Vibram running shoes (five 'finger' shoes) settle class action lawsuit

[Eldron]

I reckon the only thing Vibram got wrong was employing over enthusiastic marketing people.

 

They made some wild claims that were not backed up by medicine/science.

 

The shoes themselves are great - not for me - but great idea.

 

I moved towards "bare foot" running but stopped just before Vibram or Inov-8's super barefoot shoe. My body couldn't take the additional shock (even with conditioning).

 

I find Zoots are about as minimal as I can go without injury.

 

No need to be putting powerbalance and vibram together. Vibram have a product that works (not as well as the claims suggest though) - powerbalance sell snake oil.

 

My take on bare foot running is that it's the right way to run. No support/anti pro-supernation bollocks. We were born to run without shoes - the only thing that has changed is that we now run on concrete/tar - all we need is a sole to stop the concrete/tar ripping up our feet and some cushioning to make up for the difference in hardness between sand/grass and concrete/tar.

[Wyatt Earp]

Okay, fair enough, I didn't know that, but I would imagine that they are still somewhat gifted, "born runners" maybe?... as opposed to the rest of us "produced runners"?..... or in my case, "pretending to be a runner"

 

I am not gifted either, many are natural runners, freaks if you wish, people like Sandes.

The forefoot striking takes it's idea from animals and the malleolus cushion, also the debate is that when we are young and we run, we normally run on the forefoot.

I have been watching my son, he will be 10 on Sat. every time he takes off, he is on the forefoot.

[Garfield2010]

I have been wearing the 5 finger thingy on weekends. I have also been running with minimalistic shoes for the past 2 years. My times have increased massively and I have had not one injury like in the past.

 

The secret is in the transition. Take it easy.

[Eldron]

. My times have increased massively

 

Doooood - the aim of training is to make the times decrease

[Pieter1]

I was runing with regular trail tekies, saw a dude runing barefoot and had a chat, started runing with a forefoot strike, now on minimalist shoes, took two monts, my knees have no more issues.

[GrumpyOldGuy]

Im gonna get a pair of these things.

 

By next week I am going to be running like a ethiopian.

 

Man those okes are fast.

 

Ha, Ha, Yeah these Ethiopian guys and gals are phenomenal runners and most got to the world stage by pure talent alone, one of them was Bikila Abebe, he started running simply out of necessity to get to the shop, school, friends etc and he didn't have shoes so just ran barefoot, later he was well known for training barefoot on the cobblestones in his city, eventually he was picked up by an American coach and with the right training became one of the best runners the world has known, but when his career ended he went back to Ethiopia and contributed donations to schools, chapels, even sponsored a small clinic, a terribly interesting man.

 

I know you like reading (and maybe running) so if you feel like it try and find some books on him, maybe they are on kindle,.. a very interesting life story indeed.

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

 

I am not gifted either, many are natural runners, freaks if you wish, people like Sandes.

The forefoot striking takes it's idea from animals and the malleolus cushion, also the debate is that when we are young and we run, we normally run on the forefoot.

I have been watching my son, he will be 10 on Sat. every time he takes off, he is on the forefoot.

 

I see it in my 2 year old as well... forefoot all the time.

[openmind]

A cadence of 180

Runners measure cadence as each foot strike, so its double what a cyclist would regard as cadence (crank revs). I.e. a running cadence of 180 = a cycling cadence of 90.

[Wyatt Earp]

Runners measure cadence as each foot strike, so its double what a cyclist would regard as cadence (crank revs). I.e. a running cadence of 180 = a cycling cadence of 90.

 

Neither of my stride sensors measure per foot.

[openmind]

Neither of my stride sensors measure per foot.

Ja, it's confusing. My business partner is a runner and he talks of cadence as foot strikes even though his gadgets don't. Maybe it's the old-school terminology.

[Rata Del Spruit]

I looked into it quite a bit when the hype was at its hottest (guessing 2012), went to talks at sports science etc. Thing that got me was that essentially the proposition was that athletic shoe companies have been throwing stability 'gimmicks' into their models for 30years and charging a fortune for them (we all know that all shoes are made in the far east for less than $10 a pair..the rest is schmarketing/profits and a bit of R&D). Vibram come along, tear all this away and charge even more? Vibram have been around for quite a while supplying soles to other manufacturers, but i think five fingers is their first actual shoe.

 

I decided not to buy into it, would rather wait and see the long term testing - at that stage there was no real scientific reports available to the public. I'm also pretty much injury free and don't do much roadwork.

 

Running shoes are always going to be a personal choice. If you've made vibrams work for you, well done. I'm pretty sure there are plenty of pairs sitting in a cupboard that just never worked for their owners.

 

 

I think there's a lot of hype on all sides and people will end up going with anecdotal stories or choosing the evidence that suits them (It's easy to Google the facts that support your opinion).

 

The good thing that has come out of it is the discussion around form. If you take a look at the photo below of elite athletes foot strikes at the Olympic trials, they're not all mid and forefoot strikers but you can guarantee that the rest of their form is probably close to perfect to get them there. I probably sound as neutral as Switzerland right now but I think it ultimately comes down to the right shoe for you, your body type, your goals and your style of running, just like the great wheel size debate.

 

 

http://cdn2.blisstree.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/foot-strike-photos-olympic-trials-barefoot-running-vs-normal-running-640x323.jpg

[Wayne Potgieter]

 

 

I think there's a lot of hype on all sides and people will end up going with anecdotal stories or choosing the evidence that suits them (It's easy to Google the facts that support your opinion).

 

The good thing that has come out of it is the discussion around form. If you take a look at the photo below of elite athletes foot strikes at the Olympic trials, they're not all mid and forefoot strikers but you can guarantee that the rest of their form is probably close to perfect to get them there. I probably sound as neutral as Switzerland right now but I think it ultimately comes down to the right shoe for you, your body type, your goals and your style of running, just like the great wheel size debate.

 

 

http://cdn2.blisstree.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/foot-strike-photos-olympic-trials-barefoot-running-vs-normal-running-640x323.jpg

so which shoe must I buy then?

 

 

[Rata Del Spruit]

so which shoe must I buy then?

 

Same as bicycles, all of them.

[Wayne Potgieter]

 

Same as bicycles, all of them.

my man.

 

I like your style.

[Wayne Potgieter]

 

Same as bicycles, all of them.

my man.

 

I like your style.

[Wayne Potgieter]

Actually I think my mizunos are the best. They tick each and every one of my running shoe requirements.

 

Its a list I developed that helps novice runners like myself make sure we have the right shoes.

 

1. Does it stop dog poo from going between your toes?

2. Will it help you pull chicks?

3. Do tgey make you look like a dork if you wear them with a jean pant?

 

Only if you answer yes to all of the above are they the right shoe for you.

 

True story.