A Tale of Two Shoes

By ADMIN 0 Comments

by Robert Hatcher, PCI #629-B/EMSCI #103-B
Delaware (OH) Police Department

IPMBA always strives to be at the forefront of equipment development and evaluation for public safety cyclists. In 2016, the IPMBA board approved the use of flat pedals, in conjunction with compatible footwear, as pedal retention. The Use of Flat Pedals by Public Safety Cyclists Position Paper (found on the resource tab at http://www.ipmba.org) defines and describes the types of pedals and shoes that qualify.

After reading the paper, I thought, “This could be a game changer for public safety cyclists.” But before I go down that road, a bit of history. I’ve been a member of our bike unit for 20 years and an IPMBA instructor for 18. I used to ride with Power Grips (pedal straps that cross over the top of the foot) while on duty and with clipless on my personal bikes. In a training environment, I’ve watched new cyclists struggle with various forms of retention. Those struggles would slow the learning process of the new rider and result in lost confidence. Team members who didn’t ride very often also had problems with pedal retention, since they didn’t practice. I could keep going, but this article isn’t a review of the position paper. It’s about shoes.

As our department staff started to consider switching to flat pedals with proper shoes, we turned to Five Ten. They are the leader in flat pedal shoes and with the discount previously offered through the IPMBA Product Purchase Program (PPP), it was an easy choice. The difficult part was determining which shoe. After talking with a Five Ten representative, we decided on the Impact “Sam Hill”. The “Sam Hill” version of the Impact is designed for enduro riding, but it met our uniform requirements. They’re also designed to take some abuse, so we figured they would last us awhile.

My fellow instructor and I started riding with the combination so we could get used to them, evaluate whether to transition all bike officers to them, and learn what we needed to teach the rest of the team during the transition. My impression of the shoes was that they are a bit heavy, stiff by design, and take some time to break in. Due to their solid construction, they don’t breathe well and are therefore hot when it’s warm outside. The sole is the perfect marriage with the pedals. The pins sink into the rubber soles and lock your feet to the pedals, except when you pull up. I’ve never felt like my feet were slipping or needed adjustment as I descend stairs and navigate rough terrain. Having the ability to just step on and off the pedals is awesome. That alone helps to reduce some of the issues involved with dismounting quickly.

Based on our experience, we decided to transition the fleet of bikes to flat pedals. We purchased another version of the Impact, “Pros”, for the rest of the team. Many commented about the bulkiness of the shoe, that they looked like “skater” shoes, compared them to Frankenstein’s shoes, or said that they felt like they had bricks on their feet.

The spring in-service training was scheduled as an introduction to the flat pedal retention system. Knowing the Impact shoes were stiff, I encouraged the officers to break them in a bit prior to the training or they would regret it. Several didn’t heed the warning and showed up for eight hours of training in a pair of shoes they had never put on their feet. The experience for them was less than pleasant. However, the actual training went very well. Many commented on how nice it was to not have their feet stuck in the cages and since then, most of the team has grown to like the “new” pedal retention.

Last spring, after Adidas acquired Five Ten, one of the bike team members sent me a link for the Five Ten Trail Cross LT. Intrigued, I took a look. They are billed as being “as comfortable on the pedals as they are hiking the trail”. Sounds perfect for what public safety cyclists do. They have the Stealth Phantom rubber outsole, which meets the definition of the “proper” shoe. Once again taking advantage of the PPP discount, I ordered a pair. Right out of the box, I could tell I was going to like them; they were lighter and less Frankenstein-y. Knowing the Impacts took time to break in, I wore the shoes around the house for a while. They took far less time to get used to and broke in easily. On the bike, they were comfortable and stuck to the pedals like the Impacts, but I felt more connected since they aren’t as rigid. Off the bike, the Trail Cross LT’s were equally comfortable; I felt like I was wearing a pair of trail-running shoes with a slightly stiffer sole. The shoe is quite breathable by design, which was a relief while riding on the hot summer days. I’ve worn many shoes over the years for bike patrol and the Trail Cross LT has become my new favorite shoe.

There is only one problem. You know how I mentioned the PPP and the awesome, 50% discount there was? That’s in limbo now. Five Ten was part of Adidas Outdoors. Adidas absorbed the Outdoors division and now everything Adidas is under one umbrella. Adidas replaced the 50% PPP discount (as well as the 40% Expert Voice discount) with a “Creators’ Club”. Members must earn points by purchasing items, writing reviews, playing games, and similar activities, and points expire after a year. The straightforward percentage discount seems to have gone by the wayside, which will make it more difficult for agencies to purchase them at a discount. In the end, however, the Five Ten’s are great, with or without the discount.

Robert joined the Delaware Police Department in 1997. He is currently assigned to the Community Education Division and helps coordinate the bike team. He has been active with IPMBA since 2000, after taking the IPMBA Police Cyclist Course in Dayton, Ohio. He was certified as an IPMBA Instructor in 2002. He served on the IPMBA Board of Directors from 2009-2015 and organized the 2017 IPMBA Conference in Delaware, Ohio. He can be reached at rhatcher@delawareohio.net.

Photos courtesy Robert Hatcher.

IPMBA Product Review