In that thread, he posted some pics of shoes that he’s used Shoe Goo on to extend their life. So, I gave it a shot.
The only thing I did differently was to put a thin coat on the entire forefoot, then just “touch up” the high-wear areas, as needed (versus just putting the Goo on the wear areas). Here’s a pic…
I put the basecoat on at ~150 miles, and just recently had to touch up the middle/outside lugs ~150 miles later. So, this particular pair of Lunaracers has north of 300 miles on them, and isn’t showing any real signs of needing replacement. Pretty good, considering that I’m 6’3, 200lb. And, although I don’t tend to be particularly hard on my shoes, I do have some ligament issues related to Morton’s Syndrome that does make me sensitive to shoes losing their “bounce”. So, from past experience, I expect that these Lunaracers will last at least as long for me as a “standard” trainer like the Brooks Ghost, Asics Cumulus, etc.
The only differences I’ve noticed in the performance of the shoes is that the Shoe Goo is not good for traction in the snow (at all). They’re just fine in the rain or on dry pavement, though. I don’t notice any difference in flexibility or weight.
And, in case anyone is wondering, I used the clear Shoe Goo. It looks pretty bad in the pic posted because I last used them on the treadmill. I posted that particular pics because it shows the area that I touched up better than when the soles are “clean” (although they never really look clean/clear).
What exactly are you trying to do? The “life” of a shoe has nothing to do with the traction. If you have worn out a lunaracer to the point that there is no more traction, you are probably better off retiring the shoe.
usually shoe goo is used to adhere to pieces of a shoe together - that have come apart. This does not look to safe. And as previously stated, life of shoe does not equal worn out sole
you can get lots of miles from a light weight shoe since you didn’t buy it for padding, just to protect your foot. I have running partners that get 800 miles from racing flats or until the uppers disintegrate… wipe em down with rubbing alcohol when it’s time to recoat or initially to degrease them .
Actually, Shoe Goo’s original purpose was for “tennis toe”. So, while it is often “used to hold the pieces of a shoe together - that have come apart”, it’s actually designed to “beef up” the rubber, which is what I’m doing.
What’s not safe about it? As long as I don’t use them in the snow, there’s not issue at all. I’ve put 150 miles on them since the original application with no issues at all.
When there is an area of the sole that is wearing much more quickly than the rest of the sole/shoe (the outside lugs on the forefoot and the toe-off area that do not have carbon rubber covering them on these particular shoes), then, yes, if left untreated, the life of the shoe is going to be determined by the worn out sole.
That’s the thing about the Lunaracers, though. They are super light weight, but I did, in fact, buy them for their cushioning. Like I said, I have ligament issues and I need cushioning.
Steve,
Be careful…over time the cushioning of the midsole wears out through repeated compression, leaving the shoes in a hot environment, etc. Just because you have tread left don’t stretch those out toooo far or your cushioning will deteriorate on you…
I have also used Shoe Goo to extend the life of my running shoes (I may have been in on that JoeO thread back in the day too). I’ve done it with a couple of pairs of Mizuno Waverirders, and I’m about do the same thing for some Asics Speedstars. The big thing I noticed after adding Shoe Goo was that the shoes bounced back more on contact - not terrible, but definitely noticeable.
Actually, Shoe Goo’s original purpose was for “tennis toe”. So, while it is often “used to hold the pieces of a shoe together - that have come apart”, it’s actually designed to “beef up” the rubber, which is what I’m doing.
What’s not safe about it? As long as I don’t use them in the snow, there’s not issue at all. I’ve put 150 miles on them since the original application with no issues at all.
When there is an area of the sole that is wearing much more quickly than the rest of the sole/shoe (the outside lugs on the forefoot and the toe-off area that do not have carbon rubber covering them on these particular shoes), then, yes, if left untreated, the life of the shoe is going to be determined by the worn out sole.
Hey. I’m glad you got some use out of that. I didn’t think anybody would bother. I must admit, I’ve never experienced the traction problems you describe, even in snow. Perhaps due to differences in how we strike the ground and push off. Not sure.
As for concerns about the midsole, I’m with you: When it wears down, my feet let me know. It depends on the shoe, frankly. Some shoes, the shoe goo will only give me a few hundred extra miles, tops. But on others… well I’ve got almost 1800 miles the Air Triax TC(+)s that used to only give me 300-450 before I started using Shoe Goo
Actually, taking a look at your photo, I think I can see why you might be slipping. That’s basically one big flat surface of Shoe Goo. It’s a bit tough with the LunaRacers: Since they have such low-profile lugs on the outsole, the Shoe Goo easily fills up the gaps and makes them much smoother. Regular shoes with deeper lugs still can maintain a bit of a bumpy profile, even with the Shoe Goo. And I do only put it on the high wear areas so that probably helps too.
You can use the Shoo Goo to make “bumps” for traction. They kinda end up looking like a drip of water hanging on a gutter about the size of a pea cut in 1/2. Mist some water on them so the goo skins quickly.
Shoe Goo is kind of expensive. You should get a roll of duct tape. You can get over 2000 miles if you continue wrapping your shoe. The shoe companies have spent millions of dollars trying to hide this simple fact. Most people would never need a new pair of shoes!
Let’s see, one $5 tube extended the life of my shoes by over 500%. Now even as cheap as $70 a pair, that’s $350 worth of savings. For $5. Yeah, that’s worthless alright.
Heed what wimabojou says.
You’ve been running 27 years like me??
or just a couple with a breakneck 5K PR of 24:00?
Shoe Goo is as stupid as your response.
Igot
Heed what wimabojou says.
You’ve been running 27 years like me??
or just a couple with a breakneck 5K PR of 24:00?
Shoe Goo is as stupid as your response.
Igot
JoeO has some of the best running advice on this board FYI.