Flat pedals and shoes recommendations

[UpTheIron]

Advice time please!

Wife does a mix of road and gravel riding, typically 15-30 miles at a time at a reasonable pace and occasionally shorter MTB trails (nothing extreme).

She doesn't want toe clips or clipless after a big accident (that was nothing to do with being clipped in!) and I want to find a better solution than her current "slippery" pedals and running shoes.

So... I'm after a bike specific shoe that works with flat pedals and probably a flat pedal that wouldn't look out of place on a (decent spec) gravel bike.

I've got a pair of MTB focussed Mavic shoes that work with flats or SPD that fit the bill (although rather heavy) but I can't find anything similar on sale (have only looked at Wiggle so far).

What should I be searching for?

[Tickle]

Burgtec Penthouse and 5ten Freeride, no issues here.

[simonjj67]

Same as above Burgtec and FiveTens with Stealth sole and feet stay put.

[cml24]

I've got dmr v8 on one bike and v12 on another. Both great pedals, but unsure how they'd look on a gravel bike.

I'd say something quite thin and dark in colour would suit a gravel bike maybe? Unsure what though!

I've had 5ten shoes and they were great, but could get them to fit me quite right (broke my toe and one foot is wider now). I've gone for shimano shoes instead which are also great.

However, I don't wear them on my road bike which I use flat pedals on. I'd be interested to see what recome dating there are for shoes for road/gravel and flat pedals. I currently wear squash shoes...

If these were black and thinner, not sure people would really notice when riding (not that I'm bothered on my commuter bike!)

Edited by cml24 on Tuesday 1st February 21:45

[WelshRich]

5.10 are owned by Adidas and some of their Terrex trainers use the “Stealth” rubber soles if she prefers the look/style of a running shoe…

[UpTheIron]

Cheers all!

[dudleybloke]

Got V8's on my hybrid and mtb. They suit my feet well and last forever.

[GravelBen]

Kona Wah Wah 2 are my favourite flat pedal, I think they make a small size option too which would probably suit most female feet better.

Oneup composites and Nukeproof Neutron Evo are good flat pedal options I've used too and good value.

Re shoes, 5.10 used to seem like the only real option but there are heaps of choices available now. 5.10, Ride Concepts, Shimano, Etnies, Giro, probably a bunch more I haven't thought of. I have some Tevas which have served me well but I don't think Teva make MTB shoes anymore.

[defblade]

I've been using my old Salomons with plastic Nukeproof pedals. I semi-retire each pair of shoes when the heel wears down too much and use them as slip-on slobbing about shoes, and it turns out the worn soles and reasonably stiff footbed make for pretty decent riding shoes... I'm not worried about the uneven heel wear when on the bike! The gore-tex lining doesn't hurt, either

So not necessarily any need to go out and buy new shoes, she may well have something suitable around already.

[Camoradi]

defblade said:

I've been using my old Salomons with plastic Nukeproof pedals. I semi-retire each pair of shoes when the heel wears down too much and use them as slip-on slobbing about shoes, and it turns out the worn soles and reasonably stiff footbed make for pretty decent riding shoes... I'm not worried about the uneven heel wear when on the bike! The gore-tex lining doesn't hurt, either

So not necessarily any need to go out and buy new shoes, she may well have something suitable around already.

That's a good call. Salomon Speedcross are quite narrow with decent grip for any walking/pushing sections, and a lace system which tucks away nicely. Also I'm currently running in Salomon Sense Ride 4 and they're as stiff as some bike shoes, and have the same lacing system, but a little wider.

[BaronVonVaderham]

Shimano flats (the old Saints) and 5ten freeriders!

[Squadrone Rosso]

Shimano flats & flat shoes or Adidas 5.10 GTX.

[gp1699]

I picked up a pair of Nukeproof Electron Pedals from go outdoors for £25, very good fro the price, grippy and have low profile.

[Gilhooligan]

Nukeproof Neutron pedals and five ten freerider. Cannot get a better pedal for the money. Being plastic they are quite light too. I now use shimano AM9 shoes which are fairly comparable for grip.

[UpTheIron]

Hi All,

Ended up with some Shimano flats, she didn't like the 5ten's.

DMR V8's. She's happy with them but I have to say I'm not overly impressed, bearings seem a little rough. Let's see how the go.

[TT1138]

UpTheIron said:

Hi All,

Ended up with some Shimano flats, she didn't like the 5ten's.

DMR V8's. She's happy with them but I have to say I'm not overly impressed, bearings seem a little rough. Let's see how the go.

From experience with lower end DMR pedals, they work best when stripped down from new, cleaned and then absolutely stuffed with a decent quality grease. Made a big improvement on my old V6s.

I really like my Shimano Saint pedals. Nearly 12 years old but still work great. For a cheaper option someone above mentioned the Nukeproof Neutrons plastic pedals. I’ve got a pair on another bike and the grip is phenomenal. A few reliability concerns (end caps falling off leading to axle play) but I’m hoping loctite will stop that.

[Randy Winkman]

Have you thought of trying these toe clips with flat pedals?

https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/toe-clips-straps/large...

I'm an old-style roadie so have no problem with clipless pedals and toe-clips/straps from the old days but I have these on my hybrid for getting around town. Easy to use but give me the confidence my feet aren't going to slip straight off the pedals.

[GravelBen]

Randy Winkman said:

Have you thought of trying these toe clips with flat pedals?

https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/toe-clips-straps/large...

I'm an old-style roadie so have no problem with clipless pedals and toe-clips/straps from the old days but I have these on my hybrid for getting around town. Easy to use but give me the confidence my feet aren't going to slip straight off the pedals.

Feet slipping off isn't a concern with decent MTB flat pedals, the pins grab your shoe soles really well.

Those horrible cast plastic pedals some bikes come with are a different story though , they should be considered 'delivery pedals' and swapped out for proper pedals before the first ride!