UK clothing company Endura has three mountain bike shoes in its fledgling range, two flat shoes and this MT500 Burner clipless. This shoe is the original colourway, which means it’s the price stated, but the very latest colours have gone up slightly by £10.

Endura is not specific about the upper material, but it’s mostly hard-wearing synthetic with a high inner ankle protector. This isn’t as well padded as the Crankbrothers Mallet E, and there’s a definite hard edge to the collar, which rubbed a bit initially. The finish is also a bit rough and ready, with a lot of loose threads. The shoe also comes up small, so we’d recommend trying it before buying, because you may need to go up a half or even a full size.

The MT500 Burner comes with laces and a securing Velcro strap, and compared to the Shimano AM5 it feels solid when pulling up or loading into a turn, but it also feels incredibly wooden. There’s not a lot of spring in the sole, and it doesn’t bend very easily when walking.

Endura does use a StickyFoot rubber compound on the pedal contact area, which stops the shoe sliding when just running on a caged clipless. Like the best shoes here, the cleat box is offset to the inside to create better heel and crank clearance, but unfortunately it’s way too small, and if we positioned the cleat all the way back it would contact the sole, making clipping in really difficult. It has gradients, so you can get both cleats to match, but the cleat box needs to be way bigger.

Our main issue with the MT500 Burner Clipless is that it’s just not a very comfortable shoe. It also has a weird dimpled footbed, which feels hard and unyielding, and even the Sharkskin fabric-lined heel cup, designed to hold your foot in place, feels too abrasive.

Looking for the best mountain bike shoes you can find? We’ve tried and tested loads so you can be sure if we’re recommending it, it’s good. We’ve also got plenty of advice to up your performance, from bodyweight exercises for mountain bikers to skills tips for eMTB riders.