MTB pedal/shoe for BMX?

Too much grip is a bad thing. I’m pretty sure it’s happened to every bmxer that’s ever ridden metal pedals, but there’s times you need to take your foot off the pedal quickly to save yourself. Plastic pedals are also good for making small adjustments in foot positioning.

The main reason I ride plastics though, is for pedal slide/grind tricks. They’re cheap enough for me to not care about ruining them, and they slide a lot better.

As for shoes, personally I don’t like them too flexible, but I do want to feel my pedals properly. Some riders like really bendy soles to help with crankflips and stuff

You’ll prob be fine with your current set-up you’ll just have a lot of grip. People in bmx run softer shoes because in bmx there’s not a lot of need for a stiff sole like when riding flats on mtb. The thinner shoes are more for pedal feel than efficiency. Once again your current set up is totally fine imo. I’d give that pedal/shoe combo a try and see how it goes before you spend your money.

maciek-wroc wrote:

I have a pair of 5.10 freerider shoes and aluminium body pedals with long metal pins from my MTB. I am just starting riding BMX, interested in skatepark and street riding. I noticed that almost everybody rides with plastic, non-pinned pedals and soft skate-style shoes. Why is this so, do these work better, and should I buy some? I am not planning on doing any tricks that involve getting a foot off.

"I'm not planning on doing any tricks that involve getting a foot off"

The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. Its not what you're planning to do, its what happens when something you're not planning for happens.

What .pegless. said nailed it though. It's mostly personal preference. I've blown my foot off pedals so bad that I bought pinned pedals and keep my vans as new as possible. I've only had a couple of small *almost* close calls with not being able to get my foot off, but I prefer being way more locked in.

You will regret wearing 5.10 shoes when you need to bail. I know 1st hand.

Either change the shoe or the pedals if the 510 and metal pedals bother you. I ride vans with raceface Chester's/ stamp 1s and they work well, they have a balanced amount of grip

Either change the shoe or the pedals if the 510 and metal pedals bother you. I ride vans with raceface Chester's/ stamp 1s and they work well, they have a balanced amount of grip

Thanks a lot for an amazingly detailed responses. I did not expect that.

For a while I plan to keep my setup, and screw in (or shorten) pins as much as possible, for them to stick out 1-2 mm. If this does not work well, I'll buy plastic pedals. As I already feel the pedal well with this pair of well-used 5.10s, I plan to keep these for some time.

I always wondered about 5.10s for bmx..keep us posted

I've had worse crashes from slipping a pedal than from not being able to get my foot off the pedal .. much prefer metal pins.

Da Biker Boy wrote:

I've had worse crashes from slipping a pedal than from not being able to get my foot off the pedal .. much prefer metal pins.

Opposite for me. LOL.

Awkward falls from getting hung up and missing a clean bail, always hurt the most.

MTB shoes will depend on what you are riding. I have 5.10s and i have no issue riding them on trails. But anything park or street is say no to extra sticky shoes. just want kinda sticky in those cases.

maciek-wroc wrote:

I have a pair of 5.10 freerider shoes and aluminium body pedals with long metal pins from my MTB. I am just starting riding BMX, interested in skatepark and street riding. I noticed that almost everybody rides with plastic, non-pinned pedals and soft skate-style shoes. Why is this so, do these work better, and should I buy some? I am not planning on doing any tricks that involve getting a foot off.

Am i missing something here? I just looked up these 5.10 shoes and all the bottoms look like they would slip with easy compared to nikes, vans, adidas or any of the other bmx style shoes 🤔

I personally like a lot of grip absolutely hate slipping the pedals!, i rode jcpc pedals for years then finally got something different and went with the metal odyssey grandstand pedals ended up having some odd issue with the pedal locking up so i switched to eclat Ak pedals and im fairly happy with them so far

maciek-wroc wrote:

I have a pair of 5.10 freerider shoes and aluminium body pedals with long metal pins from my MTB. I am just starting riding BMX, interested in skatepark and street riding. I noticed that almost everybody rides with plastic, non-pinned pedals and soft skate-style shoes. Why is this so, do these work better, and should I buy some? I am not planning on doing any tricks that involve getting a foot off.

Charles_Francis_Blood wrote:

Am i missing something here? I just looked up these 5.10 shoes and all the bottoms look like they would slip with easy compared to nikes, vans, adidas or any of the other bmx style shoes 🤔

I personally like a lot of grip absolutely hate slipping the pedals!, i rode jcpc pedals for years then finally got something different and went with the metal odyssey grandstand pedals ended up having some odd issue with the pedal locking up so i switched to eclat Ak pedals and im fairly happy with them so far

Stealth rubber was originally formulated for rock climbing/approach shoes. They are like racing slicks on your feet and conform to every little bump on a surface.

^ what he said. Five tens are insanely grippy to the point that I personally don’t like them, even for riding MTB. But most mountain bikers love them! Not sure how the stiffer sole would be for BMX but I guess you don’t know if you don’t try!

meatXloaf wrote:

^ what he said. Five tens are insanely grippy to the point that I personally don’t like them, even for riding MTB. But most mountain bikers love them! Not sure how the stiffer sole would be for BMX but I guess you don’t know if you don’t try!

Sounds like I’ll like then, gonna have to see about getting a pair

when I started riding BMX I rode with plastic pedals and globe shoes, in a month i switched to MTB pedals and five ten Freerider high shoes.
Depends on preference but the difference in "padding" on the sole between a 5-10 and a skate shoe is immense, the first time riding BMX with 5-10 coming from a skate shoe I didn't even feel the pedals.