August 2024

Shoe lifespan

24/08/24 00:31 Filed in: Gear

How long does a cycling shoe last? Obviously the answer is "it depends". But what does it depend on?

For road shoes it's subtle. With plastic soles, the sole declines in stiffness with use and age. This is demonstrable by comparing a brand-new pair with a well-used pair. Carbon soles will not do this - they should be as stiff at ride 1000 as at ride 1. If you walk in them much, however, they can get very scratched up. Most new carbon soles are incredibly shiny and well finished. That doesn't impact actual riding, however.
On my moderately wide feet, I tend to stretch out the (usually narrow) front part of the shoe with use to the point they feel loose. I try to have a new pair on hand at all times - just in case - and when I can discern a difference between the in-use pair and the new pair, it is time to retire the older shoes.
On more traditional shoes with velcro straps, the cling of the velcro was usually gone before the shoe was. With buckles and now dials, that doesn't apply.
I recently got 2 years out of a mid-range Northwave shoe that I never really liked that much before I called it a day and demoted my race shoes to commuting duty and promoted my in-the-box shoes to race duty. And yes that means I have no back-up shoes at the moment. Northwave has radically changed their shoes and the supply of new-old-stock obsolete models has dried up. I might have to try the new model or swap brands... Back to the retired shoes - that was 2 years of 30 km per day commuting duty, rain or shine, until I could really tell that the well loved shoes I had for racing were much more comfortable than the 2 year old ones with the faux carbon sole - the only carbon in it is the small circle where the cleat attaches that appears to be glued into a cavity in the plastic sole. That was a much shorter run than the full carbon soled shoes seem to last - almost everything was better about the high-end shoe compared to the mid-range shoe. They both had 2 dials to adjust the fit - these dials are identical on any Northwave that uses a dial. But the plastic sole, the fabric upper - even the reflective materials used (are shinier on the high end shoes than on these ones I recently retired).

For cleated MTB shoes, the end for me is usually when the tread is gone. Manufacturers tend to put so little rubber on the sole that what is there takes a high load and a beating every time you put them on. I've also seen a fair few pull the cleat out of the sole - that's a definitive end of lifespan issue. Like road shoes, it can be the shoe stretching too much, or the velcro losing its grip - but usually the shoe dies prior to anything like wearing out. MTB is hard on shoes!

For flat pedal shoes the end is usually, but not always, when the sole is so torn up by the pedal spikes that the insole is visible. These are generally lace-up shoes and new laces are easy. The shoe itself is usually the toughest of all cycling shoes too. Those grippy rubber soles erode on the pedal pins rather quickly. And that depends a bit on how rough the ride is - riding smooth singletrack doesn't push feet around on the pins like storming down rugged trails in a bike park off the chairlift does!

I guess the bottom line in shoe life is that changes are subtle and slow. Without the references to wear (poor fit, being able to see through the bottom of the shoe, etc) it would be easy to drag use out. Many riders do run their shoes longer than their feet might like.

Bad bunnies

16/08/24 20:19 Filed in: Riding

Lots of animals freeze when exposed to a headlight. I've had close encounters with deer and other large mammals on the road when my car headlights scared them into not moving.
But the Canberra rabbits are totally unpredictable. They might freeze. They might bolt. And if they run, it might be away from you or perhaps towards you. The other night on the bike path along the river I was riding along in the dark. Two rabbits ran straight at me and turned as I met them so as to hit my front wheel.
Bunny number one bounced off the spokes and kept running. I assume he is OK (I say he because these were both big rabbits - but maybe not?). My front wheel is a Campagnolo wheel with G3 spoke pattern. That means that the spokes run in parallel triplets from hub to rim with large gaps between the 3. The second rabbit followed the first but didn't bounce off of spokes. Instead the mudguard was pushed into the tyre and it crumpled up against the fork crown. And I ended up with rabbit fur everywhere on the bike. But zero blood. So the spokes didn't cut into the poor creature; merely abraded off clumps of fur which ended up stuck to my wheel, my fork, my downtube, my seat tube, my bottle cage, my shoes, my pannier and rack and even my rear mudguard. Like everywhere!

I had to stop. The front tyre didn't roll very well in this state. I was able to stretch the guard back out and while it was quite twisted, the wheel was free to spin. So I rode home. I removed the mudguard and using a pair of spanners, bent the metal pieces back into shape so that reinstalling the guard found it sitting almost in the correct location again. Yes it had a twist in it, and marks from where it acutely folded. Also, the tip that protrudes from the fork had a burn mark on it from the top touching the moving tyre tread under it - I don't know how that occurred.

I fear the second bunny ran off into the brush and died. Rabbits are quite fragile. This one had a heck of a fright. Someone I know with a pet rabbit lost the lovely bunny when a dog barked at it too aggressively, it died of fright. Maybe the river rabbits are made of sterner stuff than this pampered pet, but I haven't seen any bunnies with a big bald patch running around on the path in the ensuing days.

I will replace the mudguards with new ones now. The rear already had a lot of marks on it from mounting it quite differently on the first Checkpoint. And now that the front is disfigured, it is time for a fresh pair. These Bontrager mudguards have been the best ones I've ever had for durability. On my Cannondale I used to lose pieces of the mudguard regularly. The first to go was the small piece that sticks forwards of the fork crown. It would vibrate so badly that it shook itself free in about 6 months. I had numerous warranty replacements and eventually gave up. Sometimes the rear would also split in two where the brake bridge support piece hangs it up - I think that is a position that usually alters the arc of the unit (the slotted hole that connects it to the brake bridge is never long enough to get it where it needs to be). No issues with the Bonty mudguards after 4+ years of use. I even had some Esge fenders that rolled up around the bottom stay attachment point when a stick ran up the back of the front tyre and pulled the guard into the tyre.

I don't like the aesthetics of the "no cut stays" because there are 2 plastic blocks on each fender stay. They look awkward and unaero. But they sure are easy to adjust and like the name, you don't have to cut anything to make them fit.

Michael Hanslip Coaching

If you want to go faster, you have to pedal harder

Shoe lifespan

Bad bunnies