Mountain Bike Shoes

They have basically the same uppers as the road bike shoe, but the sole is completely different because some running is involved.

Take a look at the sole of a MTB shoe and you will see the built-in studs for grip in muddy or other difficult terrain and in the center of the sole you will find the fittings for a clipless pedal.

Shimano invented the SPD clipless pedals for off-road, these are small and less likely to get jammed up with mud or sand etc. The shoe plate is small and slot into the pedal easily and tends not to get too much mud clogging the entry and exit of the shoe plate from the pedal.

Some of the best shoes come from Shimano, they make race style MTB shoes as well as a trainer style, and both can take a clipless pedal with a removable cover over the two holes for the SPD bolts. The trainer style is great for easy riding with a bit of walking involved, where as the race shoes are made more for action. With all mtb shoes you must look at how easy it will be to clean them and if the rain and mud may ruin the material of the uppers.

Adidas make the AdiStar XC Ultra, it is a top class shoe with great studs and closure system as does the men’s legend from DMT, which also has a very comfortable toe box…

•    North Wave
•    Diadora
•    Carnac
•    Sidi
•    Pearl Izumi
•    Louis Garneau

They all make very good quality and stylish MTB shoes in both versions, trainer and race shoe. The same rules apply when buying mountain as road shoes, try them first and when you find a manufacturer that suits you then stick to it and hope that they don’t change the shape of their shoes.