Decades ago on a weeklong tour someone twenty years younger than I declared Birkenstocks to be an effective form of birth control. From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Jay Lonner Sent: Friday, June 19, 2026 4:34 PM To: [email protected] Cc: RBW Owners Bunch <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [RBW] Birkenstocks
Maybe 12 years ago, when my oldest daughter was in peak high school smart aleck mode, she told me “Good news Dad — Birkenstocks are back in fashion. But thanks to you I never knew they were ever out of style!” Jay Lonner Bellingham, WA Sent from my Atari 400 On Jun 19, 2026, at 2:25 PM, Ryan Fleming <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: Ha! Ha! they are de rigeuer for high school (and university) students here in Winnipeg,too...and Blundstones for late fall/winter On Wednesday, June 10, 2026 at 8:48:17 PM UTC-5 Tony Lockhart wrote: Ted, these are the best shoes in the world. I remember seeing a photo of Mark from Riv wearing Super Birkis....probably 2010ish....and I decided to look into them. I figured if I guy like him pedals around in them, and my wife wears them all day in the classroom, why not? I also have memories of Chuck from Velo Retro at Busters (2008ish) in ripped jean shorts and Birkenstocks, no socks. So, as you can imagine, I've had good role models. When throwing clay in the pottery, I wear Super Birkis....warm or cold months. I also bike around in them when the LA weather is cold, or if this is a light rain on the ground. When at home, or puttering around town on/off the bike, I wear regular Birkenstocks. I also bike around in Birkenstock (no socks during warm months, socks during cool) and they feel great. I've got MKS RMX both on Leo and Sam. Stats: * Size 12 shoe, wide and flat like a tamale, very low arch * Super Birkis and Birkenstocks, size 46 * Foot shape has a wide toe box, skinny cycling shoes don't fit me. Converse are great, Sambas and Vans don't fit comfortably Seems like these have blown up in popularity during the past few years. I've even seen my high school students wearing them. You should give them a try....I'll buy you a coffee if you hate them. On Wednesday, June 10, 2026 at 5:57:05 PM UTC-7 Chris Halasz wrote: I wear Birkenstocks most of the time. I have a couple pairs for inside and around the house, they are both Arizona - open toe, double strap, no heel strap. Around and about, it's Milano (Arizona with a heel strap), or Tokio (Boston closed-toe with a heel strap, and yes, that's how it's spelled), which is what I wear on the bike. A strange thing I avoid - footwear you can't run in when you're out and about - emergencies happen, and the Arizona sandals fly off my feet pretty easily. Great for slipping into around the house, though. As for the clunkiest ones - the Tokio - walked many, many miles per day in those, all day, for weeks, and never experienced any foot fatigue, discomfort, anything like other shoes or sandals I've tried, and they barely show any wear. I'm typically a size 12 in Adidas, and 11.5 in dress shoes, and a size EU44/US11 in Birkenstock. My feet are just in-between, not wide, not high arch, etc., so I typically wear the 'regular/wide', but have one Milano set in the 'narrow/medium' exclusively for cycling, presumably to avoid chain grease. The synthetic ones I've owned have been surprisingly nice, as of course are the leather ones. I just don't like to wear socks, and as far as the feel of slipping a Birkenstock on my foot, even to this day after first purchasing them forty years ago, well, it might be inappropriate for me to say how it good they feel on my feet in a post on this community. Wearing socks and shoes, to me, is like having a three piece suit and tie on my feet. I've tried Keens, Bedrocks, Chacos, Tevas - all fine, just like the Birkenstocks a whole lot more. Plenty of good deals for basically brand new ones on eBay, and often some pretty darn good sales on the Birkenstock US website. As always, they work for me, YMMV. On Wednesday, June 10, 2026 at 4:34:54 PM UTC-7 Garth wrote: Birkenstocks are European sizes. The Zappos chart below does a good job or showing it, with actual foot measurements in cm's, which is the most relatable way to size a foot for a shoe, rather than all these conversion numbers that nobody knows what they mean. I wore a 47/30.2cm in Arizona/Boston, the classics, which all use the same footbed. The uppers are glued on to the footbed, as well as the sole. The classics are modular, if you will. Everything is replaceable, not that it's inexpensive to do so, and you need a Birk specialist to do so. For riding they are as good as your ability to pedal in such sandals. I wore Boston and Arizona. They do make one classic with an adjustable rear strap, the Milano. They are quite stiff, stiffer than any flat mtb shoe I've touched. The sole will get some holes from spikes on some pedals, but it won't disintegrate, it's a hard wearing rubber. Not that stiffness is all that important though, as I no longer wear them and prefer Altra trail running shoes(currently Superior) as they are roomier in the toes than Birks are, but they're full sneakers you can lace up snug. If you're craving toe splay room in a sneaker, Altra is where it's at. Beats even Lems wides. Only Sofstar Primal shoes are wider, thee widest ever you'll see in a retail shoe. Those have no padding though(leather upper stitched/glues to a 5mm sole) and are very flexible, so one must have very strong feet to ride with them. I don't even have a wide forefoot and I love me some Altra roominess. The term "wide" foot without knowing where and how it's wide, and the foot shape and toe lengths and patterns, is meaningless. I had no idea how scrunched, warped and under utilized my toes and feet in general were until I started wearing what's referred to as "barefoot/zero drop" shoes, and walked barefoot as much as possible. The term can be confusing though as not all such shoes