EUC Footwear?

[Cerbera]

9 hours ago, Impoy47 said:

For those who rides faster than 35-50+mph, I reccomend these Leatt 4.5 along with these knee pads. Even at low speeds having see Marty talk on YT about his ankle injury and the surgery made me look into these boots. 

I was using the Leatt Dual-axis shin knee guard, which seems to move around my knee while riding and the military high top boots I was wearing with it just didn't feel it will protect my ankles after seeing other people crash on the EUC.. But this is a good combo for me and fits like a glove. It flexes well and feel more stable with my V13. 

 

How do you walk in them ? And how do you get any feedback from pedals when there is a whacking great iron bar between your foot and the pedal ?!

I also own a pair of these, but find them to be an absolute liability on an EUC, and needlessly heavy and awkward, so rejected them in favour of some much lighter touring MC boots.

[davewood1982]

And here's me riding every day all year round for over 4 years, just using my regular every day trainers 

[Impoy47]

2 hours ago, Cerbera said:

How do you walk in them ? And how do you get any feedback from pedals when there is a whacking great iron bar between your foot and the pedal ?!

I also own a pair of these, but find them to be an absolute liability on an EUC, and needlessly heavy and awkward, so rejected them in favour of some much lighter touring MC 

I was concerned about the stiffness and weight of these but after breaking them in just by walking around the block and exercising on an elliptical with no problem. They flexed just as my military boots I was wearing. I rode for 48 min around town last night and on other days, I commute to work 8-10 miles each way and didn't have any problems.  Everyone has a different style of riding and getting feed back from the pedals are just the same as any shoes I wore, I put pressure to the pedals forward and backward , I turn, I carve, etc. and have no problems..

yesterday,  I was going at the speed of traffic (30+mph) and suddenly a vehicle ahead of me veered in front of me and stopped due to traffic ahead and I was able slow to almost to a sudden stop and maneuvered away from the vehicle. 

I ride fully geared when riding my V13 and in the event of an accident we can't control what happens when our body gets thrown around, where we land, starts sliding until we slow down or hit an object. And if my feet where to be the first impact or other parts of my body, something has to give. These boots are added protection. And if these boots hinder my riding and my safety I wouldn't ride on them as well, but it doesn't and fits like a glove. Stay safe.. 

[mrelwood]

3 hours ago, Cerbera said:

And how do you get any feedback from pedals when there is a whacking great iron bar between your foot and the pedal ?!

I’ve never understood the concept of getting “feedback” from the pedals. They are a fixed entity made of metal. The only thing they can do is to tilt front and back with the wheel. It doesn’t matter how much additional metal you have in between, your feet will tilt just the same.

 What am I missing?

Edited September 17, 2023 by mrelwood

[Cerbera]

12 hours ago, mrelwood said:

What am I missing?

You might be looking for levels of subtlety I wasn't referring to ! And subtlety isn't a word that applies to those boots.

The 'feel' I refer to is simply my sense of physical connection to the machine, which is absent wearing these boots so effectively do they isolate you from any pressure in any direction ! You can't even tell where your feet are on the pedals without looking to confirm !

I can't deny their good points - they are incredibly solidly built and offer superior leg support to the point where I can't imagine any damage is possible to limbs they are protecting, (fairly sure Marty's ankle simply couldn't have broken if he was wearing these for example) but for me at least that is where the good points ended.

Trying to walk in these boots just didn't work for me - they are heavy to the point where I feel like I am in one of those 18th century brass diving suits - it's a real effort to pick up your legs, and the big iron bar through the soles completely changes my walking gait, and not in a good way - they are anything but comfortable on foot, and although I tried to break mine in for a good week, they remained frustratingly inflexible, not to mention VERY squeaky in the leather department (!) and made me considerably less stable on my feet, especially during EUC mounts and dismounts, which is where I need to be EXTRA stable, not less ! When I add to that the deep grooves in the soles that lock into my spiked pedals far too aggressively, making sliding or shifting of the feet utterly impossible without having to lift them an inch, and making them an extra liability in a crash when they struggle to escape my wide grizzla 'big' pads until they are wrenched free of them the negatives are starting to outweigh the few big positives.

Lastly there's the form factor of the boots themselves - the soles are formed to sit on MC pegs, not flat pedals, and they are very 'deep'; like my legs can move a full 4 inches backwards and forward within them, and in that space there isn't much effective authority transmitted to the wheel, making overleans almost inevitable, and hard braking take an even more unreasonable amount of time. between those 2 things I found the boots a real hazard to safe riding !

