rosefarts

I am thinking of replacing my old Shimano shoes. They’re beat to death.

I’d be using them Gravel and MTB. Probably 80/20 since I only use clipless on the mountain bike on my enduro suffering days.

For true clipless shoes, I’m defining that as no flex to almost no flex and with built in ratchets or Boa systems. So I am not discussing things that look like MTB or skateboarding shoes that happen to be SPD compatible. Similarly, I’m also not looking for as casual shoes that are also SPD capable.

Ok, with that out of the way, I have damaged the toe of so many shoes. Picking up a stick or rock and speed. Having to scramble up or down something I can’t ride. Picking my way up some loose hillside. Front pointing up some terrible loose stuff with baby skulls mixed in.

Ill be the first to admit that this is all self inflicted and that 98% of the damage happens while off the bike. But it IS in the pursuit of riding.

So does anyone make a solid serious amateur or modest racer type shoe with a toe cap? (Cat 3 shoes) I’m envisioning something like the front rand of a rock climbing shoe but without the wraparound tension of a full rand. I think this simple addition would add 5 years to the life of my shoes.

Shoe goo or Freesole may help but wouldn’t hold up as long, and definitely doesn’t stick as well once a pair is well used due to insidious dust.

Here is a very typical exposed front end of a very high quality cycling shoe




And here is the protective rubber that surrounds every climbing shoe on the market.





Can these two get together? 5.ten and Evolve, and Upclimbing and probably several other already make both types of shoes.

Rolla

I found that cyclocross spikes raise the front of the shoe a bit, and that can help preserve the toe section. Also great for traction in mud, of course.



The Giro Empires shown also have a modicum of toe box protection.

79pmooney

Two thoughts - gluing down some tough leather to the toe with perhaps Barge Cement or covering the front of the shoe with 3-M 5200. I don't know how I would get a smooth, good looking finish with 5200 but it would last and protect. (You could go too thick and sand it smooth later.) 5200 is an adhesive we used to glue sailboat decks down to the flange of the hull. Once set, it is stronger than the inter-laminate bond of fiberglass. Those decks do not come off. I've glues sole rubber onto cycling shoes to make them cleat walkable and good floor friendly. I think that job is going to outlast the shoes. (Cleat bolts, straps, uppers ...)

The Barge approach should work. It would be far easier and when the leather is shot, you might be able to peel it off and renew. I'd cut and fit the leather, mask around it with tape, use powerful solvent to remove the original shoe gloss and leather dye and keep the masking tape in place until the Barge is applied and the leather stuck on. Edit: making the leather you apply the appropriate black is easy. Black shoe dye. Any cobbler will have if. One of those cotton puffs on a wire handle will apply it easily. (Probably comes with the jar.) Really easy, fast, dries fast and it's really black! (And will blacken all sorts of other things. Just don't get carried away, You won't be able to find your house in the dark.)

rosefarts

I like the way you think. I’ve used Barge before to resole my own climbing shoes. It basically worked.

Amazon definitely has 1.2mm shoe rubber in sheets for cheap.

I could definitely do that. Knowing my luck, the buckles would break right after spending a bunch of time customizing the shoes.

I don’t think I’m being that weird or have that esoteric of a riding style. It definitely seems like something that ought to exist.

mstateglfr 

LG Granite is an spd shoe with a hard textured material around the toe box.

Fentuz

I used to ride with mavic crossmax elite and loved them and they wrap the foot well and can be fitted with bigger supplied studs. Great XC shoe

when they die, I tried shimano xc7 and did not like them, i settled for fizik terra atlas which are ok but the sole is not as aggressive a the crossmax but, they are OK to hike with if needed (3 punctures in one ride 5miles away feom home and no more spare tube for example)… as they have front stud threaded locations, I will be adding 2 front studs per shoes to deal with the local muddy rocky terrain.

Clipped_in

I'm riding Shimano XC5 MTB shoes (now the XC502) for gravel and I really like them. They're comfortable and very durable. Not nearly as stiff as my Bont Helix road shoes (ultra rigid), but that doesn't seem to matter. I would say they are medium stiff but flexible enough for me to stay in all of the time while bikepacking. I think the price is quite reasonable for the quality of the shoe.
Sounds to me like they may meet your criteria. Check 'em out:
LINK

Clipped_in

Continued from above:
Here are my actual shoes after ~10k miles of riding and they are still going strong. No appreciable signs of wear inside or out.

