Ask the experts

[Andeh]

Going back to mtb shoes, I’m still searching for shoes that actually fit my flipper shaped feet properly. Wide forefoot(especially at fifth met head) but low volume, low instep, and narrow heel. Anything that doesn’t crush my 5th met head is always insecure around the rest of the foot. I almost always wind up putting shims under my footbeds to reduce the vertical volume, and a lot of shoes simply don’t work for me at all because of too much vertical volume and/or a sloppy heel fit.

Flat or clipless, I’m interested in any recommendations that might fit me well. Hike-a-bike capabilities are mandatory.

I've got extremely low arches (barely above totally flat) and a narrow heel. Impact Pros are the most comfortable shoe I've tried. Really roomy in the toe box, wide enough in the mid-foot, and are comfortable to hike / do trail work in. My only complaints are: the stock laces break after about a year, they're heavy, and they take forever to dry.

[Andeh]

More LSC.

This.

[climberevan]

Yep and that was with semi-custom insoles, and multiple attempts at molding the heel. The 242s were particularly cavernous compared to most shoes I’ve tried, like not even close.

Wow. If you're a 44.5 you can try my 238s. Buying shoes online (especially direct from Lake) is always such a crapshoot.

[BigHerm]

This.

For higher speeds and drops I might also either add HSC or a fork token to keep the front up more in impacts.

[skinipenem]

Remind me what tweaks I should make to my suspension for bike park flow trails? Headed to trestle this weekend and like my current setup but mostly ride chunky tech where I am. Been a while since I’ve touched it. Have a dhx2 coil and lyrik ultimate fork.


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Personal preference....

Consider slowing high speed rebound (increase hsr) to settle deep travel / near bottom out landings. One can get away with this since Packing down on flow trails seems to be less of an issue than on chunky tech.




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[MegaStoke]

Wow. If you're a 44.5 you can try my 238s. Buying shoes online (especially direct from Lake) is always such a crapshoot.

Thanks for the offer but I’m a 43.5/44. I guess I’ll just keep ordering shoes from backcountry and returning them til I find one that fits.

[jm2e]

I haven't found any flat shoes including Ride Concepts, 5.10, Specialized that are nearly wide enough. My 6th toe always feels crushed and my little toes get crunched up too.

However, you can still find FiveTen Impact VXI on ebay for under $100 and these are the best shoes for flipper feet I've ever found, plus they're just amazing shoes.

My park shoe is still the Impact Pro, but it’s cramped. I tried half a size bigger and they were just as cramped, but longer. Recently took them to a shoe repair shop and they stretched/punched out the pinky toe area for $10. That made a difference.
I tried the Specialized shoes and have never had such terrible heel lift. Like wearing a clog. 5.10 Freeriders and RC are way too narrow.
Recently got a pair of Shimano SH-GR903. They’re the closest fit I’ve found to the VXI. A bit roomier, but not overboard. Easy to get a few pairs on Amazon and return.



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[jm2e]

Lake. How it still flies under the radar is a mystery to me, as it's pretty much the only brand that makes cycling shoes that are shaped like people's feet. The regular ones are like 5mm wider across the forefoot, and the wide ones are made for full on duck feet

One Flat model and it looks like a trainer. Review said “great for hike a bike and walking up subway stairs”


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[east or bust]

Going back to mtb shoes, I’m still searching for shoes that actually fit my flipper shaped feet properly. Wide forefoot(especially at fifth met head) but low volume, low instep, and narrow heel. Anything that doesn’t crush my 5th met head is always insecure around the rest of the foot. I almost always wind up putting shims under my footbeds to reduce the vertical volume, and a lot of shoes simply don’t work for me at all because of too much vertical volume and/or a sloppy heel fit.

Flat or clipless, I’m interested in any recommendations that might fit me well. Hike-a-bike capabilities are mandatory.

Your feet sound very similar to mine. I’ve been happy in the Ride Concepts Wildcat the last few seasons.

[Whiteroom_Guardian]

Any of that stuff worth riding near Panguitch/Bryce and reccos for truck-able dirt roads to BLM type camp spots? Thanks.

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[SchralphMacchio]

Thunder Mountain is such a short descent, but it’s magic. Especially this time of year, especially at Sunset. I’d recommend parking near the bottom, riding across the highway at Casto/Losee, then going up the bike path and to the top of Thunder, dropping right at sunset.

Disclaimer, I haven’t done Casto/losee, just seen lots of pics, and it looks worthy. We did Thunder on a transfer day so didn’t have time for a bigger loop, but it was perfect for a short ride being camped at Red Canyon.

[406]

X2 for Thunder. Do something like this loop if you want a half day ride:
https://www.trailforks.com/routepopular/37898981/

If shorter, just park at bottom and spin up paved bike path to start of Thunder.

More West, but Virgin rim and Bunker Cr are cool. Cedar breaks area is alot like Bryce.
Should be tons of easy car camping options.

[406]

X2 for Thunder. Do something like this loop if you want a half day ride:
https://www.trailforks.com/routepopular/37898981/

If shorter, just park at bottom and spin up paved bike path to start of Thunder.

More West, but Virgin rim and Bunker Cr are cool. Cedar breaks area is alot like Bryce.
Should be tons of easy car camping options.

