Chalo said:But don't you think that folks used to run before the advent of molded
plastic shoes? Did Roger Bannister have EVA insoles and patented
pneumatic bladders in his shoes when he ran the four minute mile in
1954?
Well, I'll admit I don't know anything about the modern weird shoes
with sproings and so on. The ones I get are very straightforward.
I don't know what Paavo Nurmi's reindeer-skin shoes were like, but
Jesse Owen's 1936 shoes, made in the factory of a certain Herr Dassler
which you seem to dislike particularly, are said to have weighed about
a pound, presumably for the pair. If true that would put them in the
same league as a very lightweight trainer or sturdy racing flat today.
Sprint spikes had gotten down to 4.5 oz in size 9 by the late 1970s
(there's been no improvement since then). For running, that's a major
difference.
Roger Bannister's are in a museum in England, I haven't seen them, and
Kolehmainen's (1912) are in the Sports Museum of Finland. I hope to one
day pass by. Very lightweight shoes can be made of thin suede leather
with a stitched sole, but the first problem is that without spikes,
leather soles are way too slippery, and if tough enough to provide
protection, they are heavy and stiff. So, rubber has been bonded to the
bottom for probably as long as rubber has been around, certainly more
than a century, and the problem then is how to make that bond stick and
how to make that rubber last. I believe the weight reduction that first
got sprint spikes down to 4.5oz (Adistar) from what must have been
about an ounce or two more in the 1960s was replacement of the rubber
outsole with some synthetic, not change of the upper from suede to
nylon.
Quoted message said:Adidas pu t a flimsy upper on their shoe because the sole will
quickly wear out anyway.
In my experience, the running shoes of today are vastly more durable
than those of say, 15-35 years ago and more. Suede uppers cracked and
split with foul weather abuse, smooth leather would too if not greased
or waxed, which no one did, and gum rubber soles required constant
applications of hot glue or shoe goo to last. Thin carbon rubber
outsoles have made a huge difference (although once in a while they
unglue), as have plastic heel counters (instead of cardboard? leather?)
and polyester mesh uppers, and the glues are stronger. The only weak
spot is the lining at the heel, since nowadays it is stuffed fabric
instead of smooth vinyl or leather. Even 50 years ago and more,
training shoes had bonded rubber outsoles, not leather.
I have medium-thick leather upper running shoes (Adidas Country) and
they are great, I doubt I will every wear through the upper, but they
would be hot for the summer, and they're not as easy-care as polyester
mesh. Running shoes have to be used in ALL conditions, including salty
slush. Since they have fast-wearing gum rubber outsoles, I use them for
bicycling instead.
