5 ms·

I don't know, sandals work pretty good. > they have a carbon-fiber plate in the midsole, which stores and releases energy with each stride ... the achilles te

I don't know, sandals work pretty good. > they have a carbon-fiber plate in the midsole, which stores and releases energy with each stride ... the achilles tendon + calf already play this role. Just don't heel strike.

koverda 8y ago
carbon fiber doesn't get tired
- monkmartinez 8y ago
  So why not just add springs to the entire shoe?
  - koverda 8y ago
    check out Nike Shox: https://store.nike.com/us/en_us/pw/shox-shoes/9ifZoi3 https://store.nike.com/us/en_us/pw/shox-shoes/9ifZoi3
  - taeric 8y ago
    Springs would also eat some of the power you throw at the impact. Same reason you don't do shocks on a road bike. (Above is speculation.)
  - loeg 8y ago
    The plate is the full length of the shoe. Not sure how you're imagining adding springs in a way that is more conducive to running. Keep in mind shoe weight matters quite a bit.
    - monkmartinez 8y ago
      Springs are not always shaped like a car strut... AND Weight isn't important if the energy gained offsets the energy lost carrying the extra load.
      - loeg 8y ago
        Sure. I think Nike is probably aware of this and took it into account when designing this shoe. If you have a better design (your earlier comment suggests "just add[ing] springs to the entire shoe"), there's probably a financial motive for you to figure out how to sell that. (I think you are probably understating the difficulty of designing a better shoe, for any definition of "better.")
  - bookofjoe 8y ago
    It's been done: http://www.ohgizmo.com/2008/02/13/z-coil-shoes-are-apparently-not-a-sight-gag/ http://www.ohgizmo.com/2008/02/13/z-coil-shoes-are-apparentl...
andbberger 8y ago
ITT: heel strikers
tudelo 8y ago
Ahh yes, of course, sandals. A few people have won the Boston marathon in sandals, right?
- andbberger 8y ago
  You may be being sarcastic, but I'm serious! More commonly referred to as huaraches in this situation. Works a treat.
- pmahoney 8y ago
  It's possible to run at or near an elite level without modern running shoes. For example the 1960 Olympic marathon was won by a barefoot competitor (his winning time of 2:15:16.2 would be considered sub-elite today) [1]. One can speculate why all elite runners use shoes. Worth noting that running shoes designed for racing, as opposed to training, tend to be thinner and lighter and closer to a simple sandal [2]. I personally reverted from bare feet back to shoes after the occasional thorn or bit of glass getting stuck in my foot became too annoying. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abebe_Bikila#1960_Rome_Olympics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abebe_Bikila#1960_Rome_Olympic... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racing_flat https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racing_flat
andai 8y ago
Alan Watts called this running on the "balls of your feet."

koverda 8y ago

carbon fiber doesn't get tired

monkmartinez 8y ago
So why not just add springs to the entire shoe?
- koverda 8y ago
  check out Nike Shox: https://store.nike.com/us/en_us/pw/shox-shoes/9ifZoi3 https://store.nike.com/us/en_us/pw/shox-shoes/9ifZoi3
- taeric 8y ago
  Springs would also eat some of the power you throw at the impact. Same reason you don't do shocks on a road bike. (Above is speculation.)
- loeg 8y ago
  The plate is the full length of the shoe. Not sure how you're imagining adding springs in a way that is more conducive to running. Keep in mind shoe weight matters quite a bit.
  - monkmartinez 8y ago
    Springs are not always shaped like a car strut... AND Weight isn't important if the energy gained offsets the energy lost carrying the extra load.
    - loeg 8y ago
      Sure. I think Nike is probably aware of this and took it into account when designing this shoe. If you have a better design (your earlier comment suggests "just add[ing] springs to the entire shoe"), there's probably a financial motive for you to figure out how to sell that. (I think you are probably understating the difficulty of designing a better shoe, for any definition of "better.")
- bookofjoe 8y ago
  It's been done: http://www.ohgizmo.com/2008/02/13/z-coil-shoes-are-apparently-not-a-sight-gag/ http://www.ohgizmo.com/2008/02/13/z-coil-shoes-are-apparentl...

andbberger 8y ago

ITT: heel strikers

tudelo 8y ago

Ahh yes, of course, sandals. A few people have won the Boston marathon in sandals, right?

andbberger 8y ago
You may be being sarcastic, but I'm serious! More commonly referred to as huaraches in this situation. Works a treat.
pmahoney 8y ago
It's possible to run at or near an elite level without modern running shoes. For example the 1960 Olympic marathon was won by a barefoot competitor (his winning time of 2:15:16.2 would be considered sub-elite today) [1]. One can speculate why all elite runners use shoes. Worth noting that running shoes designed for racing, as opposed to training, tend to be thinner and lighter and closer to a simple sandal [2]. I personally reverted from bare feet back to shoes after the occasional thorn or bit of glass getting stuck in my foot became too annoying. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abebe_Bikila#1960_Rome_Olympics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abebe_Bikila#1960_Rome_Olympic... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racing_flat https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racing_flat

andai 8y ago

Alan Watts called this running on the "balls of your feet."