are truly zero drop and have a barefoot feel to them. Altra don't have the feel, but for riding they're good because the ones I wear have a stack height of 21-25mm, so my feet aren't sore from the pedals. Birks allow your toes to move around some, but don't have any ground feel when off the bike. https://m.media-amazon.com/images/G/01/zappos/sizing/conversion/Mens-Shoe-Size-Conversion.png https://www.wikihow.com/images/a/a7/Types-of-Feet-Summary-Version-3.jpg On Wednesday, June 10, 2026 at 5:47:41 PM UTC-4 Dave White wrote: One thing that might matter to you, or not, is that they don't do half-sizes. I ended up buying the Mephisto impression of an open toed Birkenstock. On Wednesday, June 10, 2026 at 2:43:00 PM UTC-7 Brian Turner wrote: Following this discussion because like Ted, I too am Birkenstock curious. Specifically the closed-toe variety like the Boston. I think shoes like the Bedrock Mountain Clog look really cool and seem like they’d be great for cycling, but they seem to have little to no arch support for those of us who aren’t blessed with normal or perfectly-formed arches. In 2020, I was diagnosed with PTTD (posterior tibial tendon dysfunction) and since then, I have to wear custom, deep heel cup orthotics with pretty aggressive arch support. I can also get by with shoes such as Chacos that have decent arch support built in - as long as I’m not doing a ton of walking around in them. So, something that I would mostly be wearing while cycling with adequate arch support wouldn’t be a deal breaker. Something easy to slip on like a Birkenstock sounds really appealing. Brian Lexington KY On Jun 10, 2026, at 4:34 PM, Coal Bee Rye Anne <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: I still need to catch up on some threads including Patrick’s Metatarsalgia discussion but as a longtime Birkenstock wearer I can offer the following: I have long and narrow feet. Wear size 16 in most sneakers but 15 in other brands (such as Timberland) if they run large or as is often the case 15 may just be largest available size. I ‘think’ my arch is average but honestly not sure. Unfortunately, my size requirements limit Birkenstock availability as well but I usually have a pair of Arizona sandals and/or Boston clogs. I’ve worn both 15 and 16 US sizes in both models but preferred 15Narrow. I hadn’t been able to get 15Narrow replacements after wearing out my last so now have 15 regular. I’ve biked in both but prefer the closed toe of the Boston. The soft outsole grips my flat pedals well but shreds up quite easily if using spiked pedals. I have grip kings, VP-001, and some older cage pedals. Grip Kings grip my Birks the least of all my pedals and I may drill/tap them for set screw spikes someday but haven’t bothered yet. I think the biggest downside is just getting dirt/gravel/debris in the sandals during rides. I may get less in the Boston clogs but then it can’t work itself out as well as with the open sandals. With the Arizona I felt my foot move around more in a less desirable way, especially once sweat soaked, so prefer the Boston which just felt a bit more secure with foot placement. I have not tried any Birks with heel strap, though I’ve wanted to try some London clog/shoe. Budgeting and a minimalist desire has prevented purchasing any more until I wear existing shoes out. Now they have a much greater variety of footbeds and soles but at my size I’m still limited in selection so never veered from the standard Arizona and Boston styles. I’ve never actually had a pair or Birkenstocks serviced or re-soled, despite best intentions, as there seemed to always be a lack of ‘official’ or ‘authorized’ local service centers whenever I looked and I’ve instead usually upcycled many of my old leather straps vs finding a local cobbler to do a re-sole. I’ll also ride in sneakers or my vans, both laced and slip on, but trashed my slip ons last year after they finally fell apart and have not yet replaced. I must say my personal preferred riding shoe at the moment is an old pair of Timberland earthkeepers side zipper black boots (old discontinued city type boot) I’d replaced the laces with thick leather lace with a permanent knot with short tag ends so leave them tied and specifically use the side zippers. They just fit great with a thin pair of wool hiking socks and grip the pedals almost similar to the Birkenstocks but they are wearing thin and double as my ‘nice’ black shoes so I’ve limited riding in them lately to extend their longevity as much as possible and expect this summer will see more vans and Birkenstocks in my rides. In short, I do really like riding in Birkenstocks for short casual rides with most flat pedals with a preference for clog over open sandals but as someone who sweats heavily once they get saturated my foot begins to slip around a bit more than I’d like so for longer and more aggressive rides I still prefer socks and a full shoe/sneaker. One last note, with one single speed bike equipped with holdfast foot straps and VP-001 pedals I’ve also successfully used my Boston clogs on these but have gotten them stuck before when I lazily chose not to re-adjust the straps from prior rides with my narrower toed Timberland boots so had a barefoot stop on a few occasions with clog still attached to the pedal. Usually with a standard flat pedal this has not been an issue for me with open back sandals or clog falling off but it does occur to me why a heel strap may certainly be beneficial either way! Brian Cole Lawrence NJ On Wednesday, June 10, 2026, Ted Durant <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: Hi all - Patrick's thread on Metatarsalgia prompted a few people to recommend Birkenstocks, and I'm Birkenstock curious, so thought it might be worth its own thread. What are your feet like? (length, width, volume, arch height, any specific. issues) What Birkenstock model(s) have you tried and how have you liked them? 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