In my experience, most all mtb or touring shoes have stiff soles except perhaps for the ones that look more like sneakers, boarder, or casual shoes. I recently got a pair of Specialized Elite touring shoes and have worn Shimano touring shoes for ~10 years. The soles of these shoes are plenty stiff enough for me, anyway. Perhaps it's a fit issue; shoes a bit too narrow? I'm up 1/2 size from where I used to be when younger.