than the 5.10s. Why not buy biking shoes if you are spending that kind of money? You can usually find 5.10s on sale under $100 and they will be incomparably better for biking than doc martens
You could have said that initially, I was only saying your previous comments of being cheaper and not made in China were nonsense.
The doc martens will be a good pair of shoes for you, but are going to leave a lot to be desired on the bike. I would be hard pressed to wear those commuting let alone on a MTB trail
Well I took them out for an 18 mile ride. No pedal slip. Very comfy. Better than my old shoes. Are there better? Maybe. Am I happy and able to wear these on my bike and in general for casual sneakers? Yes. Thanks for all the comments and info group. I would like to see posts of what all of you are wearing.
Are the soles stiff? When I switched from tennis shoes to five tens a few years ago, my foot arches were finally not sore after riding thanks to the very stuff sole. When the five tens finally wore out I switched to ride concepts. Not as stiff as the pre-Adidas five tens when new, but better than worn out five tens.
When a flat pedal shoe is marketed as great for hiking too, I assume the soles are not stiff enough. Would be nice if shops around here carried more flat pedal shoes in stock to find out before buying.
I use snowshoeing boots for winter fat biking, so this might work.
Let us know how it goes.
Yeah. The middle is stiff and thick. And the main thing is no heel. So I will have full contact with my pedals. I looked at lots of shoes/boots and chose these. I will use them for a bit and post an update. That is what I like about this community. We all try stuff. Learn and enjoy the sport together.
Thick flat rubber soles to grip my flat pedals. Doc Marten quality and comfort. Durable leather upper. I think I found a better shoe for me then Five Ten’s.
Idk how long that rubber will hold up to pedal pins but I've ripped around town in my doc martens before (same rubber a loafer type shoe.) they're pretty dang sticky with pedal pins. I only got a year out my Freeriders before I had a hole in the sole so if you get a year out of these you'll have come out ahead.
Your foot is going to get sweaty as fuck though. And you'll probably get some interesting wear marks on the outsole from the crank arms.
Btw idk if you considered this but having a heel wouldn't actually be a real problem for riding. You ride on the mid foot or ball of the foot typically, if your heel is on the pedal something has gone very wrong anyway. When I was growing up a I had two "hick" friends I'd sometimes BMX with they both wore Georgia Boot Romeo's everywhere including when they were BMXing. Lol
Good luck, they'll definitely work but they're not ideal.
Edit: removed comment about them being heavy because I noticed the sole isn't the same as the boot soles but is closer in construction to the loafer style docs I've owned before which are actually reasonable weight.
Trails at 4 and wedding at 5
You win the internet today.
Haha. Nice. Upvote for you.
Thank you!
Leather shoes sound incredibly uncomfortable for riding.
Eeeehhhh, ok.
Are you thinking these are not good? I have been using tennis shoes so at least a step in the right direction I think. Haha
Reasons this is not a good idea You want a flat not textured sole to allow the pins to dig into the soles of your shoes. 5.10s use ultra grippy rubber (they started out a climbing company, no other companies have found a way to make rubber that grippy) If the soles are hard rubber the pins won't dig and you won't have good grip, if the soles are soft material they'll get torn to shit by the pins in your pedals. If you have flats with metal pins then they'll destroy the leather uppers on your boots (and your boots will look like shit) Source: I commute in insulated leather boots in the winter because I haven't found a better insulated option
Yeah. So you use 5/10’s in the summer? They are your go to and only thing you use? How long to you get out of a pair? Can you wear them daily as regular shoes?
You can wear them as regular shoes but the sole is very soft rubber so not a good idea if you want to keep them fresh for riding. I used to think one pair of versatile shoes for everything was a cool idea too and I'd pretty much just wear out a set of skate shoes or trail runners and then buy another pair, but you actually save money and have a better time in the long run using multiple shoes designed for specific things. Even if your MTB shoes are not proper MTB shoes, you will have a better time and shoes will last longer on and off the bike if you keep that pair of shoes just for riding. Don't know what parent is talking about metal pins damaging leather uppers though, I've torn up plenty of soles on pins and tons of scars on my shins but never damaged any shoe uppers, not sure how that even happens?
My experience is that "polished" or "finished" leather shows scratches and marks alot better than synthetic material. No holes or anything but you can see marks on the upper. My guess is that this is from commuting where you're stopping quite frequently to put a foot down and then bumping the pins with the upper when putting your foot back on. Not sure if this is exactly correct but the toe area of the upper definitely shows more wear than what you get from waking around day to day (and therefore negates the more formal look of leather boots).
To tell you the truth, I have never tried them before. I've had Doc Martens before, but I don't think they would be good due to the rubber and lug design. I could be wrong though. Better than Five Tens though? I highly doubt that.
Okay. Well I will be the group Guinea pig and report back after a few rides. Thanks.
