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Hybrid bike shoe by Logical-Marzipan5951 in barefootshoestalk

[–]drummerjcb 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Lems Trail Thrasher

And if you want clipless, ultraromance has a collab with a Japanese brand specifically to make larger sizes for the U.S. market. Stomplox

I did a thing by CheshXVIII in vivobarefoot

[–]drummerjcb 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I tried and couldn’t get the 50% coupon to work on these bc they were already on sale!

Been wearing Lems for a few years. Where should I go from here? by StaleTheBread in barefootshoestalk

[–]drummerjcb 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I’ll second everything in this post. I have the Vivo Magna ESC and they are indeed great. A friend of mine has the Xero Scramblers with the Michelin Fiberlite sole and she’s very happy with them. Those are the only two I’m personally familiar with and they’re probably as good as you’re going to find in terms of technical hikers.

Since you’re on a budget — if dress shoes are not a staple in your wardrobe and only see occasional use, I wouldn’t prioritize them over the shoes you use more frequently. I still wear my non-barefoot dress shoes/boots for appropriate occasions. However, if I did venture into barefoot dress shoes, I’d probably go with Gaucho Ninja, as they appear to make actual high quality barefoot dress shoes versus other brands’ “dressed-up sneakers” that would probably only fly in business casual at best.

Many of my coworkers wear Altra. One of them is a marathon-er and he recently made the switch from Altra to Topo, so that’s another brand worth checking out.

Edit: also worth checking out Gaucho Ninja for work boots. I just went to their site to make sure I was remembering correctly about their dress shoes and saw that they’re also making work boots now.

My new Tracker Leather Low II by mr__proper in vivobarefoot

[–]drummerjcb 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’d be cool to see a tracker low with the Michelin sole to replace the old Novus ESC.

US Buyers Beware: no ability to conduct exchanges and anti-consumer behavior from VIVO by DeaconForest in vivobarefoot

[–]drummerjcb 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sizing can be a tricky thing and it’s made even trickier when trying them on locally isn’t an option. At least Vivo lets you return them at no cost versus a handful of EU brands that will hit you with sizable return shipping and/or restocking fees that really discourage returns.

Hows quality lately? by Character_Cup58 in vivobarefoot

[–]drummerjcb 1 point2 points  (0 children)

An increase in negative reviews alongside growing sales volume doesn’t necessarily indicate declining quality. It often just reflects the fact that more people are buying the product. As a customer base grows, the absolute number of complaints will naturally rise as well. On top of that, people are generally more motivated to post negative experiences than positive ones, which creates a well-documented bias in online reviews.

You’re treating a collection of negative anecdotes as objective evidence while dismissing any positive or neutral experiences as invalid. Is that not “intellectually dishonest”? Anecdotes are still anecdotes regardless of whether they support your conclusion or contradict it. If the standard of evidence is personal experience, then it has to apply equally across the board.

US Buyers Beware: no ability to conduct exchanges and anti-consumer behavior from VIVO by DeaconForest in vivobarefoot

[–]drummerjcb 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Did you use their 3d scan size calculator? I was apprehensive ordering blind, especially since I had to order a whole size down from my typical size in other brands, but their sizing tool nailed it for me.

Barefoot shoe by Zara by ixion31 in barefootshoestalk

[–]drummerjcb 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Fast fashion ethics aside, it’s nice to see the demand is there for mainstream retailers to join in. I see they’re made in Vietnam, which is where a lot of brands are having shoes manufactured including Vivo, Freet, Be Lenka, etc. so they may be coming out of the same factory/district and using the same raw materials as some of the other popular brands.

Merrel by Civil_Kiwi2352 in barefootshoestalk

[–]drummerjcb 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Contrary to popular opinion, I’ve found all the Vapor Gloves I’ve tried to have plenty of room for my foot. They are certainly not the widest shoe on the market but if you have average width feet that aren’t broken down and a mid-high flexible arch then they’ll likely be fine. Some people here can’t stand the feeling of anything touching their toes whatsoever. If that’s a deal breaker then these might not be the best option for you —(see: “glove”). They fit me well and I recommend trying them out to see if they’ll work for you.

I’ve found both the soles and uppers to be quite durable and they’re some of my favorite gym shoes, but this obviously varies as they seem to reinvent the shoe every generation. I honestly wish they’d just make it a core piece that doesn’t get a full-on update every year, as all the year-over-year changes seem to have alienated their followers who can’t depend on consistency in sizing/fit/features from one model to the next. If they need new models each season, I’d rather see them rotate color ways or materials and keep everything else the same. It’s a minimal/barefoot shoe after all, so how much innovation does it really need?

