may i use this forum to pick the brains of the more experienced riders ref the question of a good uni-shoe?
i’ve seen some mention made of brands i’ve never heard of at prices my bank manager would never believe
(and at 1:12 to your currency…)
what i’d like to c is a couple of vital features of a uni shoe
should it have a pronounced heel?
i find this usefull, what do the xperts say?
should it protect the ankle from pedal scrape?
i can c the benefit of this right off
wont a high-top boot interfere with your foot’s pedaling motion?
can we work on generating a list of general characteristics?
with indications of application ie freestyle, muni and so forth
In article <GILD.2qk5m@timelimit.unicyclist.com>,
GILD <GILD.2qk5m@timelimit.unicyclist.com> wrote:
)
)may i use this forum to pick the brains of the more experienced riders
)ref the question of a good uni-shoe?
)i’ve seen some mention made of brands i’ve never heard of at prices my
)bank manager would never believe
)(and at 1:12 to your currency…)
)what i’d like to c is a couple of vital features of a uni shoe
)should it have a pronounced heel?
)i find this usefull, what do the xperts say?
)should it protect the ankle from pedal scrape?
)i can c the benefit of this right off
)wont a high-top boot interfere with your foot’s pedaling motion?
The four sets of shoes I’ve done significant unicycling in are mid-top
hiking boots, overly-expensive New Balance cross-training sneakers,
Birkenstock Arizonas, and Vans (skate shoes).
The Birkenstocks are terrible and I only use them because that’s what
I wear when I’m not unicycling and it’s easier than changing shoes for
short rides.
The sneakers aren’t great. The bottom of the shoe has a tread pattern
that messes up attempts to reposition your foot on the pedal, but the
shoe bottom isn’t grabby enough to give you a firm connection to the
pedal. I use them only when I don’t have a better option available.
The hiking boots are pretty good. They provide some ankle protection
without really restricting movement. I’ve still wound up with
significant ankle damage while wearing them (the worst was on a seat
whip). They have a knobby tread, which keeps you from repositioning
your foot easily, but grips the pedal well. I’ve done long rides with
these and they’re significantly less fatiguing to use than the
sneakers.
The Vans are good. They don’t provide ankle protection, so I use them
with AnkleBiters, which work fine and don’t restrict movement. (They
do make the shoe kind of annoying to put on and take off). The sole is
grippy but not chunky, so you can reposition your foot, but you aren’t
stuck in one position. This has saved me from more than one UPD. The
only negative I’ve found so far is they get very slick when the sole is
wet.
So for the kind of riding I do (commuting, basketball, small tricks and
light MUni), the Vans definitely win out. The ideal shoe would:
Be grippy on the pedal but not so much that you can’t move your foot.
The Vans have a rubber sole with a diamond pattern.
Stay grippy when wet. (This is a big thing for MUni).
Have ankle protection, probably ankle cups.
Have decent padding on the uppers, to protect against foot injuries.
Not have a seam on the crank side for the crank to catch on. (My
hiking boots have a rubber piece around the toe that got worked off
by my unicycling–thank god for Shoe Goo).
Which Van’s shoes? I went to their web page and saw a bunch of different styles including a lot of retro tennis shoes that don’t look too different from Keds boat shoes.
I use the Vans Revert laced pretty loose. It has A LOT of padding in the tounge and on the sides. As Tom mentioned they are a can be slippery when they are wet, But being really flat on the bottom helps me to make foot position adjustments whereas an agressive shoe tread makes that harder. When they are laced loose I find that as I bail the shoe twists on my foot when it catches a rock instead of my foot twisting with the shoe. Vans also triple stitches a lot of their shoes which helps them hold together well. I ride in a pretty rocky area and feel unusually confident having to bail while wearing these. I would recomend them to anyone riding muni.
-Gauss
I use an old pair of Airwalk shoes (style name I don’t know). They have a waffle pattern on the sole and no heel. The tongue is heavily padded. The pattern fits well with my pedals (Wellgo).
I don’t worry about ankle scrapes because my Lizard Skin shin guards wrap all the way around my leg.
I wear my converse allstar hightops, and I think they work fairly well. There’s ankle protection, but the soles don’t grip as well as they should. They’re still my first choice though!
In article <Elaine.2r4an@timelimit.unicyclist.com>,
Elaine <Elaine.2r4an@timelimit.unicyclist.com> wrote:
)
)Which Van’s shoes? I went to their web page and saw a bunch of
)different styles including a lot of retro tennis shoes that don’t look
)too different from Keds boat shoes.
