Five Ten

Sacrilege was the cry when some riders saw that 5Ten were providing a shoe for the clipped in fraternity. Why is it so strange though? After all, you're not always going to be clipped to the bike, sometimes it may be beneficial to be unclipped or on the flipside, awkward to be unclipped when you least want it. In both of these scenarios a grippy sole will do wonders for you by enabling feet to remain firmly stuck to the pedal, even when unclipped.

These Minnaars are, rather unsurprisingly, what Greg himself rides. They're a low top clipless shoe with a stiff sole covered in a thick layer of the obligatory Stealth Phantom rubber (described in more detail further down the page) using micro blocks for additional grip on the pedal. These are effectively the signature version of the Hellcat which comes in a more subtle black.

We've tried these with both Shimano DX and Crank Bros Mallet pedals and found them to be comfortable and very, very grippy. Certainly a notch higher in grip than most SPD shoes at any rate if ultimately falling short of the grip offered by a pair of proper flats and 5Tens, not that that is their point in the first place. The sole feels on a par with the equivalent offerings from other manufacturers although again, not as stiff as those on true 'disco slipper' cross country race shoes. In use, and with similarity to our first experiences with 5Ten all those years ago, they proved a little odd to get used to, having so much grip that when run tight, and with the sole being compressed onto the pedal body, it was actually a struggle to get unclipped from. However, with a little perseverance we got things working and feeling a lot more natural, reducing the pronounced effort we'd initially encountered in unclipping. On both the Mallets and the DX we used a couple of plastic cleat washers to give a slightly looser feeling.

We also screwed down the grub screws on the Mallets to the point they virtually disappeared as these were initially hindering our attempts to unclip. Once we'd done this though they proved no more difficult to clip in with than other skate style shoes but with the advantage of that sticky soles for the times when you just can't be clipped in. Although once we'd got used to the cleat positioning in relation to our feet there weren't any issues with the whole clip/unclip process, we feel that taking a knife and chamfering the edge of the sole surrounding the cleat area would be a benefit if you're struggling as it's a measure we've had to take in the past on other similarly styled shoes.

In use it took some tweaking to get the best out of them due to a combination of the deeply recessed cleat and the ultra sticky rubber. Having literally just bolted them up and gone for a ride we were struggling to get clipped in at times (although it would feel like you were) whilst at others we couldn't unclip (leading to a few comedy moments). It certainly wasn't a pleasant first ride. However, having fitted a couple of Crank Brothers plastic shims between the cleat and the sole on each shoe to provide a little more movement things improved and made for much easier entry and release. That still allowed us the benefits of the sticky sole when unclipped but felt much more natural when clipped in, enabling a bit more float to be present. It's unlikely that everyone will find this but it's certainly worth experimenting a little to find out what works best for you.

There are some neat features on these shoes like the flap on the tongue to keep the laces out the way. The Velcro also provides ample opportunity to get things nice and snug and enables you to make the most of that stiff sole by transferring maximum power through your pedals. Ultimately they don't have the same rigidity of a true xc style shoe, and nor do they cup your heel quite so effectively which means the Velcro needs to be kept that little bit tighter, but they do compare with the equivalent offerings from Shimano and 661 even if they are a little heavier (although it's hard to see where all the extra weight comes from).

And as with all things this is heavily subject to personal preference. As far as skate style clipless shoes go, these are bang on the money for fit, stiffness and ease of clipping in. Where they pull ahead from the 661 & Shimano is in the grip they offer which gives a more sure footed feel when you're struggling in greasy conditions and you want to dab a foot quickly. Although they ultimately fall short of true race style 'disco slippers' we feel that they're a very worthy option and it's an opinion held by the majority of those who have had the opportunity to try them out. We can't compare them to the new O'Neal offering yet but when we get a pair of those we certainly will do.