You're going to get A LOT of different suggestions. It's one of those questions that comes up a lot here, and there is never any consensus.
Personally, I like all leather engineers with toe and heel reinforcement (steel toe, or synthetic armor is fine) and good grippy soles. Or, six inch high laced leather boots that are designed to look normal off the bike but are armored with toe, heel and ankle bone protection, again good slip resistant soles.
I do not recommend regular work boots, tactical boots, sneaker boots, fashion boots, cowboy boots, jungle boots, etc. But plenty do wear them on the bike, I did too at one time, and it's better than wearing flip flops, vans, or converse.
Comfortable, at least right out of the box, isn't really the operative thing, IMHO. Cheap canvass sneaker boots will be comfortable, but they won't do the job on the bike the way boots designed for riding will. And, my old engineers, and even armored boots if you buy the right ones, start to feel like slippers once broken in.
Here's what I wear most often now, and they are armored at the toe, heel and ankle bones, and comfortable as can be. They ain't cheap though.
Sometimes I wear old school engineers. These are reinforced at the toe and heel boxes with cat's paw non slip soles. They are really pricey handmade USA boots, but I got them for 50 bucks at a thrift shop that didn't know what they were:
Last edited by SoCalSoftailSlim; 09-03-2014 at 08:19 PM.
I got a pair of Red Wing 6" work boots about 2 weeks ago and they are already broken in...One of the fastest break in I've ever had on a new set of boots. The come in wide sizes to EE and are very comfortable. They ain't cheap but they can be resoled and that is a big plus in my book. They even come in a width of H, which I've never heard of a shoe size that wide.
I really have enjoyed the comfort and protection of my Alpinestars Gore Tex boots from RevZilla. Very tacky soles with good grip, great shin guard, fit very well and comfortable to walk in, look nice under jeans, and good price point. A well made boot is not something to cut corners on. Just like you don't want to cut corners in the price of a helmet.
CruiserWorks is one of the few companies that makes a narrow boot, in their tour model. I've got an "a" width shoe size.
They are by far the most comfortable, waterproof boot I've ever had (before that, I wore RedWings, also available in a narrow).
They've been through some ups and downs as a company the past few years, and are damn expensive, but my first pair, resoled once, finally shot, lasted 10 years.
09-03-2014, 08:01 PM
riding boots
