I mentioned the shoes I like to use on another thread, and then realized that since I’ve only tried out six or seven kinds of shoes, I may be completely missing out on some really good thing, even though I’m pretty happy with what I have.
I was given a pair of nice, but worn, Vasque hikers, and the tread seemed to grip onto the pedals in an utterly awesome way, especially considering that I wore them because the trail was a sodden mess that day. I don’t like wearing hikers all the time to ride, though, so I ordered some Vasque trail-runners called Velocitys, hoping the sole would work as well. They do. The knobbly soles seem to grab the pins on my pedals really well.
So, what does everyone else ride in? Is there some wonderful shoe that John Foss, Andrew Carter or Kris Holm prefers?
I agree with you that lightweight hikers are great. I wore some for a couple of years. Good knobby tread grabs pedals. High over the anklebone for bang protection and lateral ankle strengthening for UPDs. But cut low at the achilles so toe pointing unhindered. Stiff sole staves off foot fatigue. Good choice.
I ride a 2004 KH24 with pinned pedals and I’ve tried winter boots, sneakers/tennis shoes, timberland walker style shoes, and a few other flavors. I’ve decided that I want a narrow shoe, not too much tread, a stiff sole, and velcro instead of laces!
Wide shoes like my boots make freemounting more difficult.
Too much tread means it’s hard to adjust my feet on pinned pedals during tiny stillstands after freemounting.
Flexible soles absorb energy when I’m hopping or powering along with my instep on the pedals.
Laces catch in my unicycle or bushes, and sometimes come untied.
I’d love to see Kris Holm Pulse shoes that incorporate some of these ideas.
Oh, and I’ll probably want a heavy wear sole once I get skilled enough to glide.
I ride in Vans, but I have found that my feet starts to get fatigued when riding steep descents. I think the main problem is that the soles aren’t stiff enough. Other then this, I really like them. They are the main shoes I wear every day and the only shoes I ride in and they have held up well. I used to wear Airwalks, but they didn’t last long.
5.10 a climbing company make some approach shoes that i wear every time. They have a very rubbery sticky sole with a lot of traction. I think they run about $80 but they are wonderful for unicycling. www.fiveten.com i think is the website
I used to have some 5-10s for kayaking in. They make a watershoe that’s better than most. I wore 'em out though. Man, when they disintegrate, they go big time. I bet their climbing shoes take more abuse, though.
if you ride street. you are gonna need something that doesnt stick as well as hiking boots. because your feet leave the pedals intentionally.
i use a skate shoe too, main reason is that they have a lot of padding in the upper and a flat sole the has grip that goes inwards (this is good because it still sticks)
you obviously dont want chucks or any thin soled shoe in my opinion because any amount of drops will make your feet hurt.
Definatly one of the best uni shoes out there. I ride the '04s, but im still waiting to hear if anyone has tried the '05s… I wonder if anything has changed other than the styling.
CATBOY LIES!!! in Ricochet you are clearly wearing adida sambas. I wear the same. And converse. And some leather, adida-like shoes. I hate hiking boots and shit above your ankle ('cept my converses).
