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background

I have always worn a low cut hiking boot/shoe for riding. I guess mostly because I do a lot of hiking on nasty terrain with my bike on my shoulder and since I use flats don't need a special shoe. Lately I have been thinking about trying a flat skate like shoe for better traction on the pedals. When I saw Jenson USA was offerring the 2003 661 Launch for $52(us) I thought I would give it a try. They just arrived and I haven't had a ride in them, but will most likely get one in tomorrow.

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05.22.2004

I got out on a ride this past week with the new 661 Launch shoes. I wasn't real impressed. Keep in mind that I have always worn a low cut, medium weight hiking shoe for riding. In part because I do a lot of hiking when I bike, but also because a good med. weight hiker provides great support without a lot of heft. The uppers fit like a glove and the soles are usually soft, sticky and responsive.

My first impression of the 661 launch shoes was that the uppers were not real comfortable. I felt like I had to lace them extra tight to get a good solid fit, but doing so made the shoes too tight and uncomfortable across the in-step. The ankle area although super padded dug into my ankles and by the end of the ride, produced so much pain I could barely pedal - that pain, lasted for days until finally subsiding. The soles were extremely rigid - which I guess is good when you are clipped in (spd), but when you are running flats that excessive rigidness results in your feet bouncing around on the pedals through rough sections - then the flat tacky sole grips like hell when they come back to contact with the pedal. This left my feet in some weird positions... not cool especially when you are getting ready to drop or jump something. In short I felt like I had strapped boards to my feet. The shoes were unresponsive, I couldn't feel the pedals. The stiffness did help on climbs - more efficient. But I didn't buy the shoes to ride XC.

I will continue to brake the shoes in to see if some of the issues get better with time.

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06.08.2004

Put a few more XC type rides into the Launch shoes and am starting to get the feel of them a little better. I am startig to like them as a XC flat that I can put some miles in and stiff sole is nice on climbs. I still don't feel real comfortable freeriding in them - just can't seem to feel the pedals or where my feet are on the them and the stiff soles tend to bounce around through choppy sections... my thought is to break them in for half a season XC riding and then give them another go for freeriding later this season - however, I am looking into a pair of skate sneakers like vans or dc or something to see if I can get a shoes with a flat grippy sole that has more flex and feel.

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09.21.2004

Well this season has been pretty crappy with broken parts and rain keeping me off my bike more than on... however, I have tried to put as many miles on the 661 Launch shoes as possible - break them in and me time to get used to them. I have ridden these shoes in super muddy and rainy conditions... sometimes soaked to the point of complete saturation. Needless to say the upper's have broken in - however, even broken in the uppers are still not super comfortable. They are ok, but don't fit like a "glove" as my low cut hiking shoes did... the soles are still a problem for me - they are hard and stiff and I still can't get a solid grip on my flat pedals and I can't feel my foot on the pedals, so I am never quite sure how much foot I have on the pedal at any given time. After a season I definitely concluded that these shoes are fine for XC use, but not freeride - unless maybe if you are clipped in, which I am not.