Riding brakeless is a sure fire way to ruin your shoes, quickly! On the whole as BMXers we’re fine with this, yeah it’s expensive, and if we opt for a shoe that didn’t last as long as the last pair we’ll shout about it. It’s always great though sliding on a new pair of kicks, fresh out of the box and looking good.

What do you ride? and how long do they last?

We asked our Facebook fans about shoe wear, what you ride, how long they last and your thoughts generally. We’ve had a huge response. Shoe brands, hit this up for 20 minutes or so! It’s a great insight to what riders want going forward. Here’s the best bits..

Not much life left in these!

Perhaps changing the way you stop when brakeless could help prolong the life of shoes! Jesse Jones thinks so.. “Try to run when you stop, not skid with our shoes and they last a lot longer! But like 6 months to 8 months I guess (for a pair of shoes)” Interesting concept, I often stop with a curb feeble when going down a hill for example, more because it’s fun than to save my shoes though.

at least he’s not sitting on his ass playing computer games

Kathy Staples Broad is the Mother of a BMXer and it can get very expensive, but she see’s it as a worthwhile investment. “My son ruined a pair of etnies within a week!! Nike 6.0 s in a fortnight and various others of equal time with. His BMX infatuation is costing us a fortune, but at least he’s not sitting on his ass playing computer games.”

Footjams are relatively safe when it comes to shoe wear. Alex Coleborn sticking his toe in on Satans Toilet.

James Wayne Davies comes at us with an alternative view! “Why don’t ya be a bit more safety minded and install some brakes ya bunch of clowns, instead of spending ya mum and dad’s hard earned money on fresh sneakers every fu*kin month” Clown shoes may last longer though!

As you can imagine, the bulk of the feedback came in the shape of favourite brands and worst shoes to ride in, with a healthy balance across the most popular companies to be fair.

Rooftop 2’s

Scott Tacchi gets the ball rolling with a throwback to the early naughties “Shoes have gone down hill so much!! Don’t last long and don’t offer much protection. Best shoes I’ve ever ridden in were Etnies Rooftop 2s. Wish they still made them! Lasted me such a long time.”

Bought them like a year ago and still working fine!

Jamie Burgess “Would deffo have to say I have had Vans, Nikes and etnies but none of them have beat the Adidas skateboarding shoes I have they just dont wear down no matter how much I put them through on and off the bike and they are comfy.” Darby Martin “I’ve had my Vans for like 1 year and there nearly brand new (I ride brakeless).” Tom Veliký “Almond Riviera 2012. Bought them like a year ago and still working fine!” Will Hotchkiss “I’ve been riding the Etnies Mutiny colab for pretty much the whole year, and they’ve still got tread.” Louis Goddard “I’ve got Aaron Ross signatures and they are the best, I’ve had them for About 2 months and haven’t even warn yet.” Dave Vasiukovas “I wear vans and I love them.”

The debate is still raging over on the Facebook page, hit it up and have your say!