What are good shoes to wear when riding flat pedals? Embarrassed that I don’t have a clue. Tennis shoes aren’t going to be supportive enough… Am I over thinking it? (I’ve already thought about bringing pedals and a wrench to ‘coerce’ them to let me use SPD pedals at the minimum)
Use a pair of MTB lugged shoes?
Five10s (Adidas makes them now)
Second the 5.10’s. I have tried other brands of flat pedal shoes and they are the grippiest and the stiffest (depends on the model). If you ride a lot don’t expect to get more than a season or two out of them though.
And they have a shoe with Boas… 
Thanks for the suggestion. They have some great looks.
I wear my 5.10’s everywhere. Never know when I might need to go for a mountain bike ride 
No, sneakers are not great as they are squishy and the teeth, screws and claws on the pedals eat into them. Lake makes shoes that you can either use with MTB cleats or you can cover the screw holes with a cleat cap and then use them on flat pedals.
Other companies make flat pedal-specific shoes, too.
Some skate companies make BMX shoes (like Vans) if you are a millennial having a midlife crisis and need to look cool (I am 100% this).
My five tens are also good and frequently on sale.
I use FiveTens for most stuff, especially tech riding, but wear trainers if Im touring/casual z1-z2 stuff
FiveTens come in varying stiffness, i use the stiffer shoes for intervals and on the graveller, but I prefer a bit of flex when actually trail riding/jumping
I also have winter boots which have had FiveTen rubber added to the base so I get the perfect pair of cold weather boots with some studs for walking in if necessary. FiveTens are awful to walk in on mud or snow!
I have found the quality/durability of five ten to be quite poor in recent years (for me the sole lasts about 3-4 months before the pedal pins have eaten through it). I have switched to Fox Union flat pedal shoes and find the quality to be much higher.
Oh yes I have a pair of those Union shoes and they are lush! Perfect amount of grippy and relatively stiff.
And I just kept drawing a blank. I’ve never looked for flat shoes for biking, until now.
That’s funny… I said that I thought I was ‘too old for a midlife crisis’, and what had to be an octogenarian snorted and said that the only time you are too old for a midlife crisis is being dead. Everyone laughed. Someone said that he was dating a 30 year-old after his wife died. I guess it’s true…
I like lots of color and bright colors if possible. What is left in my size is usually either black, or white. 
fizik Terra Atlas, they claim to have my size in-stock (in black ), wonder how well that would work with flats.
If you are looking for an inexpensive shoe 2FO,s are good.
Another vote for Five Ten’s. I’ve never done road on them, but Freerider Pro are my go to flat pedal mtb shoes.
Nowadays, just about all companies that make clipless shoes also make flat pedal shoes. These are primarily aimed at mtbrs riding flat pedals with traction pins, though some are more urban oriented. Five Ten (now owned by Adidias) were among the first to specialize in flat pedal mtb shoes. As far as flat pedal mtb shoes, go I’ve ridden 5-10s, Specialized, Shimano, and PI. I’m eyeing a pair of Crank Bros shoes atm.
The 5.10’s seemed to be longer in the toe box, and even the LBS said that they ‘aren’t very durable’ due to the type of rubber as some mentioned. Hmm…
Shimano has a ‘flat’ ‘with SPD’ shoe, heavy… Trek/Bontrager does as well, yep they all do, just wasn’t aware of their features and the store didn’t carry them much. They could get Fox if needed, just never carried them.
Tried on Crank Brothers ‘Stamp Match’, and ended up with them. The sole seems made of a harder rubber, and the toe box wasn’t like a snow ski, not that the 5.10 was really that long, but over an inch off the toes is a little too long IMO. They also have a heavily padded shoe upper rim, comfy. Has rubber nubs on the inside of the heel cup to stop heel movement, and with a smaller size, I felt that I could feel every nub. Surprising, as they were somewhat like the old Bontrager XXX road shoe I had. Next size up, they feel great.
And nice: The ‘Match’ in the model name is because the tread actually 'Match’es their studded flat pedals, so a rider can theoretically ‘lock-in’ to them somewhat. They have various colors, but not flashy like I was looking for, but the black with red highlights scratch that itch for flash for me. They do a Boa shoe, but it’s Boa/Velcro strap mix.
Thanks for everyone’s help. Ride on!!
I’m grateful that there are so many choices for such a niche product.
I’ve been wearing 5.10’s for almost 15 years now. I’ve seen several new options hit the market, but I haven’t been convinced away from 5.10, yet, not that I buy shoes very often anyway.
Proper shoes make a big difference, but it is very worth mentioning that a proper pedal is critical, too. As expected, that’s probably a personal thing.
Heads up - Pedal shape is probably more important than shoes. If you’re a forefoot peddler (likely if you use clip in pedals), concave pedals are a huge upgrade over flat flat pedals. Mid-foot, you might like convex. The shape helps you locate the pedal. The shape also works against stiff shoes soles. One advantage of cycling specific shoes is that they have a smaller tread features to work with pedal spikes patterns (running shoes would be the worst shoe here). Cycling shoes also have better foot protection if you’re hitting a trail - I wouldn’t even go onto a mellow trail with the occasional rock/tree with Vans.
In my experience, there’s a decision whether to go flex sole or stiff sole. Stiff soles is probably going to work better if you’re used to cleats and use your forefoot for pedaling. Soft if you’re going to use your mid-foot. Semi-stiff in the midfoot of the shoe results in your feet being TORTURED (some Giro urban shoes i tried) . If one goes stiff, you’re really got to deal with the shape of the shoe/insole just like stiff road/mtb shoes. Basically, all flat pedal shoes are going to be FLAT inside. I bought some FiveTen Trailcross, which are stiff. I spent quite a bit of time getting insoles to work with the gym shoe top.
If someone is going around your neighborhood, I’d try a Vans and the right pedal. If you’re going to be pedaling for hours, you’re going to have kiss some pedal/shoe frogs. If you’re descending, you can probably figure it out pretty quickly.
Shout out to Shimano T8000 pedals if you dipping your toe. I have have an ‘around the hood’ and occasional trail MTB. These work perfect. If you get the wrong side, you can still pedal your slick carbon sole xc shoe on the flat side. They always seems to be on the correct side though. The concave flat shape is way better than the flat flat EH500. The platform takes the trail hits like the proper xt trail pedal at the same weight Shimano PD-T8000 Dual Platform SPD Pedals | Explorer | Ride Shimano