The Perfect Shoe: Shimano AM 41

Unicycles and Equipment
23

I played aorund with them last night and noticed that they have broken in a bit, so they move better with my foot, though the sole is still noticeably firmer and stiffer than an Impact.

In contrast to my lightweight Merrell hiking boots, the sole is firmer over the pedal, similar arch support, and a less restrictive ankle.

This is a great shoe, not sure why it hasn’t been more popular, my guess is that Five Ten retains the market share due to the rugged and cool look of their shoes; shoes you’d wear to the mall.

If Shimano was on top of their game, they’d offer this shoe as a “freeride” without the laces cover, blinged it out with some faux suede and multiple colors.

This is a riders shoe, made by a bike company for use with platform pedals.

24

I am going to try to ride with you this weekend if i am healed up :stuck_out_tongue:

25

You keep saying that. WHat is this “healed up” thing you keep mentioning?

Is that like stitches or a cast? I tend to ignore injuries, they get in the way of riding :roll_eyes:

Raccoon Mountain Sat or Sun, Haw or Concord one day…bring the shoes :slight_smile:

26

I hit the ground hard. i sprained wrist and butterflied my knee. and i couldn’t walk for a few days. I should be good for this weekend.

27

Lace(Lock Laces) covers removed and ready for summer:

28

Four Month update, which equates to ~ 60 days of riding:

Tread/Rubber Sole: The tread has worn well overall, BUT I have worn “pits” in the places where my pedal pins dig in. This may be expected wear since the pins I run on my Electrons are quite long, 5mm exposed on a thin 3mm socket head. I have changed the pins to reduce wear, so I’ll see if this makes a difference. The sole is Vibram and the quality of the rubber shows.

Uppers: No wear other than scuffing, inners are in great shape, no thin areas on lining. Stitching and gluing remains solid. The attachmenmt of the lace cover has torn slightly where it is sewn to the shoe at the toe, but they remain well attached. The midsole (inner sole) is sewn into the shoe upper, so it has not become unglued like all of my Five Tens.

Fit: The shoes stretched slightly, lining packed out, but they remain true to street shoe size. I ordered up a size (48) in comparison to my mtb clipless Shimano shoes (47), but in street shoes and Five Ten I wear a 13; a 48 is a 12.5.

Flex, Support, Stiffness: The shoes have softened considerably since new, more than I’d like considering how stiff they were to start; I like stiff soles. They are still quite a bit stiffer than a broken in Five Ten Baron and about the same stiffness as a broken in Five Ten Impact.

Pros: Lightweight, durable, comfortable, lace cover, and ankle protector, low profile sides and flat sole are awesome!
Cons: Softened with use, sole wear?

Contrasted with Five Ten Impacts:
Pros: Lighter weight, flatter sole = better contact with pedalk, narrower profile = get closer to the cranks, less bulky heel and sides.
Cons: None really, well they are kinda goofy looking until you get them really dirty :slight_smile:
All things equal: Sole wear and durability are comparable between the shoes, flex is about the same, maybe the Shimano is a tad stiffer throughout their lifespan.

Changes I’d like to see:

  1. A removeable laces cover, I’ll be making mine removeable shortly :slight_smile:
  2. A sole that retains the stiffness. I’d say that they are 50% softer than new which, is my experience with all of the non clipless riding shoes I have used (including the Impact). I think a 25% softening would be more reasonable.

Conclusion: Yes, I’d buy them again, they have been great shoes. I am considering trying the SPD version of this shoe and leaving the cleat cover in place, though I wonder if the sole would be as durable for pin use. There are also Five Ten SPD freeride shoes that are stiffened for the cleat.

Pics:






29

Nice work!

I was thinking about doing this same trick, though I want to add some velcro to the stitched side so the cover can be reinstalled for Winter.

Did you have to do any additional stitching?

30

No, and removing is pretty easy task with sharp knife(scalpel).

Final cut with small nail-scissors:

31

Okay, the cover is coming off tonight!

Also, seeing as mine are pretty soft now, I added a sole stiffener before my ride last night, they are shaled like the insoles and cut from a five galloin plastic bucket, like the kind that cat sand or bird seed is packaged in. They made a difference, adding 10-20% additional stiffness. I had used these in my Barons with good success.

I also went on the Chain Reaction Cycles web page and reviewed their collection of shoes, not a lot new, some by Vans that might be worth trying, one by Five Ten (Hellcat) that has an SPD cut out that might work with flats since the cut out is screwed into the sole: http://fiveten.com/products/footwear-detail/10104-hellcat

I’m going to call Five Ten and ask about sole construction and stiffness.