Apart from that unplanned RTA I have only had 2 crashes on my master and both were forced rider errors caused by me wearing those damn boots ! Life on the Master has been so much better since I retired them and got some much thinner and more flexible alternatives.

 

 

 

[GothamMike]

I wear side zip tactical boots. I bought a 35 dollar pair at wall mart. They give amazing control through the pedals and power pads, better ankle protection over trainers (sneakers).

I use elastic boot laces from Temu,  on and off in 3 seconds. 
 

everyone thinks I’m a cop, never an issue with the local constabulary. 

[Z-Rabbit]

On 8/28/2023 at 2:26 PM, Tawpie said:

Game Changers https://fp-insoles.com

Lots of marketing hype etc. and on the expensive side, But I really like mine. Heat them in an oven and they mold to your feet. I wear them inside rock hard moto adventure boots and my feet thank me (unless my sock gets bunched up)

Welp, they arrived last week, I tried them on a group ride... No difference 😑 I think I just need to find better shoes. I'm really getting tired of having sore feet when I'm riding fast for long periods of time

[HiddenPrior]

On 5/13/2021 at 9:44 PM, Chucka Wheelie said:

So having been primarily wearing my NoBull Mid Canvas trainers for riding for the last 6 months (and been very very happy with them), I've decided to give another shoe a go... The 5.11 Norris sneaker.  Very Vans inspired but with the toughness of puncture resistant lining with a Vibram sole, climbing grade rubber toe cap and tough Nubuck upper.  It's like a very beefed up Chuck Taylor/Van skate shoe. Just placed an order as there's a 20% discount across all 5.11 products here in Aus. at the moment.  Will let you all know how they go.  

For those here wearing combat or hiking boots to ride, these may be a good casual yet protective alternative?  Not really into Tactical stuff (anymore) but figured this would be ideal for EUCs without looking like I'm preparing for the Walking Dead or about to start a MotoGP race.  

@Chucka Wheelie Which of those shoes have you ended up using the most? I have been looking for a casual High-Top with the characteristics you describe here. It looks like the 5.11 Norris is on sale here, so they seem pretty tempting, but at the same time the NoBull Trainers seem really nice and thick/comfortable. Any advice on choosing between the two?

[Chucka Wheelie]

11 hours ago, HiddenPrior said:

@Chucka Wheelie Which of those shoes have you ended up using the most? I have been looking for a casual High-Top with the characteristics you describe here. It looks like the 5.11 Norris is on sale here, so they seem pretty tempting, but at the same time the NoBull Trainers seem really nice and thick/comfortable. Any advice on choosing between the two?

Hey mate!  I actually ended up throwing the 5.11 Norris away.  The shoe was near unwearable for me after a couple of hours due to the narrowness of the shoe especially at the toe box end.  If you have a wide foot, I'd definitely steer clear away from the Norris.  

SO!  In answer to your question, I'm still wearing the NoBull Mid Canvas! Still going strong but showing signs of wear after all this time.  Guess that shows you how tough they are (I've already bought a spare pair when they do eventually give out).  I do have a motocycle sneaker hightop (TCX Street 3 Air) I wear if I think I'll be needing more foot/ankle protection on dedicated highspeed group rides.   

 

Hope that helps! 

[GothamMike]

Tactical Research Maxx boots

Interesting boots with a flat sole, but the toe area is lifted a bit, might be easier to ride seated.

[Unventor]

I just wonder if any here on the forum have experience with Klim Adventure GTX boots.

And if so how do they work for EUC riding?

[Cerbera]

I haven't tried those ones specifically, and they look great at first glance. They look properly robust, weatherproof and supportive. however, when I tried boots quite like these, the treads were problematic with pedal spikes in that it was incredibly hard to shift my feet about on the pedals because deep grooves locked into the spikes so completely.

That was the main reason I had to abandon my big MX boots, and go for more low profile, slightly less rugged touring MC boot.

[Unventor]

2 minutes ago, Cerbera said:

I haven't tried those ones specifically, and they look great at first glance. They look properly robust, weatherproof and supportive. however, when I tried boots quite like these, the treads were problematic with pedal spikes in that it was incredibly hard to shift my feet about on the pedals because deep grooves locked into the spikes so completely.

