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downhill rubber: shoes

dhkid

Turbo Monkey
Mar 10, 2005
3,358
0
Malaysia
So what works these days? I've been on a pair of sam hill impacts for a the past year or so and haven't been getting along with them at all. I've tried longer pins on my pedals but still have problems with my feet rolling off the pedals. After discussing it with a few of my friends I've realised its due to the stiffness of the shoes sole. I went back to my old impact 2s and instantly was riding better and how I'm used to, main reason being I was able to feel the pedal through the shoe which I was unable to do so on the sam hill impacts.

So keeping that in mind what shoes would you guys recomend? I would love to just go back to a pair of impacts 2s but I've heard that they have been changed and are as stiff as the sam hill impacts. Could anyone back that up? Seems like the best option out there at the moment is the 5-10 freeriders.
 

Udi

RM Chief Ornithologist
Mar 14, 2005
4,915
1,200
Not sure if you realise this, but they definitely lose grip over time and eventually stop sticking like they do when new. I haven't ridden the sam hill impacts, but I can't imagine they'd be hugely different to the impact 2, it's probably more likely that your two sets of shoes are in different stages of wear and grip.

I don't think it's always visually noticeable either, I've had sets lose grip faster in different conditions. I could be entirely wrong on all those counts but I bet you'd be happy if you just bought a brand new set of whichever 510's you prefer riding.
 

Da Peach

Outwitted by a rodent
Jul 2, 2002
13,681
4,904
North Van
The freerider pros are pretty.

Take a pic of your broken bike and you could win some Tevas like Bizutch. That jerk...
 

dilzy

Monkey
Sep 7, 2008
567
1
I run the hi-tops and frankly, am very gratefull for the stiffness. Nothing worse than floppy dh shoes.
 

ICEBALL585

Bacontard
Sep 8, 2009
6,803
2,041
.:585:.
I'm running a the wah wah pedals and a pair of skate shoes that I got on clearence for $20.

I cant stand those stiffer bike shoes cause you can't feel the pedal very well. I'm sure some of those 5-10 shoes are great but I can't justify dropping over $100 on a pair of shoes I'll wear maybe once a week.
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,031
5,921
borcester rhymes
5/10 rennie's with impact blacks before that. Same shoe, different height (and size, for me, to prevent turf toe). Perfect shoe.


Think you could re-sand the sole and get better traction? Maybe you need a smaller size if your feet are rolling off the pedal?
 

SthFRider

Monkey
Apr 16, 2008
218
0
Atlanta,Ga
I think the impacts are far more stickier than the freeriders. I prefer the impacts for the more gnarly trails. The freerider are sticky don't get me wrong but they do allow you to move your foot around on the pedals a little more than impacts do. The freeriders are far less bulkier than the impacts which is nice. I usually ride with freeriders but if i know things are going get rowdy i'll put the impacts on.
 

dhkid

Turbo Monkey
Mar 10, 2005
3,358
0
Malaysia
Udi, funny thing is that my old worn out pair of shoes work better for me, my relatively new sam hills don't grip as well as they don't mold to the pedal and offer much feel.

I'm on deity LT pedals so they are pretty thin and they aren't the problem, even have 10mm pins on them which work amazing with the worn out 5-10s. maybe they are too long and aren't able to dig in on the newer pair?

iRider, i was on clips for two months because of this whole dilemma. Happy that i did, now i can choose to go on clips for the pedaly tracks but at the end of the day im still a flat pedal rider at heart.
 

dhkid

Turbo Monkey
Mar 10, 2005
3,358
0
Malaysia
my feet have been rolling off the pedals forwards not backwards and i've narrowed that down to the lack of feel through the pedals. When i dont feel/able to curl my feet slightly over the pedals i dont really know/feel how much pressure is being put on them. Kinda like riding gloveless if you get what i mean. Thats when i start rolling my feet of the pedals.

no one else been having similar trouble? :(
 

bizutch

Delicate CUSTOM flower
Dec 11, 2001
15,928
24
Over your shoulder whispering
The freerider pros are pretty.