32

Vans Gravel? I have some of those, and have found myself wearing those rather than my AM41s with the weather we’ve been having. I think if it had been rather more wet the AM41s would have got more use, but the Gravels look so much more normal that I tend to wear them out of preference - especially given I’m quite often mixing running around with kids or meeting other people in with riding. I think the sole is a bit less stiff than the AM41, but the grip on the pedal is a bit better, being a softer rubber (the grip off the uni not so good - another reason to use the AM41 when it’s wet).

Had wondered about doing a proper review given there seems to be no comment about them on here, but being a relative newbie, not really sure what to say (I only have my AM41s to compare with - have never owned any 5-10s).

33

Good work on the long term review Ben. After seeing your wear photos, I don’t think i’d ever buy these shoes. The damage done to the sole of the shoe looks substantial and the grip compromised because of it. From the looks of it, the button sole design on the 5:10 shoes are more resistant to damage from long metal pins than the vibram sole design on the Shimano’s.

My 5:10 impacts have seen 2 years of hard use and the wear on the sole is no where near as bad as your shimano shoes. The buttons have worn down in height, but they have not been torn apart leaving trenches of no rubber like your ones appear to have been. Thanks for the write up. Its always good to see what alternatives are out there.

Mark

34

@ Napalm:

Yeah, the wear is more than I expected, not sure if it’s the sole as the pins on my pedals are really sharp, but this is a possible problem.

I reallly like the shoes, got around to cutting off the lace covers last night, a nicer look and way lighter.

I think my next move is to try some SPD shoes that have a flat sole and are not recessed for the cleat, who knows, I might even try clipping in :slight_smile:

I was thinking of having them resoled, I wonder if they can grind down the sole and add a layer…

35

Will they shift?

This (see Title: Will they shift?) was my primary concern. I’m happy to report the answer is a resounding YES! I got a pretty good deal from ChainReaction and I was surprised how fast they shipped overseas. As you can see, I’ve put LaceLocks on my AM41’s and IronMan elastic laces on my 5.10 Impact Mids. There is no comparison. The LaceLocks win hands down. Now, I’m using the AM41’s to ride my geared 36er and the 5.10’s to ride MUni on my 26er. My goal with the LaceLocks was to spend less time getting ready and more time riding. I have accomplished that goal. They aren’t nearly as tight (I used to lace my 5.10’s super tight and they would feel really good for ankle support) but they fit just fine.

I for one, like the lace cover on the AM41’s. Form over fashion. They aren’t real pretty but riding without worrying that your laces might get wrapped around your cranks is nice. You should have seen the huge knot I would use to deal with excess lace length on the 5.10’s and that was AFTER I trimmed them to a reasonable length.

One last comparison in the soles. The Vibram rubber does not stick to the pedals nearly as well as the Stealth rubber. Those 5.10’s paired with SpeedPlay Drillium pedals are amazing. I’ve never ridden clipped in but that must be close to what it feels like. So… not only will the AM41’s shift well, it is MUCH easier to reposition your foot on the pedals (KH clear blue Wellgo’s on the 36er) so my heal can reach Mr. Schlumpf’s shifting button way out on the end of my 150mm Moment cranks.

36

I had my AM41 resoled with some thin Vibram yellow label rubber, the result is a lower profile with the same stickiness, but they did not regain their original stiffness, so now they’re more of a street style or light muni shoe.

So I ordered the SPD version, the AM 45, which should be stiffer, just not sure how they’ll hold up, look for a review…

37

I received my AM 45 this afternoon, as expected they are similar to the AM 41 in the upper, but that’s where the similarities end. The sole and rand are far more robust, the rubber is thicker and harder, and of course there is a cut out for the cleat. Normally there is a removeable rubber cover over the cleat slots, but on this shoe it is molded without a cover :o

So, the first thing I checked was stiffness…yeah, it’s stiff, but not as stiff as a typical clipless shoe, in part because the sole is all nylon, it does not have the dreaded metal backing plate. This was the most suprising thing for me and good news for using this as a flat pedal shoe as it’s the metal plate that makes clipless shoes so dang stiff and impossible to break in, giving them a constant flat spot under the ball of the foot.

In flexing the shoe I’d say it is stiffer than the AM 41 by 25%, which is fine since I expect the shoe to soften with use like the AM 41. The AM 45 has the all the bells and whistles of the AM 41, crank side ankle protection, velcro lace cover, nice padding, and the fit is just about the same.

To cover the cleat hole I got some scrap vibram shoe sole, cut and ground pieces to fit, then glued them in place with barge cement. I’m letting the glue set over night, then I’ll grind the sole edges flush, and off to ride we go. I suppose you could make a temporary plug and use screws to hold it in place, but i want a flat sole all the way.

I got mine at Price Point for $80, but they are on sale for $75 and free shipping: http://www.jensonusa.com/!HRiHV6QFYcwwc2xM9PZaGQ!/Shimano-AM45-M

Pictures to follow…

Tomorrow is 36er muni day :smiley: