I’ve ridden most of the flat shoes out there and it’s tough to find one that remains stiff through its lifespan.

RC shoes soften considerably, I’ve ridden three of their shoes.

I don’t know about the Fox shoes, but since most flat shoes soften, I’d look for some reviews before buying.

When I was riding muni, I went as far as to buy clipless shoes and have vibram soles added; they were okay, probably too stiff for mtb.

I’m on my second pair of Pearl Izumi mids, they have a nylon midsole stiffener, after two seasons, sole stiffness is still 80-90% of new. I’ll be buying a third pair soon. These shoes are also boa and have some ankle protection. Sole stickiness is about average as is sole wear.

I’ve ridden flats exclusively for twenty years, I ride enduro and some bikepacking.

 

thank you for your input,

one of my reason to use stiff shoe is I have plantar facitis on my left foot and I find a stiff soles ease on the pain alot.

I've read the RC Tallac have this D30 damping on the insole which I find perhaps it might be a better choice for me case.

Do you have any review on flat shoes with good damping and stiffness?

 

I haven't seen a flat employ a full-length carbon/plastic shank so all of them will eventually breakdown and soften with time and use. It's made up of soft plastics and fabric afte rall, so it's expected.

Couple things you can do from my experience. Use a shoe insert made from carbon or hard plastic to add some rigidity and/or use the largest flat pedals you can find. If you have really large feet, like over size 11/12 range, your gonna have to live with some flex in the shoe if running flats.

 

thanks i'll look into that.

My shimano flat shoe is pretty old, soften up but still hold rigidity more than 510 and crank brothers.
Except shimano doesn't grip so well.

 

I have ridden the RC shoes and the fivetens. The RC shoes (I think I had the powerlines) were really stiff compared to the fivetens, for me the stiffness of the RC was huge turn off with a lack of feeling on the pedal but I also found them too bulky and too narrow. The insoles had little pads on the bottoms that I assume were the damping but it was pretty minimal and when I swapped in insoles I didn't notice the difference, except a better fit.

You might consider adding an insole to your cycling shoes, especially for foot issues, the stock insoles on most shoes have very little support for instep area, exacerbating plantar issues. I added the Superfeet blacks to my five tens and even though they are low arch height and I prefer the higher arch support they made my shoes so much better (I have a high volume foot so these help with adding more volume to the shoe with added support) 9https://www.superfeet.com/en-us/all-purpose-support-low-arch).

I have also used their standard Green insole in these shoes and it does add to the stiffness in the part of the foot where it is beneficial.

 

The specialized roost has been pretty stiff.. so far.. but I agree, eventually they all go.

 

I just got my first pair of flats. Crank Brothers, with the cleat. Only rode once so far, but comfortable And I noticed no issue with stiffness. I wanted these for the more relaxed rides, I intend moving forward

 

Cleat shoe are naturally more stiffer compare to flat due to the need of power transfer.

I have the same shoe too, as I rode both flat and cleat. Mostly flat and cleat for races.

 

Subscribed. I am looking for the same thing for use in gravel riding. The most comfortable shoes I've used was a hiking shoe that had a stiff shank in the rear 2/3 of the sole. Perfectly comfortable to hike in, and have the stiffness where needed.

 

My 2FO Roost have stayed stiffer longer than my Five 10 Freerider Pro's, although initially the Fiver 10's were stiffer.

 

I've tried a friend's Freerider Pro, it's pretty worn around a year plus and it's very soft compared to my 2 years old shimano.

 

Can’t add much to what’s already been said, except that you might throw Fizik Gravita into the mix.

 

anybody have review of stiffness on fox union?