Hard Parts on Boots

[U26A1]

The only real litmus test I have in a boot is whether or not it has some kind of hinged armor to allow my ankle to bend one way, but not all the other ways.

I see zero reason why everybody couldn't wear something like the Dainese Torque Outs. Supremely comfortable, you can get them in Goretex, they have armor in the correct parts, and a hinged motion-restricting armor thing. And no, the soles are not 'hard' -- unless you're talking crazy stormtrooper supermoto boots, soles should be soft so you can feel the shifter.

In fact if anything the soles of the Daineses might be too soft -- I wore down the heels of a pair walking around in them so much.

I've been in two crashes in them, one with my bike landing on my damn ankle, and I came out of it with just a bruise. They're protective enough for me to trust them on the track, yet comfortable enough to take on a 12-hour ride. Totally recommended.

 

[Reli]

Uh... maybe a stupid response: why can't the shift lever simply be rotated on its shaft to accommodate a thicker boot?

Sure, you could..............But then it takes more effort to downshift, because you need to flex your foot up more in order to push it down.

 

[Reli]

Laugh it up all you want big guy, I've tried nearly all race boot brands, and the most comfortable I've ever had were some POS 20 year old Alpinestars with thin soles, flexible toe boxes, and very little plastic. Unfortunately, today's race boots are built like ski boots, especially SIDI's. So nowadays I just wear mid-level "sport" or "sport-touring" boots, even though I ride a sportbike.

 

[Z3n]

How do dirt riders feel the pegs or shift with those boots?!?!?!?!?

You should tell them all they're doing it wrong.

 

[redtail]

Having grown up rolling in the dirt, in my MX boots I'm in the habit of lifting my leg to up shift rather than rotating from the ankle. Down shifts were a foot off the peg tap (read stomp) to the shifter. Basic dirt riding 101.

My street boots aren't as restrictive.

Of course, YMMV

 

[ilikefood]

I was wearing "high-end" race boots when my ankle was crushed and I had a compound fracture. Catch 22: The racers want extremely flexible boots. As far as twisting, I don't think the Daytona or Dainese are any better than Sidi or AlpineStars. But, the Stars are actually worse than a previous model. Go figure.

My guess is that unlike other motorcycling or other extreme sports, the kind of injury you are concerned about are rare in asphalt racing. However, I don't think Stoner should have ruined his ankle at Indy, for example. It wasn't that bad of a crash. So there is room for improvement. But there will be trade-offs.

The street boots that I think do a good job with twisting protection are the Dainese Axial Pro In and Daytona Evo. Both Daytona and Dainese have other similar models. Those are boots that have a hard shell that holds on tightly to your lower leg, and a hinge at your ankle that prevents your ankle from rolling over and limits the range of motion front-to-back. I've tried on some other street boots (Alpinestars SMX comes to mind), and they all sucked. Some of them have a hinge in the ankle that should THEORETICALLY prevent the ankle from twisting, but they are super loose in the calf, so the ankle can still roll over.

 

[ilikefood]

Laugh it up all you want big guy, I've tried nearly all race boot brands, and the most comfortable I've ever had were some POS 20 year old Alpinestars with thin soles, flexible toe boxes, and very little plastic. Unfortunately, today's race boots are built like ski boots, especially SIDI's. So nowadays I just wear mid-level "sport" or "sport-touring" boots, even though I ride a sportbike.

There is always a tradeoff between protection and comfort. There is nothing wrong with choosing more comfort and less protection, as long as you're aware that those thin soles, flexible toe boxes, and very little plastic won't give you much protection in case of a crash. The ski-boot-style boots will by a lot more protective, but yeah, they can be uncomfortable.

I'm facing the same choice myself - do I get a protective boot that's uncomfortable and that I'll have to take off as soon as I get to work, or do I go for something less protective and more comfortable, that I could actually wear for the whole day...

 

[ilikefood]

Basically I'm of the belief that the better the exo-skeleton is, the better chances a guy has at real protection. What I was really wondering was how the "Tour" crowd justifies less protection. I think it was answered, though. Comfort!

I opt for protection. Though, I was curious if there was some data that supported less hard parts, other than comfort?

I looked and looked for a boot with good protection and Gortex. Short of the Daytona Evo Sport and Voltex I came up short. I'm with other guys here in thinking the protection on some of the top shelf boots out there are merely window dressing. The Daytona have secure ridgid protection, but is that a good thing or does it just transfer the force to another part of the body?

The boot that has my interest at the moment is the BMW "SportDry" with genuine Gortex lining, genuine leather uppers and the hard bits that are actually rigid. The Daytona's had this, but unfortunately for me, at a much higher cost. And no, I'm not fond of the white BMW markings!

Are you specifically looking at street/race style boots? You may want to check out the boots I mentioned earlier - Alpinestars Toucan, Sidi Adventure GTX, BMW Gravel, and TCX X-Desert. All those are very protective and have Goretex. They are much more off-road styled though, especially the Toucan, and may not work so well on a sportbike, where you need to bend your ankle much more than on a dual-sport/ADV bike.

 

[ilikefood]

Thanks again. I found several testimonies to the comfort of the Toucan on the advrider forum.

But the Gravels look less gnarly and sometimes I actually have to look "business like", but I try to avoid those situations as much as possible.

Also the Gravel didn't look like it would be quite a protective as the Toucan, but maybe that's because it may hide its technology instead of wearing it on the surface.