Sayemone

I have "old" Specialized Recon Mixed Terrain shoes.
Protection is great, carbon sole is stiff but flexible enough to hike-a-bike (not for too long) and the faux-leather is resistant.
One drawback is the outer sole where I have damaged some knobs.

Otherwise they're the most confortable shoes I have ever had, riding 12+ hours without pain. And I love their look!
They're not waterproof (mesh on top) though

msu2001la

I'm not sure which model of Sidi that is in the OP, but I have Sidi Drako MTB shoes and they have a hard plastic/rubber protective cap on the front of them:

Eric F 

I use the Bont Riot+ MTB for my gravel and MTB riding. It has some protection of the toe...


I have the road version of the Riot+, as well. My feet really like these shoes.

msu2001la

I love toe spikes for CX and MTB, but they do make walking in the shoes on hard surfaces very difficult. I wouldn't want to walk into a coffee shop in them, for instance.

chas58

My shimano shoes haven't had a problem with this (basically post #8)

I supposed I could put a rand on them like I do with my climbing shoes (Barge to the rescue!). Lord knows I have plenty of that climbing shoe rubber.

I do have cleats on the tips of shoes (CX style). Doesn't hinder me walking, reduces the wear, and of course makes the "hike a bike uphill" a piece of cake compared to not having them.

redlude97

These have the most rubber rand I've seen I think https://quoc.cc/collections/gran-tou...39987142393879

cyclezen

Great Thread !

Clipped_in I'm interested in the 'sizing' - what's your 'shoe size' and what size do you use in these shimanos?
From my experience with Shimano shoes over the years, sizing can vary enough to be a full size different between models; and I haven;t seen these in our area LBS...
Thx
Ride On
Yuri

Clipped_in

I typically wear a 11.5 D dress shoe. I wear a 46.5 road shoe. Shimano shoes don't come in half sizes so I went with a size 12. They fit great! Roomy in the toe box but not too much.

cyclezen

Thanks... Last time I bought Shimano shoes, they were sized Euro (43,44,45...) not US...
Yuri

PhilFo 

Perhaps you could dip the toe in plasti-dip or some decent automotive bed covering to prevent getting torn up.

rosefarts

I finally got something. I went with the 5.10 Kestrel, it's SPD, walkable, and a lot stiffer than I would have expected. I do like that they come with Stealth dot rubber. They would be totally appropriate on MTB days and I'm pretty sure they have what I need from a gravel shoe without the roadie look. I don't know, I kinda like my bright ballerina shoes.

I used my dividend at REI and 20% off, and a gift certificate I got for my birthday awhile ago. My total out of pocket was $8. Though I'm still not convinced on the BOA

They have less toe protection than I would have guessed from the pictures but it seems like a tougher material in that area. There are exposed threads at the toe that may eventually fray.

Since they are brand new and not dirty, now is a good time to give them a little protection with Shoe Goo. I'm optimistic that these will work with some minor work. We'll find out.

rosefarts

This has got to be the nicest shoe I’ve ever seen. But at $500, currently $375 on sale, it’s a pretty tough sell.

staehpj1

The Dragon has similar, but not the same features as Drako and is a bit cheaper. FWIW, the Dragon is the nicest Sidi model that comes in the wider mega sizes. I like these two models in part for the replaceable treads. They are a nice plus since I like to wear my MTB shoes for multi week and multi month bike tours where I walk on hard surfaces and hike on rocks a lot since I hate to carry the extra weight of another pair of shoes. It sucks to wear out the treads on an expensive pair of shoes. Being able to replace them is a big plus in that situation.

msu2001la

I paid $300 for mine in 2017. After 6 years of abusing them on gravel and CX training rides and races, they still work as good as they did the day I unboxed them.

If I ever manage to wear these shoes out (which frankly seems unlikely), I would have zero hesitation spending $500 on a new pair. In the arc of cycling expenditures, this one seems like a massive bargain.

dwmckee

These look interesting!! Anybody wearing them? I have a pair of 9-year-old leather Dromartis that have been fantastic, but I am thinking about an alternative pair for a backup... These are a lot less expensive than the Dromartis...

redlude97

I have them, they are stiff and durable, not particularly breathable or light. Wider in the toebox with a tight heel. Mine ran a little small compared to Lake and Shimano. I'd size up 1/2-1 full size

dwmckee

Thanks. Do you like/recommend them?