My new homemade lightweight shoes :)

Back by popular demand, the general all-things Road forum!

Moderator: robbosmans

megalightman
Posts: 25
Joined: Sun May 22, 2011 3:36 pm

by megalightman

The other month I thought about making a pair of super light road/mtb shoes from carbon, but it would've been just a bit to much for my experience with carbon at the moment, so the next best thing was to buy a pair of what is one of the lightest football boots out there (adidas f50 adizero) and convert them!
Its a bit easier for me to do this because I use SPD's and Mid Sole Cleats.

So, here's how it went:

First weight the shoes with insole and laces,
Right ~ 165
Left ~ 163
Image

Next up is to trim the studs and try to make the bottom as flat as possible for the 7 layers of carbon.
ImageImage
16 grams saved from the trimming of the right, trimmed the left more.

Slap 7 layers of carbon onto the bottom and roughen them up for clear coat.
Image

Put a couple of layers on the inside for the cleat fixings.
Image

Weight without insoles and laces.
Image

Needed to add a carbon wrap over and under the toe to help the carbon sole remain in contact with the plastic base (my first pair lifts off after months of walking around).
Image

Clear coat. Should've done the toe wrap first.
Image

Fit cleats and weigh.
Left 241g
Right 238g
Image
Each shoe was just over 200g before cleats and fixings.

So, after all that work, I have a pair of race shoes which are nearly half the weight of my actual races shoes I have been using for years (modified mtb shoes)!
Because the F50's are so cheap on ebay (around £20/$30), I am going to get myself a few more pairs and make some summer ones with lots of vents, and I plan to see if I can remove the original plastic sole and save myself maybe 80g+ a shoe!

Because I was surprised how flexible a single layer of carbon is, I decided to finish of by making some toe warmers!
This one weighs 12.8g and is obviously not perfect, so I will have a few more tries and see if I can get it looking a bit nicer :)
Image
Image
Image

mdeth1313
Posts: 2070
Joined: Sat Apr 22, 2006 12:38 am
Location: Dutchess County, NY

by mdeth1313

Love it- great work. Let us know how they hold up!
Speedplay is the devil!

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com



User avatar
michel2
Posts: 1144
Joined: Mon Jan 10, 2005 10:47 am
Location: somewere floating between here and the other side

by michel2

Midsole cleats ? Do you use these for "normal"ridding purposes ?

User avatar
Liggero
Posts: 955
Joined: Sat Feb 18, 2012 11:49 pm
Location: Netherlands

by Liggero

midsole cleats it's quite popular in triathlon apparently.
Happy Trails !!!

AGW
Posts: 477
Joined: Sun May 27, 2012 2:11 pm

by AGW

Awesome!

oysters
Posts: 59
Joined: Tue Mar 20, 2012 1:19 am

by oysters

That's awesome! How stiff are they compared to your normal road shoes?

I also really like the carbon toe warmers, I just wonder about breathability. You could use the carbon like you have done to make a bracket, and then perhaps glue some water proof breathable fabric in place. There is some pretty light stuff out there, like the 1.4oz per square yard cuben fibre (47gsm). A 10x15cm piece of that would come in around 0.7grams.

brettmess24
Posts: 36
Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2013 9:00 pm

by brettmess24

That's a pretty cool idea. You will be able to make some really cool stuff with carbon fiber! 8)

User avatar
F45
Posts: 1077
Joined: Wed Jun 08, 2011 6:08 am

by F45

Nice project. Thanks for sharing. First time I've seen midsole cleats.

I just made some custom commuter shoes last month. They're not weightweenie so I won't post them, but isn't it a fine feeling riding around in shoes you made yourself?

dvincere
Posts: 198
Joined: Fri Jun 01, 2012 6:40 pm

by dvincere

How did you source the carbon fiber? What was the process to mold and cure it?

Andrew69
Posts: 593
Joined: Thu Feb 19, 2009 10:52 am
Location: ɹǝpunuʍop

by Andrew69

Cool project!

Liggero wrote:midsole cleats it's quite popular in triathlon apparently.

Not that far back! :unbelievable:
I ride "mid sole" (speedplays with the aluminium baseplate) as it saves my calves to run off the bike.
Makes a big difference, but I couldnt imagine riding with the cleats that far back. Would be very weird climbing out of the saddle!

User avatar
BeeBee30
Posts: 1304
Joined: Sun Dec 21, 2003 8:32 pm
Location: WALES,UK
Contact:

by BeeBee30

Isn't a cleat positioned there gonna cause problems with toe overlap on the front wheel?
Ti or dye!

The Weenie formally known as CAADHEAD

User avatar
shoemakerpom2010
Posts: 296
Joined: Mon Apr 11, 2011 6:28 pm
Location: Palm Coast, Fl.

by shoemakerpom2010

BeeBee30 wrote:Isn't a cleat positioned there gonna cause problems with toe overlap on the front wheel?


You have a point there. Looks like you would have a half a foot into the wheel area.

User avatar
743power
Shop Wrench
Posts: 744
Joined: Sat Nov 29, 2008 6:15 am
Location: Colorado

by 743power

Have you ridden these yet? I find that generation of f50's to be extremely flexible and generally unsupportive. Not sure how well they would translate to a cycling shoe.
"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius -- and a lot of courage -- to move in the opposite direction."

User avatar
ms6073
Posts: 4291
Joined: Fri Jul 23, 2004 8:24 pm
Location: Houston, Texas

by ms6073

BeeBee30 wrote:Isn't a cleat positioned there gonna cause problems with toe overlap on the front wheel?
Not to mention he probably has to really watch it in the corners as I would think it would be quite easy to catch the shoe on the ground if pedaling during hard cornering. :shock:
- Michael
"People should stop expecting normal from me... seriously, we all know it's never going to happen"

User avatar
ave
Posts: 2139
Joined: Sun Dec 28, 2008 10:15 pm
Location: Hungary

by ave

Interesting project, but I would think mid cleats on such a flexible sole is not gona be much good.
I wouldn't like to pedal hard with my arches.

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com



Post Reply