I know they are different, something about the angle of the foot?
Why does Specialized think it’s such a good thing?
Why isn’t every other company doing it?
Why does it work well for some people but not others?
I had a pair of tri-vents, loved the feel of the shoe, it just never felt “right.” I had been riding Carnac TRS7s. After a lot of searching I have settled on the new Shimano TR50 (nice shoe by the way). I am still just curious about the Specialized thing.
body geometry shoes have something called a varus wedge which alligns your knee, anle, and hip which makes for less pain and flexing. it also has a metatarcil button which seperates your metatarcil bones and prevents hot spots and tingling in you feet
It’s simple, you put on the shoes, ride, and come back hours later with a smile on your face! Couldn’t resist…
Actually, the other post pretty much nails it. I just wanted to add that its not smoke and mirrors, the designs were created with the help of Andy Pruitt from the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine.
There are a few companies that make shims and such as kind of an after-market fix for regular cycling shoes, but I think the Specialized products work better as long as they fit you well. It took me ride or two to adjust to the ‘feel’ but now I wonder how I dealt with ‘old’ style shoes for so long…
I love my trivents - I never really noticed a difference, but I will say I didn’t know about the metatarsil thing.
BTW - flashpoint - interesting websight in your signature. I bought two copies of the book and DVD after reading your post. Crazy.
The angle built into the insole is pretty minor; I’m thinking only half a LeWedge’s worth? The metatarsal button is also a beneficial feature, if not a large one.
Specialized thinks its a good thing because they can differentiate their shoes from the rest of the market. Other companies probably don’t think the improvement is worth it, don’t want to be seen as copying Specialized, and realize that not everybody wants a gimmicky shoe.
Shoes and saddles inherently work for some and not others. For someone with a knee tracking issue or medical condition, the correction provided by the sole will probably not be enough.
Flashpoint-- do you work for Zipp? And do you know that water boils at 211 degrees or less in lots of places? I’ll check out the movie in any case.
Basically the varus wedge is this:
If you’ve been fitted and needed a Lewedge or 2 to get everything in alignment (as most people do) these shoes have them built in. If you need more than 2 (like I do) then you can get these shoes and put just one in rather than having a stack of wedges which sometimes makes putting your clips on the shoe troublesome.