I'll try them both out next week. I wearing some 30 year old Corbin boots whose sole you can hold and twist and turn the upper like an old towel. NOT safe!

The Gravels aren't quite as protective as Toucans, but they are still better than most of the "adventure" boots I've seen. I was pretty surprised, because yeah, they didn't seem too gnarly just looking at them in the shelf. But when you put them on and tighten the straps, somehow the structure of the boot works pretty well to keep your ankle stable. Supposedly the previous version of the Gravel, called the Santiago, was stiffer if you want more protection. But they've been discontinued.

 

[ilikefood]

Uh... maybe a stupid response: why can't the shift lever simply be rotated on its shaft to accommodate a thicker boot?

It can, but then you'll have to kick down the lever to downshift, because you won't be able to bend your foot up enough to press down on the lever with the ball of your foot. Which works perfectly fine. Or you can leave the shift lever as is, and shift up with the edge/sole of your boot, instead of getting your whole boot under the lever.

 

[louemc]

Having grown up rolling in the dirt, in my MX boots I'm in the habit of lifting my leg to up shift rather than rotating from the ankle. Down shifts were a foot off the peg tap (read stomp) to the shifter. Basic dirt riding 101.

My street boots aren't as restrictive.

Of course, YMMV

The whippersnappers today

It's a shame in a way, they didn't come into this sport...Before we had Motorcycle boots.
And...then specific types for the different forms of the sport.

Lineman boots (what the guys that climb telephone poles wear) , were popular dirt riding boots.

Various Work boots were good And Engineer boots were the standard for street.
Some still call them the basic biker boot.

 

[Reli]

How do dirt riders feel the pegs or shift with those boots?!?!?!?!?

You should tell them all they're doing it wrong.

I ride a sportbike, with the ball of my foot on the peg at all times. I don't ride dirt bikes, and I don't recall telling them what to do.

 

[Sharky]

I'm not sure I understand what you're saying? It sounds as if you're saying if a guy crashes, they may have bigger problems than boot protection?

I guess this may be true, after-all I can only feel pain in one place at a time. arty

I guess my point is, most of the time boots are going to save you from abrasions in street crashes. Hitting hard stuff, is what kills you. I personally opt for more flexible boots like the Alpinestar SMX. The + version is too stiff. I've crashed my share and I want abrasion protection. You hit a car/tree/rock, those fancy boots aren't going to save you from injury.

You'll get all kinds of opinions. Ill trade some protection for comfort, because the likelihood that added armor saves me from a twisted ankle versus a boot that is comfortable that I will wear all the time.

Dirtbike boots are a different matter altogether. I opt for added protection because the crashes are different, speeds are different and the chances of getting you foot squished or turned are much higher.

 

[stangmx13]

I guess my point is, most of the time boots are going to save you from abrasions in street crashes. Hitting hard stuff, is what kills you. I personally opt for more flexible boots like the Alpinestar SMX. The + version is too stiff. I've crashed my share and I want abrasion protection. You hit a car/tree/rock, those fancy boots aren't going to save you from injury.

They won't? In all impacts, a stiff boot won't prevent an injury?

U sound like all the guys that use broken necks as justification to not wear helmets.

 

[russ69]

The bottom line is that if you are in a crash where the boot becomes important, you just can't have boots that are too good. Even the best race boots are no guarantee of being injury free.

 

[louemc]

The bottom line is that if you are in a crash where the boot becomes important, you just can't have boots that are too good. Even the best race boots are no guarantee of being injury free.

That's my view on this...

Actually Road Race boots are way too thin for my likes.

I can see road racers wanting the sensitivity...But I ride the place that has the hazards... The public road.

 

[Sharky]

They won't? In all impacts, a stiff boot won't prevent an injury?

U sound like all the guys that use broken necks as justification to not wear helmets.

Oh please. You slide into a K rail or the front of the Volvo am brag about how cool your boots are. I didn't say don't wear boots, I emphasized one doesn't need top spec track boots for the street.

I didn't say all impacts. I said most likely ones. Sure you could point to a situation where the most protective boot prevented injury in a particular crash. The most common crashes on the street don't need/require high spec track boots. If you are going to break an ankle or foot, most of the time it's not going to matter what boot you are wearing.

Just like leathers, abrasion protection yes, hitting hard objects, no.

I wear good protection on the street. I don't wear leathers to work every morning, because I am more likely to be taken out by a car. Nothing you can buy will protect you from that, but textiles are warmer and will mostly protect me from the ensuing slide.

Wear whatever you like. You sound like you need the extra protection.

 

[Z3n]

I ride a sportbike, with the ball of my foot on the peg at all times. I don't ride dirt bikes, and I don't recall telling them what to do.

Man your toes must be crazy long if you're able to shift with the ball of your foot on the pegs at all times.

 

[Junkie]

I wear Sidi Vortices most of the time, Previously I had a pair of Sidi Vertigo Corsas, which I wore out.

Both boots have very significant protection against twisting my ankle. The new boots are quite a bit stiffer, I'm not sure how much of that is design vs wear.

They're comfortable, I've done multi-day rides in each without problems. I can wear them in the office all day if I have to, but I don't have to so I don't.

 

[Reli]

Man your toes must be crazy long if you're able to shift with the ball of your foot on the pegs at all times.

Funny, but I think you knew what I meant.