Vitruvian Racing Flats Needed

Triathlon Forum
1

This spring I ordered some Vitruvians and loved them.

http://www.vitruvianrunning.com/

I felt they were a bit heavy and never used them for the Boston Marathon (I don’t think any shoe would have helped me on a day that I was a bit sick)…

The Vitruvians are a bit heavy but they “run fast”. I can’t explain it, but the bottom line is they let your feet roll the way they are supposed to. When I run with Vitruvians I run with a more active foot and I feel fast.

After Boston, I started piling on the bike miles and my legs were trashed for run training from all the biking. I reverted to a more “padding Saucony shoe” as I felt I needed more padding (rather than using an active foot when you “create padding” by landing softly on your feet). A few weeks ago, at the end of my tri season, I cracked out the Vitruvian’s again.

The Vitruvian’s are an Awesome Shoe

They really improve your coordination on the run. Today at the Canadian Zofingen, with sections on road, grass, gravel trail, ski hills and a short rutted root laden section, the shoes were awesome. I am using the Harmony model. Almost 18K for the first run, plus 4K for the second run, covering over 1500 ft of vertical

If you have not tried out these shoes, you need to. At $60 including shipping anywhere in the US, they are a no brainer.

But one request for Chuck at Vitruvian…

You need a racing flat model. I envision basically the Harmony with a lighter “black rubber” section. This alone might shave off 2 ounces. The rest of the shoe could be identical. This has to be your next project !

Chuck, if you are reading, we’d love to hear your thoughts.

2

I agree. I have the Proportions and they have the feel of a racing flat but just a tad heavy.

3

I totally agree. I don’t know why, but they do “feel fast”. But they are a bit heavy. I would definitely try a set of flats from them. Now I’ve gone back to the 2100s from Asics that I had been using, and I’m also running in a pair of DS-Trainers. I like the DS very much, they are very nice shoes. I imagine that a pair of vitruvian flats would be similar.

Why do you think it is that they feel so fast, and yet are so heavy? I really know nothing about shoe construction.

-Colin

4

I can’t wait, got my first set of Vitruvians being brought back from the states for me next week.
Looking forward to getting them out on the road.

Also what everyone said about Chuck is true, super helpful . He gave me plenty of good advice on which model size etc…after I sent him a rather long boring email outlineing past injuries and shoe problems.
He was also going to ship the shoes to New Zealand for me at a very reasonable cost, something a lot of US based companies wont do.
Instead we he ended up shipping them to my sister in California for free and my parents are bringing them home with them.

Looking forward to trying them, I can see how a race flat version would be good. I don’t like the idea of paying heaps for a shoe that wont last quite as long (e.g. DS trainers for me) but at the vitruvian price I could go through twice as many pairs without a money problem.

5

dev,

Here is one suggestion, though you have to have powertools/access to power tools.

Just make your own flats by cutting the shoe down. I think a band saw would work best. Chop out the section under the arch, any of the excess matterial around the outside of the shoe and cut out strips of the carbon rubber leaving only the part on which you actually run. You out to know your wear pattern well enough to know that there are parts of your shoe that never hit the ground with any pressure and sure don’t need a thick carbon rubber bumper.

If the heel is too high, you could probably have a go at the midsole with the bandsaw as well. Just cut out a wedge of the white midsole and then glue it back together.

After you finish up with the band saw, have a go at them with a belt sander and smooth everything up and take off a little more of the carbon rubber off the bottom. Carbon rubber is incredibly tough and a little goes a long way. I wish I had all my stuff from home so I could “operate” on my Brooks T3s. They have about 500 miles on them and the forefoot blown rubber is gone and I am eating into the insole. With some tools and a good contact cement I could slap an old strip of carbon rubber from some other shoes and put another 500 miles on them.

Chad

6

Any one want a set of the old Proportions, size 11? I bought them a little while ago, and they are arguably the most uncomfortable shoes I’ve ever slipped on my feet. And no, it’s not because they’re not padded and all that.

Never have been worn more than just around the house for a short while… Still have the box.

Any one? For the price of shipping?

7

I’m with you. These are easily the best running shoes I’ve ever owned. Maybe it’s because I’m a big guy but I actually thought the shoes were pretty light (I’ve never used racing flats, however, so maybe that’s why they feel light to me). I use them on all my runs including 2 IMs. Good shoe at a good price.

8

Chad,

Good idea. Why don’t I put 500 miles on this pair and when then wear down, I’ll have the exact wear pattern. Then order 2 pairs from Chuck one for racing and one for training and take the tools to the racing version :-).

Seriously, I’ll fire an email to shoemaker@vitruvianrunning.com and invite Chuck to join into this discussion. He may have some very valid reasons (including a very small volume racing flat market) for not having this offering.

Realisitically, its just a matter of taking the Harmony and reducing the amount of that heavy hard black rubber in the outer sole.

For those asking why they “feel fast” it is because these shoes don’t interfere with your natural gait. Most other shoes intefere and in effect apply their own build in “biases/braking forces” into the way your body wants to naturally move.

Dev

9

Can you ask Chuck another question: why are they so butt-ugly?

10

Laugh all you want Dev, but I have chopped off chunks of shoe that looked extraneous and never noticed the difference. I raced in a pair of formerly 7-ounce shoes that I sliced and diced before duathlon nationals and they were fine. I raced 15K total in them.

Once you start running all your miles in minimal racing flats you won’t want to run in normal shoes again. I pushed it a bit much two weeks ago and ran upwards of 80 miles (60 in the T3s that had about 400 miles on them/20 on another pair of Asics flats) and was on my way to a 90-mile week when my feet started buggin’. So I ordered a pair of NB 833s, not something anyone would consider a heavy shoe. They felt terrible. Cushy, but no road feel and just heavy. If I had the tools now I start carving on the NBs to make them more comfortable. Today’s shoes are so overbuilt it amazes me.

Chad

11

Chad, I totally agree with you. Today’s shoes are way overbuilt.

Diabli…who cares what shoes look like. Its not a fashion show. If it was, myself and my Vitruvians (or any shoe with me standing in them) certainly would not be in it :slight_smile:

12

Any one want a set of the old Proportions, size 11? I bought them a little while ago, and they are arguably the most uncomfortable shoes I’ve ever slipped on my feet. And no, it’s not because they’re not padded and all that.

Never have been worn more than just around the house for a short while… Still have the box.

Have you tried RUNNING in them? They may not be for you. It may be the last shape. You may be better off with the Symmetry, OR they just ren’t for you. Too bad your’s are too samll for me.

13

Can you ask Chuck another question: why are they so butt-ugly?

My 21 year-old twin daughters think they are the best looking running shoes around. I think they have 5 pairs between them.

14

Diabli…who cares what shoes look like.
Uh… me?!

15

And everyone else on this forum…

16

My 21 year-old twin daughters think they are the best looking running shoes around. I think they have 5 pairs between them.
21 year-old… 'nuff said :wink:

17

They are VERY fashion conscious, even when running.

18

They are VERY fashion conscious, even when running.

21 year-old fashion conscious… that’s not me :wink:

And “fashionable” does not mean attractive.

19

I’d take them. I’ll PM you.

20

Laugh all you want Dev, but I have chopped off chunks of shoe that looked extraneous and never noticed the difference. I raced in a pair of formerly 7-ounce shoes that I sliced and diced before duathlon nationals and they were fine. I raced 15K total in them.

Chad
I modified a pair of size 11 cubatos, that weighed about 7 1/2 ounces, and got them down to 4 1/4 oz by taking out the excess. You can definitely do a lot to reduce weight on shoes once you know your intended purpose with them and wear patterns.