[SchralphMacchio]

Aspens at Navajo Point / Brian Head should be straight on fire right about now

[justo8484]

x3 (or x4?) for thunder mountain. It's been a long time, and it was my first introduction to utah riding, but the views are awesome, and it's a fun descent after an easy climb on the bike path. As others have mentioned, I can imagine the views just before sunset are pretty rad. Crazy geological features.

[Whiteroom_Guardian]

Ok shit. We ended up camping closer to Kanab. Elephant Something Road. Good spot. Will have to hit Thunder on the way back through. Hope to do an early am ride here tomorrow before going to pick up mom at PHX.

[Wes Mantooth]

Anyone run into issues with shimano pedal axles binding/seizing up? I have saint pedals I’ve run for a while and regularly service with cleaning and grease. Recently the left one felt loose in the axle so I took it apart, adjusted the bearing preload and re-greased.

About 30 mins into the ride the pedal stopped spinning and unscrewed itself. It would loosen back up if I spun it the other direction but quickly bind again when I stared pedaling. Took it apart again at home to make sure the preload screw wasn’t tightening itself somehow and everything was smooth and good. Worked fine for another bit of pedaling but then bound up again on the next ride. The whole axle feels super loose with a ton of play, not the bearing sleeve itself but where the inner spindle interfaces with the gold part that screws into the pedal body. Do we think the axle is just shot?

[SchralphMacchio]

Ok shit. We ended up camping closer to Kanab. Elephant Something Road. Good spot. Will have to hit Thunder on the way back through. Hope to do an early am ride here tomorrow before going to pick up mom at PHX.

Not super close to Kanab but the Rainbow Rim trail is one of the coolest XC trails I’ve ever ridden. Flowy flat giant ponderosa forest singletrack that pops out onto the rim of the Grand Canyon, with promontory points you can hike out to every few miles. So cool.

[criscam]

I have a 15x110 thru axle up front on my tallboy that seems to be locked in. open up the quick release, turn counter clockwise and just won't budge. wondering if some shit got in the threads as the other side is missing a small cap. applied a little wd but no luck. don't want to wrench too hard on it and fuck it up more. not sure if an easy out would do the trick since it's reverse threaded...?
other "issue" is the quick release has come loose (reverse thread) so if i wanted to tighten the axle i might need to throw some lock tight on there or something? pics for reference....

[Boissal]

Thunder Mountain is such a short descent, but it’s magic. Especially this time of year, especially at Sunset. I’d recommend parking near the bottom, riding across the highway at Casto/Losee, then going up the bike path and to the top of Thunder, dropping right at sunset.

Disclaimer, I haven’t done Casto/losee, just seen lots of pics, and it looks worthy. We did Thunder on a transfer day so didn’t have time for a bigger loop, but it was perfect for a short ride being camped at Red Canyon.

Casto Losee is super scenic but not super interesting riding. Casto is opened to horses and ATVs and can get quite busy, a lot of the time it feels like riding a wide sandy doubletrack. The views are distracting and the grade is mellow but it's not as much of a classic as Thunder. Going up/down Losee if fun, slightly narrower and lower traffic, equally scenic. Expect lots of strain on your drivetrain as you're riding sand and crossing the creek at least 500 times. Also, you will end up covered in horse shit, and if it's been wet at all the trail damage is truly otherworldly.

406 linked the best loop in that zone I think, up Losee, section of Cassidy trail (fun singletrack) back to pavement, up the bike path, down Thunder. I've done it with an out-and-back to the end of the Cassidy trail (where it meets with the Casto wash), 35 miles and close to 5k of climbing, it's a spectacular day. The horse trains can be a real pain to deal with though, you'll have to let groups of 20+ noobs go by and huff their dust for miles.

[Whiteroom_Guardian]

Anyone have a Push rear shock get creaky? I have had three on three different bikes and they seemed totally bulletproof and I never serviced them even.

I've been chasing this sound thinking it was the bushings/hardware. I put new rear bushings and mount bolt. Front hardware they sent me the wrong sized bushings. Riding today and stopping to take this video I think the shock shaft itself is the source of the noise and there is less low speed suppleness than there was before.

https://youtu.be/WUtxo3dmy_Y?si=0h5Osvamc6v19bFV

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[joetron]

Hot take: Thunder Mtn is one of the most overrated trails I’ve ever ridden. I’d skip that whole zone. Go ride Brianhead, or just go for a cool hike in Bryce or move on towards Escalante and hike over there.


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[El Chupacabra]

Hot take: Thunder Mtn is one of the most overrated trails I’ve ever ridden. I’d skip that whole zone. Go ride Brianhead, or just go for a cool hike in Bryce or move on towards Escalante and hike over there.


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I agree on all this. I thought Thunder Mountain was tedious. Massive hype, meh riding.

[Canada1]

It’s scenic. It’s not about the riding. It has unique beauty that you happen to get to experience on a bike.

[SchralphMacchio]

Hot take: peeps living in arid craggy parts of NV and CO not being impressed by a flowy trail on low angle spines winding through hoodoos is about on par with peeps living in moist giant forest areas not being impressed by riding on lava rocks between old growth spruce and firs and giant waterfalls on Oregon’s McKenzie River Trail, which is also “way overrated”