I’m a platform pedal kind of guy except for a short stint riding my brothers Cannondale racing bike during my high school days. Clip-in pedals have always scared me for some reason and wearing clip-in shoes isn’t my style nor are they very versatile. Given I’ve been riding hard core MTB for a year now I decided to invest in a set of platform pedals and new mountain bike specific shoes.

For the pedals I went with Wellgo’s MG-1 magnesium. There were so many choices and everyone I read about seemed to like something different. I didn’t want to spend too much money but I wanted a pedal that was light and provided good grip. Researching the shoes was a much different story. 9/10 riders recommended the Five Ten brand. Within the brand, the majority recommended either the Freeriders or the Sam Hill’s. Both of these shoes are in Five Ten’s Freeride category of performance shoes. I ordered a pair of Freeriders from Amazon and they didn’t fit at all. They were very wide and my foot slid around in them no matter how tight I laced them up. I returned them and decided to order from Zappos knowing I could try different models and sizes if necessary. When the Sam Hill II’s came in I was impressed. The style fits my personality to a tee and the shoe fits my foot much different than the Freeriders. It’s snug but not too tight and the Stealth® sole is amazing. The grip on the pedal is simply phenomenal. Riding out on the trail will be the real test and given the rainy weather we’ve had yesterday and today I won’t get to try them (or my new Trek Superfly) for several days. But I can’t wait!