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A little off-topic, but I found that my old, sort of worn out Merrell low, breathable light-hikers work pretty well for bicycling. The foot bed is no longer good for hiking (sole is ok), it causes my feet to hurt after a while that new shoes solved, but this is not an issue for bicycling. And I don’t care if they get chewed up a bit by my toe clips.
I retire hiking shoes into shoes for projects around the house, especially mowing the lawn which sprays green grass juice on them and doesn’t completely come out and for any painting/staining jobs.
Then the next year, they get a second retirement to be the shoes I put on over the neoprene socks of my chest waders. It really helps to have real soles and lace-up shoes when in the surf with a 5-foot diameter net with one or two salmon in it. All summer, I’ll hose them off when I get home, but at the end of the season, I just toss them – at that point they’re sandy / muddy / torn-up enough and I generate at least one retired pair a year anyway.
How about buying a new pair of footbed inserts? The most cushy ones I’ve found are Ortholite’s Fusion inserts. A bit pricy at ~$20/pair, and somewhat weighty at ~2.3 ounces for the pair, but man are they comfy and cushiony. Ortholite is pretty proud of them, especially for the durability/long life.
Gary, thanks for the reference. I’ve tried, with some success, to extend the life of low-cut hikers when the cushioning is too far got and feet feel bruised on longer mileage days. But some aren’t very cushioned and on others, the top fabric of the insert detaches after not much use.
Elliot, I found that an old pair of my Merrell Moab Ventilators make decent mountain biking shoes. Much cheaper than buying specialized shoes, especially considering I use flat pedals anyway. Plus, I can comfortably walk up those really steep hills. Really old shoes get used for yard work and lawn mowing.
Paul: mine too are Merrell Moab Ventilators, and I’ve been using them on my 1976 era road bike w/toe clips and straps (I’m too cheap and unserious to get fancy shoes and clipless pedals) and soon on a mountain bike I plan to purchase.
When they wore out from hiking I purchased the equivalent model from Merrell (I forget the model name). My wife and I really like them.
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