I now prefer to ride with flat pedals. Is there a flat pedal shoe that has a stiff sole? I invested in Five Ten Free Rider shoes and found the sole to be very flexible. This caused pain in the ball of my foot. I switched to a cleated mountain bike shoe and did not install the cleat. There is no more pain in the ball of my foot. Ideally, I would want shoes that are made for flat pedals without the cleat.

I ride in Skechers hiking sneakers, they have thick non-slip sole. Plus, comfortable to walk around when you're taking a break.

I've been using, for the past several months, Specialized 2FO Roost shoes. They provide absolutely incredible grip! Paired with pedals that have grip pins, you'll be very happy! I believe that there is now a newer version of these terrific cycling shoes.

Five Ten Freerider Pro shoes are also very highly rated, albeit quite expensive and not for wide feet.

Good luck in your search.

Best regards
Barry, 77
New Jersey

I find having a large platform pedal is better than a stiff sole. With my platforms I can wear any shoe comfortably. I even did two tours using Crocs, comfortably. I commuted using Vans. One pair of Crocs was actually stiff, though I preferred the more flexible pair.

Maybe try some stiff shoe inserts (insoles) so you could wear any shoe you like. Haven't tried these, but found on a quick search: Amazon.com: Carbon Fiber Insole - 1 pc | Rigid Carbon Fiber Shoe Insert for Recovery | Graphite Shoe Insert for Foot Pain, Arthritis, Hallux Rigidus, Turf Toe & Mortons Toe | Stiff Soles W's 12-12.5 Men's 11-11.5 : Health & Household
Might also try a local shoe or sporting goods store.

I ride in sneakers on platform pedals with toe clips and for the last few years I have inserts in them...arch support inserts with semi-rigid support from the balls of the feet to the arch. $12-$18 at Wal-Mart.

The bike store owner wore Vans. At the time I didn't care for them, but later decided to purchase a pair with good insoles. I use them now for work and play. Van's makes good shoes. Well made and durable.

I got quite a surprise when I tried riding in basic Teva Universals, the cheapest ones they make, and that was on standard-sized pedals. They worked perfectly well.

Get a set of pedals that are long enough (Catalyst, in my case) and you can wear anything you like.

That would be my question is why not run a bigger pedal and spread the load.

^^^^^ Crank Bros "Stamp 7"

What has the world come to? Somebody somewhere needs to bring back the Bata Bikers. They would be ideal for most flat pedals

Freerider Pros are plenty stiff enough and fit my wide feet okay. I use them for mountain biking with wide CB Stamp pedals. A rock solid combination.

The sole of my Freerider non pros are less stiff than my sneakers. I would hate to buy the pro version and get stung again.

I don’t have the regular Freeriders to compare, but the Pros are much stiffer than any sneakers I’ve owned. They are obviously less stiff than my carbon road race shoes, but they don’t cause any foot pain when used with full sized mtb flat pedals.

I ride 90% of my miles on flats. I have found shoes like Vanns and Five Tens to be heavy and too flexy. I look for a shoe that doesn't have a heavily lugged outsole. I like an outsole that is flat, firm and stiff. Another thing to consider is that a lot of shoes have substantial flare (width increase) on the sole at the ball of the foot. That puts my feet too far outboard for my liking. I also don't like a lot of heel rise in a bicycling shoe.

I have arrived at Under Armor Charged Pursuit as my go to shoe for riding flats. Check some out next time you are in a store that sells UA. UA has some killer deals online on a frequent basis.

I find my Specialized 2 FO flat 1.0 good for riding on wide flat pedals. Most of my riding is in dry conditions.

I’m nearly a year into wearing only minimal/barefoot shoes, so I only wear shoes with a wide, foot-shaped toe box, no heel and no artificial stabilizing features.

Typically they also have a thin, very flexible sole. For biking, a transitional shoe like some of the Lem’s works well: all the other minimal/barefoot attributes but a thicker sole.

In particular I’m using the Primal Zen for biking and it works well. I would expect that some of the Altras could work well too if they didn’t have too deep of a tread.

Otto

Merrill hiking shoes work for me.

Different strokes I guess. I found exactly the opposite. Like the OP, I prefer flat pedals and not being clipped in. I have a pair of Venzo flats on my TT bike and they always hurt my feet on long rides. The pedals on my other bikes look like regular old school pedals and they're far more comfortable with regular shoes.

A tree you may want to bark up to are power lifting shoes, specially deadlifting shoes. Because you are supposed to be handling a lot of weight the last thing you want is a squishy sole, those shoes are designed with very stiff ones.

In specific look at deadlifting shoes. Unlike squat shoes they don't have the higher heel. Check out Amazon for what is out there.

Decades ago they had a plethora of what was called touring shoes. A few come to mind. Beta Bikers, Avocet, Sidi. What they all had in common were stiff soles. My $100 Five Ten will probably spend eternity in the closet. I have come to believe that only shoes that are intended for cleats will be stiff enough for me. I am now using Pearl Izumi shoes. The cleat area has a removable cover. At least once I started riding with these, I had no more metatarsal pain.

some possible options include -

Pearl Izumi X Alp or Trans Alps - fairly / relatively stiff

Shimano ‘touring’ or ‘mountain touring’ shoes - including older models like the CT71 or more recent MT701 ... they are rated just 4 or 5 on the Shimano stiffness scale - but still significantly better than the majority of freeride shoes including Shimano’s own GR5 shoe

note : when installed, the bolt on cleat cap / sole plug will provide additional rigidity / stiffness to the Shimano touring shoes ... without the plug too flexible

Sixsixone Filter shoe is stiff - but has a very thick tongue

some Bontrager MTB shoes could also be an option - but be aware many models (if not most) run narrow

I honestly don't understand what you are saying, and why you quoted me. I ride platform pedals as well. I do not use clip less. I feel a large platform pedal works, for me, with any shoe I want to wear. The platform supplies all the support my foot needs. There is no real flexing of the shoe because the pedal supports it. Now, if you run your seat too high and pedal toes down, that can change things make you place your foot too far back on the pedal because you are reaching. Put your seat where it should be and there are no issues.

I wish I'd bought more than one pair of these DVS/Cinelli Luster:

Super stiff sole, real leather, durable, good looking. I still wear the ones I've got even though they're beat to hell. Should maybe start looking for other options myself.

If you're a size 13 and like white shoes you can get a pair on ebay, it looks like. (If they were my size I'd have bought them rather than posting them.)

Surprised to see Vans mentioned here, more than once. That said, they do now have a bike shoe, well BMX anyway. It is supposedly designed for bikes and pedal grip specifically - "VDFPR (Van Doren Factory Pedal Recipe) - This is our latest proprietary gum rubber compound, specifically formulated to enhance pedal grip and durability. Tested and approved by the Vans® innovation team and the top factory team riders, VDFPR is only available on BMX Wafflecup™ construction." I picked a pair up in a store and they are noticeably stiffer and heavier than a normal Van's sneaker (which are very flexible) but I doubt as stiff as many bike rider would be looking for?