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Wednesday, March 3, 2010

the search for the perfect cycling sneaker continues: Vans Era 45 "fixed"


(via highsnob)
i'm still a recovering sneaker addict and i'm always pursuing the perfect cycling sneaker. where i'm from (the bay area), vans ring synonymous with the "Hyphy" movement. yes, i recall "vans" by the pack. while we're on that topic, young L is actually a really good skater. i think he got picked up by SF's FTC a while back. i actually like the pack even though their lyrics were... let's just say hella sketch ("i sag, not to show my ass/but kiss it girl, YEAH lick it off"...uh...yeah...).

with that out of the way, this is the vans era 45 "fixed" which is a part of the california collection. right now i either ride in 1)nike dunk sb's (for you sneakerheads who want to know which ones, I RIDE IN MY CINCO DE MAYOS. yeah... and i skated in them too... yeah... CRINGE BITCHES.) 2)nike classic sb's (which have really good pedal feel, but the soles are quite flimsy due in part that i wore them down proper) and 3)vans haldcab pros (i feel like these are the best).

the thing about vans is the vulcanized sole which alot of riders prefer due in part of their stiffness and unique pedal feel. however the criticism of vans would be material use. pulling up on clips repeatedly becomes painful when you have a thin cloth upper. thats why i opt for the halfcalbs that usually use leather or suede.
these sneaker's toeboxes use a special heavy suede and a thicker canvas. in addition to that there are reflective attributes. the result is a stronger vans era that wont fuck up the top of your foot after a couple of skids.

my only problem is that the culture is moving towards clipless, fat strap foot retention systems. but of youre still running the good old clips and straps, this would be dope.

jmik



2 comments:

antihero1972 said...

remember not all care for "the culture" there will be and its already happening a definite line or division between us hill bombers and the FGFS riders. It has too or the art of riding fast and bombing hills will die.But this is not to say we all cant get along, its just we are going in seperate ways.

J.mika'ele said...

oh no, i'm not criticizing the culture, just simply stating the inevitable. hill bombing isn't going to die, it's just taking a different route. i know i maybe eating my words, but i just ordered some polipo straps and already have some rootbeer odyssey twisteds sitting on my desk (though i still have mks sylvans for when i want to mash it up). O_O

i plan to build a trick bike (though i dont know what frame i will use yet), and use my good ol' se lager as a GOHELLAHELLAFASS bike. i'm trying to broaden my horizons as a fixed gear enthusiast this year, and i dont know- maybe the lager will see some hellyer (track) time this summer. STEEL RACING IS AWESOME.

jmik