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hello. After giving flat pedals a go for for a year then trying out some platform SPDs and shoes I've decided that, although I like the flat pedal feel and will not be getting rid of them, on balance I prefer SPDs for most of my riding so I'm looking at the various flat/clip style shoes available.
The ones I tried were the shimano AM9 which felt good but look like they'd be hopeless for any sort of off-bike ambling in mud - so what else is out there in this niche and what's good? So far I've looked at:
Shimano AM9
5-10 Kestrel
Northwave Enduro (pricy but liked the tread)
Specialized Cliplite
anything else worth investigating? cheers
a gentle nudge into the visibility zone...
https://www.ion-products.com/bike/men/footwear/footwear-2017/rascal/
Those are utterly brilliant. hands down the best and most "flat pedal shoe" feeling clipless shoe i've used in 30 years. fit is utterly spot on size for size. never had a pair of shoes by anyone fit me like those do.
thanks - never seen those before, how useful is the toe and heel tread? Grippy or token gesture?
Giro Rumble maybe?
Spec 2fo though of your pedals don't really contact the sole not much point Run mine with cb Mallet dh which are an awesome combo.
I had a pair of Shimano ME7s in October. Wanted to really like them but didn’t work for me. Sole was great with a decent amount of grip on all surfaces and was wearing well after a lot of hike a bike on rock. However, no real heel cup and soft upper material meant they weren’t good for walking in - heel lift and foot would slide off the base on off camber stuff. The mesh toe is out of place as well - they’re fairly weatherproof apart from that but that means even a small puddle dumps a load of water into your shoes. Despite being “Kevlar” the mesh ripped on both shoes. Went back under warranty.
Replaced wth Specialized 2FO cliplite. These, if anything, have overly stiff uppers and are taking some wearing in. Doing a huge hike-a-bike on volcanic rock the first day out probably wasn’t the best idea. Well fitting heel cup, tough uppers. Weak point on these is the sole - not a lot of grip on anything muddy and i tore it in a few places (but it was a week of riding on incredibly sharp rock). I’d like an ME7 sole on a pair o 2FO basically!
re platforms - both work well on my Time platforms. It’s much less about support when you’re clipped in and more about being able to pedal or ride when you’re not. The long cleat slot on both works well. (Bargain 2Fo Clipite from Cyclestore at the moment)
I've found Mavic shoes have great tread for mud, but quite pricey just got some 2fo cliplite Lace up shoes from Evans eBay store for £32 I'll see how they go
Good timely topic for me this.
I've been desperate to find a shoe/pedal combo that gave clip in efficiency, but not that loose 'skating' feel you get, and more of a flat pedal feel.
Having spent a small fortune on some new Saint SPD's and a pair of ME7's, I can confirm that the Shimano ME7 does NOT work. All the extra material around the SPD cage is totally pointless as none of it makes any contact and the feel through your foot is exactly the same as it would be on an M520.
Both products really good individually, but as a combo, a bit pointless.
Interestingly I read some reviews of those ION shoes above, and one tester reckoned that the sole was contacting the pedal cage, and marked them down. Surely, that is the point of the 'flat spd' pedal and shoe combo, certainly that's what I have been trying to achieve (and failed so far).
If the sole is not gripping the pedal cage, then whats the point - you may as well just use nice light racy slippers and pedals and save the weight and ground clearance.
See my comment above. With either the ME7 or the 2FO on a time pedal I’ve found I can pedal (and descend) without being clipped in. With a race shoe and a cageless pedal that really isnt a good idea.
thanks for the further suggestions:
my impression of the ME7 is that it's meant to be used with the 'trail' pedals like the M520 / 530 with the cage but not really with pedals with pins so it's helpful to have it confirmed. I tried the AM9s with the saint pedals and the combo was pretty good with a reasonable grip unclipped and was really easy to clip in.
I guess you'll never get a full flat pedal feel because the metal lump on the bottom of the shoe is going to prevent that level of grip but just to have something that doesnt feel like a total gamble when you're unclipped would be the aim.
I like the look of the Ions and the cliplite - also found the Pearl Izumi X-Alp but not sure how well the tread would work with this type of pedal - depends if its rubber or plasticky
it can't grip too much when clipped in or you'd not be able to rotate to unclip....
Am9 are cheap on start fitness at the moment, just ordered a set at £60