That was the main reason I had to abandon my big MX boots, and go for more low profile, slightly less rugged touring MC boot.

Thx for you input. Right now I use Vans sk8-hi mte-3 gore-tex, they have a rough treads too.

The main reason I started to look into these Klim boos are the BOA system and that they claim the boots can be used for 'hiking' (from you adventure MC to the vantage point on you destination). So I figured they might not be all bad for EUC rides/ shopping rides too.

[novazeus]

my favorite wheel boot with the boa lace system. just ordered another pair. 

https://www.backcountry.com/vans-sk8-hi-boa-mte-2-shoe

[onewheelkoregro]

I just wear steel toe shoes. My first crash the whole front of my shoe tore away and I scraped two of my twos on pavement at about 28 mph. So that is why I just wear steel toes. I think I wear those Brahma steel toe shoes you can get at Walmart for like $25 dollars.

[Unventor]

4 hours ago, novazeus said:

my favorite wheel boot with the boa lace system. just ordered another pair. 

https://www.backcountry.com/vans-sk8-hi-boa-mte-2-shoe

I tried to look around for these. But either not selling to EU or put of stuck.

[novazeus]

9 hours ago, Unventor said:

I tried to look around for these. But either not selling to EU or put of stuck.

i like the boa fit as well. 

https://www.boafit.com/en-us

[art1]

I fractured my fibula while riding some mountain trails, and I think MX boots would have saved my ankle.

I started to wobble while going over tall grass, so I pulled back my weight and slowed down. Then, I jumped off to let the EUC roll over and reset my ride. While jumping, my foot landed bent inwardly, and I just heard a crack inside my head.

It all happened too fast, I jumped, heard a crack inside my brain, and then I could feel myself falling in slow motion at the same time.

Anyway, I had to get screws and a metal plate to fix my ankle. I will get back to EUC, but I will relearn to ride while wearing motocross boots.

I was wearing these at the time which have impact disks on the side, but no flex protection.  They were 10/10 for me until I broke my ankle..now I need to upgrade to serious ankle protection.

[varamontelo]

courage and good recovery.

[GothamMike]

Boots are better than any sneaker

[techyiam]

 

On 3/9/2024 at 12:31 AM, art1 said:

I was wearing these at the time which have impact disks on the side, but no flex protection. 

You were already wearing high-cut leather riding boots.

I doubt many euc riders wear footwear more heavy duty than that.

I guess that is why they make boots with even more ankle protection.

[xiiijojjo]

I don't think I'll ever need more foot/ankle protection than a pair of Nike Airforce 1 high tops can provide. The strap helps with the locked-in feeling. I've been riding in this model exclusively since I started riding, and all my crashes have been in this type of model. If you get the full leather ones, I'd say they're good even for current top speed crashes. 

 

Edited March 11 by xiiijojjo

[Cerbera]

10 hours ago, techyiam said:

I guess that is why they make boots with even more ankle protection.

And for us the problem is finding boots that have decent ankle protection but NOT at the expense of every other property of the boot ! They gotta stay very flexible in the forward / reverse direction, not be TOO grippy, and for me at least to run high enough up my shin to meet my Leatt knee / shin guards... I have dinged my shins enough times to know they need protecting all the way up them on larger wheels...

I couldn't win. MX Boots were just too dangerous in other ways to be worn on EUC - they may be perfect for riding bikes with footpegs, but they really couldn't be less ideal for EUCing... talking of which, must get round to selling mine !

 

Edited March 11 by Cerbera

[mtl]

If someone made a low-rise trials boot, that might be very interesting for EUC use. Flexibility, flat sole, impact and abrasion resistance. Though maybe the flexibility comes at the expense of ankle protection. What's kept me from trying them is that they may interfere with knee/shin guards, and so far my current moto shoes have been good enough.

[Flying W]

I used to dual sport ride in 50/50 boots. They had ones that look more street but mine were like mx boots, just not as tall. 

They worked well, just like an mx boot with more movement. I wore them at the vet track top on the 2 stroke. 

I'm very short so they were more like 3/4 boots on me. Might be worth a look for heavy off road on EUCs. 

I ride EUCs in TCX street ace riding shoes, the wp version,  and they have been perfect for half street half dirt but I'm on am RS so my off road is not like what a modern suspended wheel can do. If/when inget a proper new wheel for off road I'll want more ankle protection. Just not enough to send the force to the knees, I'd rather the ankle go over a knee.