Take a pic of your broken bike and you could win some Tevas like Bizutch. That jerk...
Yes, they're pretty freakin' comfy. But I can't wear them out of the house (not much on high tops). I ride some on flats, but I've got a brand new set of Impacts sitting in the closet never worn and a pair of the original impacts that I throw on instead of ruining the new ones. Haven't even tested the grip on them.

I ride clips 90% of the time and I would much rather have the low top Links to tool around the pits, grocery, etc. I'm selling the Links Mid's and am just gonna buy the low tops with the cash.

Now, I bet you reallly hate me. :D

But the reason I posted up is that I wanted to brag on what a quality shoe they are. They really do have a great build and lots of little design tech you can't see in a picture. Plus, they come with black laces and blue ones too.

 

dump

Turbo Monkey
Oct 12, 2001
8,195
4,419
Saw a picture of the new (unreleased) sam hills somewhere. That looked much improved and streamlined over the current version. Can't seem to find it now.
 

ocelot

Monkey
Mar 8, 2009
395
10
Canadastan
Saw a picture of the new (unreleased) sam hills somewhere. That looked much improved and streamlined over the current version. Can't seem to find it now.
From the book of Faces...
It comes in blue as well

I've seen the picture of Sam holding these up, but I don't think that it's going to be his signature shoe

 

bizutch

Delicate CUSTOM flower
Dec 11, 2001
15,928
24
Over your shoulder whispering
Are the Tevas a lot lighter than the Impacts?
Very much so. But stealth rubber is heavy and thick.

Hey jerry, what size is your foot?

I might buy those if you're not all greedy about it.
I'm a 10 baby! ;)
Price - $90 (shipping not included)
Probably too greedy for you w/ shipping. Figured I'd give a local grom a deal if they spot them. It's ironic. I love the design, but I NEED other stuff more right now. Seems like a waste of a good shoe for me to ride in them once or twice and then stomp around the yard in them on weekends.
 
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Capricorn

Monkey
Jan 9, 2010
425
0
Cape Town, ZA
I think the impacts are far more stickier than the freeriders. I prefer the impacts for the more gnarly trails. The freerider are sticky don't get me wrong but they do allow you to move your foot around on the pedals a little more than impacts do. The freeriders are far less bulkier than the impacts which is nice. I usually ride with freeriders but if i know things are going get rowdy i'll put the impacts on.
THat's exactly my experience as well. I wasn't sure if it was the fact the sole is a bit thinner on the Freeriders compared to the impacts, so the studs dont get to embed as deeply with the impacts. But I found my feet blowing off more with the freeriders. I might have been riding with my heel not as low as it should be, but why would the same heel position while wearing different shoes result in a different outcome? Comes down to the shoe IMO.
Turns out, the original freeriders did not have the top rubber from 5.10. I think it's only the recently released freeriders (Pro included) that have the top end rubber.
 

4130biker

PM me about Tantrum Cycles!
May 24, 2007
3,882
447
my feet have been rolling off the pedals forwards not backwards and i've narrowed that down to the lack of feel through the pedals. When i dont feel/able to curl my feet slightly over the pedals i dont really know/feel how much pressure is being put on them. Kinda like riding gloveless if you get what i mean. Thats when i start rolling my feet of the pedals.

no one else been having similar trouble? :(
Yes, I've had similiar trouble. Coming from bmx w/ skate shoes, I think wrapping around the pedal a bit has a lot to do with grip. I have some impact 2 w/ wah wahs and would have trouble blowing off the pedals even though it was by far the "grippiest" setup I'd ever run. I went with a pair if vans gravel, and it's been a good compromise. The sole doesn't feel as stiff, but it still has grippy rubber. It also seemed a bit more robust for foot protection than the freeriders available at the time. Good luck man!