Shoes for Flat Pedals

Ladies of NSMB, can you please recommend a good shoe to use with platform pedals? My wife has been using hiking boots, which don't really grip that well. The problem we find is the lack of offerings in women's sizing (the mens sizes are too wide), and the ones that do seem very casual…not exactly suited for riding Whistler. Any advice appreciated.

Thanks, Dave

5.10 High Impact

http://www.nsmb.com/gear/gear_shots12_05_05.php

sometimes they even feel too sticky.

wifee loves the Shimano DX. She even painted her second pair sparkly red for a Ripper!

See page 2

C4 rubber (the stuff they use for climbing shoes) is stickier than anything else out there. cove, MEC and marzocchi sell them. steed too i think.

pretty much every pro DH racer wearing flats on the world cup is running 5.10.

if they don't come small enough vans would be a distant second.

and don't forget about pedals. 50/50 hook up great and don't have the nasty fangs of other popular brands.
axiom are also a great pick for way fewer $$$

and for everyone else reading. your shoe pedal connection is one of the best places to improve your riding through technology. running shoes or hiking boots are the worst possible pick for cycling. they make it WAY WAY WAY harder to ride. if you can't go shopping, find a shoe with a flat surface and soft rubber. this provides the most contact area and best grip.

think skate shoes.

I wear Lake or Vans.

Grab a pair of Orchid BMX shoes, they're made for riding, they're not absurdly sticky like the 5.10's so you can actually reposition your foot while riding and they don't look lame…

5 10 doesn't make shoes if your feet are small. Denise has a size 5 boys shoe and 5 10 doesn't make anything smaller then a 10 or something. Check with Cheryl at the Cafe, she knows all the goods.

Greg

5 10 doesn't make shoes if your feet are small. Denise has a size 5 boys shoe and 5 10 doesn't make anything smaller then a 10 or something.

i thought the same thing too. the GF has wanted a pair of 5.10's for along time and had given up on the idea….
one day i was in mec and i noticed that the sample shoe looked really small and it ended up being a size 5 so i asked if they had any in stock.the display model ended up being the only pair so i bought them. since then i have noticed that they have had a another size 5 and a 5 1/2. this is the NS MEC and the shoes were the low top not the high tops.

i also bought the GF 2 pairs of these shoes, at 10 bucks a pop how can one go wrong..
http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?category=[HTML_REMOVED]subcategory=[HTML_REMOVED]brand=5150[HTML_REMOVED]sku=19516[HTML_REMOVED]storetype=[HTML_REMOVED]estoreid=[HTML_REMOVED]pagename=Shop%20by%20Brand%3A%20SixSixOne
she's worn them a few times and feels they are a good shoe, not as good as the 5.10 but a good shoe none the less.

Ladies of NSMB,

:lol: i guess 1 out of 7 ain't all that bad….

Grab a pair of Orchid BMX shoes, they're made for riding, they're not absurdly sticky like the 5.10's so you can actually reposition your foot while riding and they don't look lame…

cool i'll give those a shot - where do i find them? the 5-10's don't appeal to me as my pedals have long pins and i get stuck enough just wearing my boots. i need to be able to reposition my feet and dont want to get stuck.

Grab a pair of Orchid BMX shoes, they're made for riding, they're not absurdly sticky like the 5.10's so you can actually reposition your foot while riding and they don't look lame…

i've had 3 orchid shoes, from 3ride.com
they're great shoes.
however there are cons.

-shoes do not offer ankle protection
-shoes are not really impact absorbing, they hurt the toes.

another thing to look out for is, not wearing them as a casual shoe. no matter how hard the compound is, they will become bald if they are worn casually.(im sure that's not a problem for the ladies)
i recently purchased the five.ten nathan rennie shoes. they offer great ankle protection opposed to Orchid/skateshoes. Also, i find the sole ALOT more stickier, and the shoe to be overall more impact absorbant.

5 10 doesn't make shoes if your feet are small. Denise has a size 5 boys shoe and 5 10 doesn't make anything smaller then a 10 or something. Check with Cheryl at the Cafe, she knows all the goods.

Greg

Smaller than a 10???? That's not true… I've seen 5-10's as small as size 6 in men's, and have heard of a lucky few women who have managed to get smaller sizes (I guess they did a small run of them a year or so back…).

Also, this year's 5-10's fit a little better. I have very narrow feet, average length, and last years worked- but were a bit wide. I tried on this years and they felt great…. If you can find em' and fit em', 5-10 are the best IMO.

Smaller than a 10???? That's not true… I've seen 5-10's as small as size 6 in men's, and have heard of a lucky few women who have managed to get smaller sizes (I guess they did a small run of them a year or so back…).

Also, this year's 5-10's fit a little better. I have very narrow feet, average length, and last years worked- but were a bit wide. I tried on this years and they felt great…. If you can find em' and fit em', 5-10 are the best IMO.

Just repeating what the guy at MEC on Broadway told me and Denise when we were looking for some for her. They used to make them but have discontinued the smaller sizes. I have not contacted 5 10. That is why I suggested talking to Cheryl as she has called and talked to them and has first hand information.

Greg

Contact 5-10 directly and they can usually locate some of the right size. I wear women's 6-l/2 which is pretty small and my foot is narrow. I have 2 pair (men's 5-l/2 I think) because I love them, they're much better than the Vans we used before. However, I was noticing my one pair (the same size) was fitting snugger then the other so I guess it's the difference noted between this year's and last year's fit. A caveat about using them, the combination of sticky flats and the sticky shoes will make it hard to move your foot around. We had to go with less sticky flats and now they're perfect. I can nudge my foot around enough to reposition. This is by far the most popular shoe for flats. But it's soft climbing shoe rubber so don't wear them for anything other than your biking or you'll wear them out.