Monday, April 10, 2006

5ten Low Impact (flat pedal) shoes

The "Impact" range is under their freeride banner and are cycling specific. Those who have been out on a ride with the one and only god, Dangerous Dave (props to Brumster for that one;)), you will have noticed something making me the odd one out other than being air when I should be on rubberside down... I ride with flat pedals. (like father, like son?)

I have ridden with SPD's on occasion, and up until riding with these shoes, fully appreciated the benefits of them, but there is no way I am going to be riding Downhill clipped in!
I ride with Shimano DX pedals which in my experience of numerous flat pedals offer the best grip of any flat pedal, but I was still finding my feet bouncing about on rocky descents, and a couple of times I've come into the finishing field of a DH race doing an involuntary no-footer! 10points for style, but 10points for a brown pants moment too!
These have been hotly discussed and recommended by a lot of other riders about and I got these as a birthday present from my grandpa.
I can safely say that they've killed any chance of me ever riding in clips again... They grip like the proverbial to a blanket, and I've not slipped a pedal once that wasn't my fault.

They feature 5tens proprietary "Stealth Rubber" on the sole, which is very tacky, to say the least. Often I find myself having to peel my feet off my pedal! The sole has a spotty pattern, which kinda looks like octopus suckers, and really do a great job of fitting in around the pins on any pedal. It's also just the right amount of stiffness to pedal well, and give good support to your foot.

Other great features like the tongue being attached to the side of the shoe to aid stability and the carbon support for the back of your foot finish it off.
All stitching and stuff is top notch, as you'd expect from a market leader in making durable shoes for the demanding world of climbing....

Cons: No cleat fixing.... sorry is that a disadvantage or ruining the point of this shoe?:) An investment worth making if you don't really like riding clipped in but don't like the insecure feeling of slipping off flat pedals.

1 Comments:


Farqui said...

Flats ?

They go with Baggies right ?

:P