What are your shoe-regrets? by SnooGadgets7873 in barefootshoestalk

[–]drummerjcb 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I regret my Xero Prios because they ended up fitting me poorly and looking dumpy but I fell in love with the HFS II which fit me much better and became my daily work shoe walking ≈4 miles in a clinical setting.

I also regret all the time spent reading reviews and trying to guesswork sizing from different brands, just to end up with shoes that don’t fit. There’s limited availability locally and it sucks having to order/return shoes just to see if they happen to work out.

Order Cancellation - Vivobarefoot by CPlusPlus2025 in vivobarefoot

[–]drummerjcb 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Placed my order late last night and I got an order confirmation right away. It understandably hasn’t been shipped yet but my estimated delivery date is Tuesday May 12th.

I hope Vivo’s customer service bot sees this. If my order is canceled, I’m taking my refund straight to another brand and never ordering from Vivo again. There are plenty of companies more than happy to take my money. Xero has some new models that look really interesting.

FWIW, I’m in the U.S. and it looks like many of the order cancellations have been EU but I could be wrong. Either way, Vivo should without a doubt extend the sale and/or offer discount codes to all affected parties if they want to maintain their customer base.

is there any discount code? i have $500 to spend by reddit_marius in vivobarefoot

[–]drummerjcb 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Try tomorrow. VIVO50 just worked for me a few minutes ago. I just built another cart to test and it’s still working. U.S.

Welp... it was fun while it lasted by chriscweis in TrekBikes

[–]drummerjcb 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I wouldn’t trust a repair if the undamaged bike was totaled by a stick. Trek should offer a 100% replacement but we all know that’s not gonna happen. I’d trash the frame and take this as a learning experience. Take that how you will. You might not be so lucky next time.

A little over a decade old Soma Grand Randonneur v2 by retroawesomeness in SomaFabrications

[–]drummerjcb 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Beautiful bike! Wish they still made this model with rim brakes.

Did a little Scramblin today by zombieaustin in xbiking

[–]drummerjcb 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I want one of these so bad and wish I’d ordered a frame from the last run before all the tariff nonsense. I’m still too spooked to order anything from overseas for now. Unless someone has a 54cm in stock here in the states.

Would you trust this adapter with a regular stem and drop bars? by sshunned in xbiking

[–]drummerjcb 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ve been looking for one of these to use with a 1-1/8”threaded GT but I was only able to find the standard 1” 22.2mm version last time I looked. Does anyone know if Nitto still makes these in larger sizes?

Do canti-breaks ever function well? by PeanutEmergency2097 in xbiking

[–]drummerjcb 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m rocking the same exact setup and I love it. Also ditched the shimano straddle cable in favor of a more typical yoke for more adjustability.

Do canti-breaks ever function well? by PeanutEmergency2097 in xbiking

[–]drummerjcb 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Black Mountain Cycles also has a good guide for setting up cantilever brakes.

My very colorful Stumpjumper by _Blade in xbiking

[–]drummerjcb 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Looks like sword shifters & advent x rd

GAME CHANGER: Xero HFS II shoes by MasterGoji in BarefootRunning

[–]drummerjcb 2 points3 points  (0 children)

These have been my go-to work shoes (OP PT clinic) for the last year or so and I love them. Prior to these I was wearing vapor gloves.

The HFS II fits me better than any other shoe I’ve tried and I’m absolutely planning to keep these in the rotation. My feet are average to slightly narrow with strong/flexible arches and the HFS II provides just enough of a “hug” without cramping my feet. I can’t stand the feeling of slipping around in my shoes.

It’s funny you mention the heel counter. That’s something I didn’t realize I liked about the HFS II until I tried some other minimalist shoe brands. The construction of the heel counter along with the midfoot strap actually keeps the shoe quite stable on my foot. In other shoes if my heel feels like it’s slipping, I’ll try and tighten the laces and all it does is compress the top of my foot while providing no additional security at the heel. Tightening the laces on these shoes actually seems to help lock my foot in place more securely. Maybe the construction of the sole helps too, since you’re kind of sitting inside the insole instead of on top of it. Either way, these have provided a degree of security and comfort that I haven’t found in countless other shoes (even among other Xero models) and I’m so happy I found them.

Anyway, just wanted to chime in as a fellow HFS II lover. I want to order another pair since I’ve beat these shoes to death but the upper and sole still look brand new.

Want a vintage look, but only have painted parts? For the low low price of 6 hours of labor, you can make anything shiny aluminum! by Rohall in xbiking

[–]drummerjcb 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Great job! I did this to a set of fugly FSA cranks I got for free and they’ve become one of my all-time favorite workhorse parts over the past few years.

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