I'm looking for a new pair of spd's with some grip in the soles. I like riding escarpment rock and my Specialized Comps are like wearing skates when I need to hike over some sections. Weight is not a factor, since I don't race.
I have a set that are lace up, I like them for the same reason you've stated. They are great if you need to hike or the footing is gnarly... I even use a PI over shoe for the winter and they're fairly warm.
Personally I prefer shoes with the spikes on the toe for when I have to get off and walk steep climbs. When I am on my Singlespeed this happens more than I would like to admit
Look for something with a "gummy" or softish tread. My Garneau shoes have an excellent tread pattern on them which is absolutely useless on rocks, wood or anything hard as the compound is so stiff and hard. It reminds me of trying to get traction in one of those old Big Wheels when I was a kid.
I'm hoping that the softer, grippier outsoles will make up for the lack of toe-spikes. I was looking at Lake MX167's as well. They have sockets for toe-spikes and soft rubber tread, but no buckle - just 3 velcro strips. I'm worried those velcro strips might quickly wear out.
Specialized makes the Rime shoe with grippy tread, but they abandoned the ratchet buckle for their new BOA system, which seems to have some problems.
I have used shoes with the BOA system by Pearl Izumi and they had problems as well. I rode with a very similar shoe to what you show above years ago with good results and did not find I missed toe spikes. I now have Sidi's for places I know will not have much in the way of hiking or super tech and flats for where things are hairy and have appropriate shoes for the conditions. That is the beauty of flats sometimes. You can use hiking shoes, or even boots when wet or cold. I wear whatever will make my ride the most fun.
I eventually wore out the loop side of the velcro on my 10 year old specialized shoes last year. I scraped it all off with a razorblade and glued down some fresh loop material and they work like new again.
I bought the MT91's for fall and late season riding but now my dragon 2's don't get used even in the summer. I will buy another pair if these wear out, but two and a half years and no real signs of wear. The soles are great on wet rocks but i'm not sure anything is good on wet roots. I'm not sure it's a negitive but the sole is not nearly as stift as the carbon sole on the sidi's.
m2c
Thanks for the replies! I'll try a pair of X-Alps on and see if my feet like them.
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