Teva Links

Unicycles and Equipment
1

Just a few days ago I got my brand new Teva links. This shoe was designed by freeride mountain biker Jeff Lenosky in association with Teva. It is a very technical shoe with a lot of great features.

Features

Let’s start from the toe up. The area right above the toe is a standard vent area, with one exception, the vent has a rubberized mesh type of coatin that prevents ripping from pedals or what ever else you throw at it. The very front of the shoe is a hard rubber sole with tread that helps with climbing, and the toe box material almost feels lIke a rubber leather, it’s neat. Oh, and its all double/ triple stitched.

Getting closer to the middle of the shoe, the mid half is leather, synthetic I think. On the outside of the shoe, there is another vent that is rubberized. This is the one with the Teva logo on it. It seems pretty tough. The laces come in to colors, the neon/ bright yellow, and a gray the same as the outsole, they hard kind of stretchy too. On the tongue there are elastic bands to hold it down.

Getting to the back of the shoe, there are a few tech features. First, is the heel cup. On this shoe is one of the best heel cups I have had. The back of the shoe comes up to mid Achilles, and on the back of the shoe is the heel cup and stabilizer. The heel cuPis made of the same rubber as the outsold and the “stabilizer” is a solid piece of plastic. Down on the bottom of the shoe is the shock pad. It’s like the shock on bikes, without the bubble.

On the bottoms of the shoe is the spider rubber. I don’t have anything to compare this to, but ridin and hopping around a bit, I found this is very firm. As in it sticks to the pedal, but allows you to also move your foot around. On the heel is a reversed tread for walking downhill. It’s a very nice sole.
Oh, and it’s completely water proof down to the nano fiber

comfotabity

Honestly, this is the most comfortable shoe I own. The insole is Tevas mush liner. It’s extremely comfy. The only downside I have is almost no arch support. But the sole comes out, so you can put customs in.

Overall, I’m gonna give this a 10/10. Even though I haven’t had any other type mtb shoe, these rate high on me for what I had for skate shoes. IMO give them a try, the neon colors army too bad xD

2

any more long term. thinking about getting a pair…

4

So far they have held up awesomely. I use the nimbus pedals and the shoes stick to them really well, but you can still move your foot if needed. There really comfy too, and you can wear them everywhere, they aren’t heavy and big. The last thing is how clean they stay, cuz all you have to do is spray em with the hose! I love them

5

I really like them so far stiffer than 5 10s buy lighter than my tennis shoes.

6

Got my teva links in the mail yesterday. Even though I feel like crap I had to bust out for a ride given the new shoes and dry weather.

I’ve been wearing mostly 5.10 freerides for uni and mt.biking for the past 3 years with a pair if impact lows thrown in there sometimes. I wear a 13 freeride and impact and bought a 13 teva, the fit is almost identical, the teva feels a little tighter in the toebox area but not too bad. The 5.10 and tevas are both on the cusp of being too small, normally I wear a 13 shoe with no tightness anywhere.

First impressions as I was wearing the shoes around the house is they are very beefy construction-wise. I don’t forsee parts of the shoe peeling off like on the freerides. The impacts are definitely stiffer than the freerides, I will welcome this. Hopefully they stay this stiff.

Today I just went for a road ride on my 29, plenty of hills in my area. The first thing I noticed right off the bat was they grip less than the 5.10 shoes. I’m not sure how this is going to impact muni rides, I may have to invest in some better pedals, mine have metal pins but they are relatively short and not that many of them. The grip was perfect for road riding, it was easy to move my feet around and the stiffness was a welcome addition. For road riding I would say it is a good shoe.

In the 5.10s my feet would be sore after a long ride (over an hour for me), we’ll see how my feet do tomorrow.

I don’t really have any bad things to say about the shoe. It’s going to take some getting used to, with increased stiffness comes less feel on the pedal. I think these are a good balance of that.

The color is what it is, turquoise gray and yellow… ugh, could be worse I suppose, could definitely be better though. As my wife said “It’ll be easy to spot you in a crowd with those on”

7

I have been riding in mine for a week and a half and loving them so far. and love them. they are stiff and light and very grippy. sizing wise i wear a 14 in most everything so i got a 14 and they fit a bit on the narrow side. i got mine on sale and got a discount on the next thing i buy so i may be getting the purple ones for $55 :D.
I have used them for MUni and trials and street. and have excelled in all.
the picture is them after today’s muddy MUni ride after i hosed them off.

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8

Just FYI that at Famous Footwear stores in the US, they have the Links for $50. The store I saw them at only had the black and purple model, and limited sizes, but it’s worth a try (or a call). Oh, and they were also on a buy one, get one half price, so you could get 2 pair for $75. I struck out, size-wise, but am going to try a different store & see if I can get lucky. They’re very nice shoes.

Online, they don’t have them, but they have the Pinner. Some stores might have that model as well.

9

Hey Peter, how do they compare to the Impacts or Freerides?

What do you ride now?

10

Wish I could tell you–my local store didn’t have my size, either. :frowning: If I find a pair, I’ll let you know.

I’m still riding 5-10 Impact2 mids for muni and 5-10 Guide Tennies for 36ers.

12

So after wearing the links and really wanting to like them, I’m a bit underwhelmed.

I’ve spent a bunch of time on my 20" working on various skills, skinnies, wraps, a bit of trials, lots of hopping. I kept making myself try the links and always ended up with the freerides. Not nearly enough grip, not enough feel, too sweaty. I’m actually surprised at how little grip these have, much less than any skate shoe, it probably has something to do with the stiffness of the shoe.

I can wear my freerides all day long, when I tried to wear the links all day long my feet were wet from sweat.