)
)Could you give a style name?
Mine say “Rowley”, “Off The Wall”, “XLT”, and “66/99” on them. I’m not
sure which of those describes the style. I think even the retro tennis
shoes are probably pretty good for unicycling–their sole is probably
not far from the soles of the “performance” lines.
-Tom
I think the rowley should be under the signiture series? Also, with sizes, vans tend to run small for the listed size, so if you order from the web, take that into account. They tend also not to vent very well.
-gauss
“GILD” <GILD.2qk5m@timelimit.unicyclist.com> wrote in message news:GILD.2qk5m@timelimit.unicyclist.com…
>
> may i use this forum to pick the brains of the more experienced riders
> ref the question of a good uni-shoe?
> i’ve seen some mention made of brands i’ve never heard of at prices my
> bank manager would never believe
> (and at 1:12 to your currency…)
> what i’d like to c is a couple of vital features of a uni shoe
> should it have a pronounced heel?
> i find this usefull, what do the xperts say?
> should it protect the ankle from pedal scrape?
> i can c the benefit of this right off
> wont a high-top boot interfere with your foot’s pedaling motion?
I want a shoe with a ridge about an inch and a half behind the ball of the
foot (and well in front of the heel) so I could jam it up against the back
of the pedal for extra stability, kind of like using your heel against the
pedal but without the pedalling difference you get doing that.
>can we work on generating a list of general characteristics?
Uni shoes without shoelaces:
Vans are great but my laces kept on winding around the axle resulting in a faceplant and a tangled guy attached to a unicycle.
I switched to Salomon Raidwinds which have a kevlar loop that you pull tight and locks in place with a little plastic thingee. Quite cool, and no intelligence required. Either that or a strap over the laces to stop them tangling.
I learned this while jogging. Going on a bike trail, there was one 50 metre section where I saw other people. During this section, my big shoelace loops shoe hit the ground, when my ‘innocent’ foot crossed it’s path, both knees were bent, i was off the ground (feet several inches in the air, a good forward momentum), and the legs stopped. Moment of confusion. Impact and double kneeslide on the asphault, ending in a double wristed slam in the asphault. One shocked girl that looked sincerely hurt for me. Who was she standing beside? Her laughing hysterically boyfriend.
>
>The one thing I could do that I saw in UNiverse was tuck my shoelaces
>into my shoes. It works superbly well.
I tuck my laces under the front (i.e. most forward) lace loop if you
see what I mean. If I tuck them into my shoe I feel them (a bit).
Klaas Bil
“To trigger/fool/saturate/overload Echelon, the following has been picked automagically from a database:”
“ISWG, Psyops, Face”
i also have the the vans rowley shoe’s, it is the pro model shoe of goeff rowley, a pro skateboarder. they are very nice and only around 39.99, i have been very pleased with the performance of these shoe, and would highly recomend them to any unicyclist looking for a good pair of shoes for unicycling.
I used to tuck in my shoelaces but they kept working themselves out of
the shoes. One night I tied them with the bows small and the ends hanging
loose, and measured the excess length on each end. Add the measurement for
the ends, take your shoelace out, measure it. Subract the excess
measurement from the length. That’s the length shoelace you need. I got
shorter laces for my Vans and they work great.
You can tie the ends of your laces together. Use the cord lock to tighten them,
then tuck the excess under other laces. Triathletes use this technique to speed
their transitions. It works fine.
I’m like Doug. I learned to ride in the summer in Kansas…barefooted. Why change what works? (Pay no attention to the man at the left in the avatar wearing shoes!)
Do you have any toes left or is that an embarrassing question?
No wonder you won’t post the dress video.
Doug
“harper” <harper.2wiqm@timelimit.unicyclist.com> wrote in message news:harper.2wiqm@timelimit.unicyclist.com…
>
> I’m like Doug. I learned to ride in the summer in Kansas…barefooted.
> Why change what works? (Pay no attention to the man at the left in the
> avatar wearing shoes!)
>
>
> –
> harper - Greg Harper: Frequent Faller (oops)
>
> -Greg Harper
>
> (now able to meet the pavement at 1.5 times normal speed)
> “It takes twice the man to ride half the bike.”
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> harper’s Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/426
> View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/17323
>
that I saw in UNiverse was tuck my shoelaces into my shoes. It works superbly well.