Feel and grip
The inner and outer ankle cuff’s chunky padding and raised design caused a small amount of rubbing below my lateral malleolus (the circular bony bump on the outside of your ankle), but this hot spot subsided once they’d bedded in.
All that padding gives the upper a plush and soft feel that’s reminiscent of Five Ten’s older Impact 2. This is no bad thing; they’re chunky enough to provide plenty of protection and padding in gnarly toe-stubbing, rock-strewn trails.
Multiple construction layers culminate in a good balance between stiffness and feel through the pedals.
Feeling where the bike is and what inputs you’re riding over isn’t overly deadened by the shoes, which remain relatively soft through the soles of your feet.
However, this doesn’t come at the expense of your feet clawing over the pedals as they can with flexier models. Neither do you cramp up because your muscles are having to work hard to provide much-needed stability.
The Grip offered by the Tallacs is class-leading.
Akin to FiveTen’s Stealth S1 rubber in feel and grip, your foot stays totally planted wherever you place it on the pedals.
There’s no creep forward or back once the trails become rough and choppy, and neither can they twist or slide over the pedal’s pins.
They’ve got a damped, squishy and rubberised feel on the pedals; the pins are enveloped by the shoe’s sole.
There’s some controlled twisting, where the pins deform the shoe’s sole, enabling your foot to pivot – but crucially not move – on the pedal’s surface. This has an elasticity; your feet rebound back to their original position.
The only downside to this steadfast connection is that to move your feet on the pedals, they need to be lifted off and replaced – once they’re in your preferred position they’re locked in and unable to move.
This boosts confidence and control; your attention is diluted away from riding your bike into trying to re-position your feet on the pedals or stopping them from moving in the first place.
