Review: Endura's New Burner Shoe is Full of Tech Without Looking Too Weird

For trail riders looking for exactly that combo - casual looks and a functional design - there's another new option on the market, this time from Scottish clothing brand Endura. The Burner can be had in three flavours; there's one for flat pedals, an even more casual looking one for flat pedals, and the $159.99 USD clipless version that I've been wearing while riding in Tucson, Arizona, for the upcoming Value Bike Field Test.


The Details

Endura is probably best known for their tech-laden clothing, so it's no surprise to see them take the same approach with their shoes. We'll start inside, which is where you find something called an ''EGM footbed'' that they say ''maximizes comfort and power transfer.'' The EGM treatment consists of a tiny raised button that separates your big toe from the others, "greatly improving your forefoot function," as well as bunch of tiny bumps that's said to help something called "proprioception." Whatever that word means, it sounds important and like it should be helped, so that's great.

Thankfully, the StickyFOOT rubber bottom is much more self-explanatory than EGM. Every shoe company has their own fancy outsole, and Endura says they've managed to balance grip, durability, and walkability with theirs. There's a different version at the toe and heel - StickyFoot Dura - that probably doesn't need explaining.

There's also the usual offset cleat box and long cleat mounting slots that'll let move them as far back as you'd ever need.




On the protection front, the toe box is more substantial than a lighter weight shoe, but still softer than some others, and raised inboard protection keeps you from smashing your ankle on the cranks - that's always painful. While I was half expecting to see some sort of Nike Mag-esq closure, Endura turned to trusty old laces with a Velcro strap at the top. Which is a very good thing. Some riders will want fancy dials or buckles, but these aren't those kinda shoes.




Performance

Testing new shoes (or pedals) has to be one of my least favourite tasks, partly because I'm a little picky about what I'm using down there, but mostly because it takes a while for new shoes to not feel strange. Maybe it's just me, and maybe I'm just being fussy, but soles feel too thick, footbeds feel like they're already shaped to someone else's feet, and why can I feel every seam? That all goes away after a week or two and the shoes bed in to eventually feel invisible.

The Endura Burner shoes were comfortable right from the first ride, though, with a footbed that felt like home and no weird pressure points or seams to complain about. I've been wearing a size 45 (US 11) and the fit feels very neutral to me; they're not too skinny, not too wide, and the toe box doesn't squeeze my little piggies too much. As far as overall sizing goes, I'd say they run a little small - I'm typically a size 10.5 with other brands. I couldn't feel (or see) the EGM bump meant to separate my big toes from the rest, but I will say again how comfortable they were right from the get-go.

The Burners use a shank that's definitely more flexible than some other common options out there, with Shimano's AM9, Bontrager's Rally shoe, and the Specialized 2FO ClipLite all being stiffer. If you you use trail-style pedals with small (or no) cages, you'll likely notice how the Burners flex around the pedal body more than those three, and that makes them far better suited to a pedals with more support. It also means they're great to walk in (more on that below), but I think I'd prefer them to be closer in rigidity to the AM9 for when I'm on the bike rather than more walkable for when I'm off the bike.




When it comes to how you like to tighten your shoes, there's really no right or wrong way as long as it works and is reliable. And you know what's reliable? Frick'n laces and Velcro, that's what. I own shoes with Boa dials that I like, and I own shoes with buckles and ratchets that I like, but they've all given me some sort of headache at some point; I pop dials off for no good reason, or maybe they decide to stop holding tension, or maybe the buckles stop buckling. Sure, dials and buckles are faster and can be adjusted quickly, or even on the go, but laces probably won't ever let you down.

Off the bike, Endura's soles did a good job of keeping me from sliding onto my ass, an embarrassment that I'm fairly used to from wearing more race-oriented shoes. I usually use HT pedals because I like their extremely high release tension that keeps my feet from blowing out when I'm barely holding my shit together, but their cleats are a nip taller than SPD cleats and sit a millimeter or two proud of the soles of any shoes I've had them on, including the Burners. That's an HT problem rather than an Endura problem, and while there was a bit of cleat clacking, the soles offer plenty of traction.

If you do end up having to walk up or down something, the Burners are obviously going to be far more usable than a set of silly race-bred, carbon-soled slippers thanks to a shank that lets the shoe flex a good amount just forward of the cleats and more so than some other similar options on the market. That flex prevents heel lift, too, probably much more than the sharkskin fabric Endura uses at the back of the shoe.




DURABILITY

A handful of rides doesn't make for a long-term review, but I'd also argue that the southwest's rocky terrain definitely takes its toll on gear. Case in point: the right shoe is missing a chunk of rubber at the back of the heel, likely carved out by one of the countless sharp rocks I've scraped up against while in the desert. To be fair, I'm pretty sure any shoe would be sporting a similar gouge, or worse. Also, one of the laces is fraying a bit, but that's likely also from a pointy rock - the desert is hard on everything.

I'll be wearing the Burner shoes back in the Pacific Northwest over the coming months and will update this review if anything changes on the durability front.

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Pinkbike's Take

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Reviews and Tech Reviews Shoes Endura