Tie for Best All-Around Flat Mountain Bike Shoe

Shimano is a titan in the mountain bike industry, particularly renowned for their drivetrains, brakes, and SPD pedals. They recently partnered with Michelin to create a new lineup of flat mountain bike shoes, and the result was some of the best flat mountain bike shoes on the market. The two shoes are extremely similar, with the GR9 being the slightly more expensive and more full-featured option.

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See Our Best Flat Mountain Bike Shoe Review!

Grip

The Sole of the Shimano GR9 is the result of Shimano’s recent partnership with Michelin. While Michelin has been making rubber to grip the road for years, they are a recent addition to the world of footwear, and traditional sole manufacturers had better take note.

The rubber itself falls short of being as grippy as the Five Ten Freerider Contact, but so does every other shoe on the market, and the Sole of a GR9 will be in mint condition after your Freerider Contacts are dead and gone.

The grip of the Michelin rubber might be slightly less than Five Ten’s Stealth rubber, found on the Freeriders and Freerider Pros. However, the Sole of the Shimano GR9 is patterned very similarly to a car tire, with an assortment of grooves not unlike the tread pattern of an off-road tire. These grooves allow your pedal’s pins to lock into the Michelin sole and provides a grip that even Five Ten’s famed Stealth dot pattern can’t match.

The flip side of that coin is that once your feet are locked in, you actually have to pick them up slightly to reposition them, making this more difficult than with the Five Ten Full Dot pattern. I am a clipless rider at heart and prefer the locked in feeling of The GR9’s Michelin sole, but some will undoubtedly prefer an easier time repositioning their feet.

The lug like pattern of the GR9 also means that it maintains its grip very well in wet conditions, as well as in hike a bike situations. These situations are where Five Ten’s rubber and tread patterns fall well behind the GR9’s Michelin soles.

Rigidity and Protection

The Shimano GR9 is an all mountain shoe and it shows here. It has a fairly stiff sole that provides great power transfer and will keep your legs feeling fresh on those 20+ mile days in the big mountains. The sole is a bit softer than the Five Ten Impact or Freerider Pro. Unlike those shoes, however, the Shimano GR9 does not seem to dull the feedback of the trail at all. It also allows your shoe to better contour to the shape of your pedals, particularly when trying to really grip the pedals for bunny hops and jumps.

The Shimano GR9 also features an extremely stiff toe box and heel area, as well as ample padding around the ankle. This all works in synergy with the stiff sole of the GR9 to create a shoe that will allow you to dust yourself off and try that gap again, rather than heading to the emergency room after bailing.

Comfort and Breathability

While comfort is very subjective, the Shimano GR9 is a comfortable flat mountain bike shoe by just about any way of reckoning. Its sole strikes the perfect balance between being soft enough to walk comfortably off of the bike, while remaining stiff enough not to fatigue your feet on long rides.

The GR9 also features a very wide toe box, which makes it our top recommendation for riders with high volume feet.

The Breathability of the Shimano GR9 is good, but not quite as good as the cheaper GR7. If maximum airflow is your thing, then the GR7 might be a better bet, but they will definitely let your feet get wet when a GR9 will keep you dry.

Durability

Not surprisingly for a piece of rubber made by Michelin, the sole of the Shimano GR9 is extremely durable. As a slightly harder rubber compound than that found on Five Ten mountain bike shoes, the Michelin sole of the Shimano GR9 is about as durable as any shoe on the market, and we are willing to say that no sole strikes the balance between grip and durability that the GR9’s Michelin sole does.

The synthetic leather upper half of the shoe also holds its own as well, with very little wear after many miles of abuse.

Additional Features

The Shimano GR9 uses a speed lace system to make getting your shoes on and off a cinch. This is covered by a nifty lace cover, which keeps out dirt and debris, water, and also makes sure that your laces don’t accidentally find their way into your chain.

The Shimano GR9 also features a raised ankle collar that does a surprisingly good job at helping to deflect bits of dirt and debris that might otherwise find their way into your shoe.

The Bottom Line

Are you a downhill junky, an enduro racer who wants maximum control on descents and maximum pedaling efficiency while climbing, or just a guy or gal who likes to shred with your friends after work? Whatever your style, the Shimano GR9 flat mountain bike shoe and its Michelin made soles will do the job for you. The GR9 is a rare product that does everything extremely well and doesn’t give up a huge loss in any one category. It pedals well, it grips exceptionally well, and it is comfortable on and off of the bike. Furthermore, its sole is the best in our review in wet conditions.

All in all, we think that the Smith Quantum MIPS is the best ski and snowboard helmet of 2019. Furthermore, you can sometimes catch the Smith Quantum MIPS on sale for around $180, and if you do it is an absolute steal.

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