In a Line
Look good, well made, grip like geckos, but clammy and ankle cuffs too tight for me.

What they say
High top shoes for adventure biking.To bike pack is to explore. When the ride is more about the adventure than the destination, these Adidas Five Ten mountain biking shoes fit the bill. Pedal, push and hike in any terrain with comfort, traction and support made for all-day adventure.

Review
I was hoping not to have to buy yet more shoes for specialist activities, but these came in cheap near-new so I thought I’ll give them a go. Normally on a bike I wear my third pair of Teva Omnium do-it-all amphibious shoes (below) which are OK, but neither snug nor grippy on flat pedals. Old trainers will get shredded and not offer much protection.

Out of the box I thought, uh-oh, those cuffs look a bit tight and sure enough, they take some effort to get on and off, like a too-small wet suit or welly. The idea is to keep debris out of the shoes which I suppose makes sense. Once on they’re a bit narrow for me but on the move grip the pedals like a gecko in a centrifuge. They say MTB shoes are supposed to be stiff, but these are probably no more stiff than regular trail hiking shoes.

I tried them on the regular flat pedals of my Merida and for a full day on Dartmoor with the longer Catalysts on the Tero X5. They’re not membrane waterproof which suits me fine; I don’t mind getting wet feet, but they’re a bit sweaty. And once you stop pedalling the cuffs can feel tight to the point of discomfort. I must have fat ankles.

The Trailcross Mid Pros are well made with worthwhile attributes and good protection front and rear plus D3O impact armour I know from moto clothing. so I considered cutting out the ankle cuffs along the sewn line while retaining the pull-on tabs. But I’ve messed up nice gear before so decided to replace them with something a bit cushier and easy to put on and take off at the end of a tiring day.

I replaced them with a used pair of Ride Concepts Vice shoes for 30 quid. They’re pretty heavy for suede sneakers, but have already done six days and one dog bite across Wales with no complaints