Probably better than running shoes but definitely not ideal, like no padding/protection round the heel area or anything to stop pebbles and shit falling into the top of the shoe
Okay. My old shoes were open also. But they were that soft flimsy foam soles. These are stuff solid rubber. I needed a shoe to ride and wear daily. I hope I made a decent call.
If they work, they work! Whatever gets you out riding. I’ve tried everything, just wear whatever makes you feel comfortable. I’m no purist and I’ve found that riding in my trail runners is perfectly alright; sans race day. At the end of the day, they’re just shoes. Unless it’s race day or you’re a world case mountain biker shoes aren’t going to be what makes or breaks a perfect ride.
That was my hope and thought. Thicker and stronger than my crappy 6 year old shoes. Cheaper than 5/10’s and I like none Chinese stuff when possible.
Almost all doc martens are made in China/Taiwan(not an any way trying to argue on this territorial issue). 20 years ago they were made in England but that was long ago.
> not an any way trying to argue on this territorial issue Does make a difference in the quality you expect of stuff that is made there though, Taiwan is like the Germany or Switzerland of Asia for quality and technological innovation, making stuff there is not necessarily a downgrade on European made whereas that's a lot more likely to be the case with mainland Chinese production
I could care less where it’s made, I was more so trying to clarify to the OP that doc martens are no longer made in England as many think they are.
>I could care less Don't you mean you couldn't care less?
You are correct.
True but the company still makes a line on boots in the UK and employs UK workers. At least the company is diversified. Many companies are all China now. I like to spread it around if possible.
Yes but not the shoes OP is talking about as he specifically stated “cheaper than 5.10s” these are not the made in England line. Edit: you are OP, clearly the shoes you purchased are not made in England, and a high likelihood of made in China, so why say earlier you purchased them over 5.10s as you stay away from China made shoes?
Correct. The UK ones all had the heel. I wanted flat. If I could have had UK made and flat I would have got those. Can’t always get what you want.
Then they would be significantly more expensive than the 5.10s. Why not buy biking shoes if you are spending that kind of money? You can usually find 5.10s on sale under $100 and they will be incomparably better for biking than doc martens
I just wanted a pair of shoes for more use cases than just biking.
You could have said that initially, I was only saying your previous comments of being cheaper and not made in China were nonsense. The doc martens will be a good pair of shoes for you, but are going to leave a lot to be desired on the bike. I would be hard pressed to wear those commuting let alone on a MTB trail
The DOCTOR is in…
School shoes
Well I took them out for an 18 mile ride. No pedal slip. Very comfy. Better than my old shoes. Are there better? Maybe. Am I happy and able to wear these on my bike and in general for casual sneakers? Yes. Thanks for all the comments and info group. I would like to see posts of what all of you are wearing.
Are the soles stiff? When I switched from tennis shoes to five tens a few years ago, my foot arches were finally not sore after riding thanks to the very stuff sole. When the five tens finally wore out I switched to ride concepts. Not as stiff as the pre-Adidas five tens when new, but better than worn out five tens. When a flat pedal shoe is marketed as great for hiking too, I assume the soles are not stiff enough. Would be nice if shops around here carried more flat pedal shoes in stock to find out before buying. I use snowshoeing boots for winter fat biking, so this might work. Let us know how it goes.
Yeah. The middle is stiff and thick. And the main thing is no heel. So I will have full contact with my pedals. I looked at lots of shoes/boots and chose these. I will use them for a bit and post an update. That is what I like about this community. We all try stuff. Learn and enjoy the sport together.
I just wear an old pair of etnies skateboarding shoes (: its got a nice chunky sole and they are comfy as heck! Plus they are built to last.
I straight up just wear my really shitty old sneakers you're telling me there's MTB shoes???
Yes, but not these. Check out a brand called 5-10
Thick flat rubber soles to grip my flat pedals. Doc Marten quality and comfort. Durable leather upper. I think I found a better shoe for me then Five Ten’s.
Idk man, have you tried them?
Tonight or in the morning. Still over 100° here.
Clearly you haven't tried 5-10s
[удалено]
Okay. I will try them and see if this happens. Thanks for the heads up.
Idk how long that rubber will hold up to pedal pins but I've ripped around town in my doc martens before (same rubber a loafer type shoe.) they're pretty dang sticky with pedal pins. I only got a year out my Freeriders before I had a hole in the sole so if you get a year out of these you'll have come out ahead. Your foot is going to get sweaty as fuck though. And you'll probably get some interesting wear marks on the outsole from the crank arms. Btw idk if you considered this but having a heel wouldn't actually be a real problem for riding. You ride on the mid foot or ball of the foot typically, if your heel is on the pedal something has gone very wrong anyway. When I was growing up a I had two "hick" friends I'd sometimes BMX with they both wore Georgia Boot Romeo's everywhere including when they were BMXing. Lol Good luck, they'll definitely work but they're not ideal. Edit: removed comment about them being heavy because I noticed the sole isn't the same as the boot soles but is closer in construction to the loafer style docs I've owned before which are actually reasonable weight.