Mountain Biking - proper footwear

hey im new at mountain biking..so far im lovin it but i need to no whats proper foot wear for mountain biking...i no some of u out there are thinking well you were shoes..i no that but whats a good deal or something...like do u want a really breathable shoe or what..thx

Well, I just wear some skate shoes with the laces tucked in because other wise the laces get caught in the chainrings. But you should probably use a tighter fiting shoe. Because skateshoes tend to be worn loosely.

For any biking, it's best to have shoes that have stiff soles and breathable tops. There are many bike shoes made with these features. I think it's particularly important to have your feet propperly placed on the pedals, so toe clips or clipless pedals, that you can click your special shoes into are a good idea. That said, I just use an old pair of regular leather shoes for all my biking.

Here are mine, just to give you an idea and yes they stink worse then they look :p

what about for urban stuff-(platform pedals) ny new balances are wearing out.

HEY congrats on the trek brandon, i just got i 4300 as well!

As for shoes i wear a beat up pair of Vans that i lace up tightly.

Anyone else find that the "flatish" soles on skate shoes don't grip very well? I use a pair of skate shoes and the grippy knobs on by pedal don't hold onto the sole of the shoe very well. Would runnning shoes be more grippy because they also have rubber knobs at the bottom or is this invalid thinking?

ya right now im usin a pair of beat up circa's duct tape and all but im gunna start usin my good shoes i guess....koston es

I run skate shoes. Grip fine, if they aren't your technique for 'sticking' to the pedals might be off.

And no running shoes are less grippy for sure. But really it shouldn't matter. Any shoe (I have done bunny hops in my black dress shoes) should grip enough, its not like you need them to stick on like clipless.