I’ll still give em a whirl on my mt bike, they may do well there. (I’m hoping, or it was a big waste for me)

13

i have ridden mine for street and trials and some small MUni and have been liking them so far. one thing i LOVE is they are not to narrow. they are alot cooler than freerides i think. but i will admit they are not as grippy they still have quite i bit of grip.

15

I have been riding a pair of Teva “The Links” for a few weeks, spent six days in them while riding UT, CO, NM, plenty of hard muni to test them out, and what can I say, they suprised me.

The Links are lightweight, supportive, comfortable, have decent grip, and don’t get wet and stinky with use. The Links replace my Five Ten Barons/Freerides as my wet weather and tech shoes.

I like them so much that they have actually become my go-to shoes.

They don’t show any signs of early break down like Five Tens or Shimanos, but it’s still early…

I found the Lunar Lander colors for $75, but if you like purple or black, I have seen them for as little as $45.

I tried the Links Mid and found them to be heavy, more like a boot fit/feel, with no additional benefits over the Links Low, so just get the low style.

The only fit issues I have had is that the tongue is a little short and the lacing at the toe box kinda squishes my forefoot, neither are deal killers.

Fit is about the same as Five Ten Freeride, true to size, medium volume toe box, regular heel fit and arch width. The insole is flat, so use your own insole support to get the fit you desire.

They have some nice flexibility under the forfoot, a little more stiffness under the arch, a thicker midsole to resist the pedal pushing into the sole. They compare favorabley to the Five Ten Impact without the bulk or weight.

A lot of shoe in a small package. I look forward to seeing what they do with The Links for 2013 :slight_smile:

16

Two month review:

Still riding the Links, using them for distance riding and tech muni, holding up very well, uppers show minimal skuffing, liners are solid, sole has some abrasion from pins, midsole stiffness is nearly the same as new.

They don’t have the same “stickiness” of Five Ten, but they stick fine. I did a twenty mile tech ride on the Pinhoti Trail where I was doing a fair amount of hiking and they were quite comfortable, not hot, and they dried quickly when wet.

Though I see where they could be improved, such as a slightly longer tongue, a toe box gusset at the first lacing holes, a little more stiffness in the middle portion of the shoe, and the addition of a more aggressive heel and toe for hiking, overall it is a lot better shoe than a Five Ten Freeride/Baron or the Impact.

Lightweight, shed mud and water, cool, comfortable, relatively firm under foot, durable, a great all around shoe.

18

I’ve been riding Teva Links for 6 months now and couldn’t agree more with what others have said. I’ve found them a terrific shoe for all the same reasons, especially how brilliantly they clean up.

I agree with Nurse Ben about the tongue seeming a bit short. But actually, for me anyway, the shortness of the tongue is a counter-intuitive thing really. In practice it has had no bearing on the performance of the shoe and the knot of the laces never ends up above the tongue.

As it happens, the laces are my only quibble. As is shoe technology/fashion these days, the laces are overly long - especially as they are the stretchy kind. No matter though, to stop the end caps clanging on anything, especially spokes, I simply thread them through down through the ladder of lace going down the shoe (see photo below).

I like the Links so much I am gonna wear them out because they are so darned comfortable I wear them everywhere despite getting them purely for riding. That said, my feeling is the quality of these things will see them last a good long while. Couldn’t recommend the Links more highly.

19

I’ve been riding my Links for almost a year, they are m,y go to shows for shorter rides where I don’t need as much arch support; for longer rides I use a stiff soled shoe.,

Mine have held up pretty good, some wear areas in the sole from the pedal pins, but not any more than expected, I’d say the sole wear is as good or better than any Five Tens I have used.

Sole stickiness is not as good as Five Ten, but this is not a negative thing as it allows more foot mobility when riding. I don’t feel like I slip much more than I do in comparison with my other other shoes.

The tongue is short, which made the laces ride a little high on my foot, so I laced them differently, lacing up high, then placing the “tie” at the second hole from the top, this makes it feel better.

The best thing about the Teva Link, and what really sets them above the Five Tens is that they retain sole stiffness and upper support over time. I have 100 days in these shoes and they are still 90% as stiff as new, whereas a comparable Five Ten would have lost half or more of their stiffness.

Pros: Lightweight, fast drying, durable, inexpensive, retains sole stiffness over time.
Cons: Moderately sticky sole.

21

Been riding the Teva Links for well over a year now and still loving them for all the features described in previous posts. They wash up almost like new and, for me, the riding platform is perfect and they remain my go to shoe above all others.

For the most part they have proven extremely durable. But, and its a big one, they have failed in a very disappointing way. Check out the photos below (I’m a little late with posting this - photos were taken in Dec '13 when the shoes were 10 months old). The fabric heel cushion on my shoes wore far too rapidly to the point of a hole developing. It wasn’t a tear or impact hole, it developed simply from using the shoes. Luckily I have a great local cobbler who fitted some suede patches into the heel both covering the existing hole in one shoe and preventing the occurrence in the other, which was on its way. The fix is really good and suitably hard wearing that holes will never be an issue again and the patches look just the same today as in the photos.

However, while that’s all fine, the heavily marketed water repellent element of the shoes construction is now compromised as, obviously the leather retains water when it gets wet. As I say, I love the shoes in every other way and the heel cushion wearing out so darned quick is a major disappointment, it being so far out of line with the durability of the rest of the shoe (checkout the last image of the sole showing how good it is after daily riding over 10 months).

Don’t know if anyone else has experienced this issue and certainly my heels are nothing out of the ordinary with the shoes marketed as designed for full on riding of all kinds. I contacted Teva (I live in New Zealand) but received no response, again disappointingly.