Vibram five fingers bikila

Yorky

Has anyone used these http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/products/Five-Fingers-Bikila-Mens.htm ?

I contacted a well known specialist running store and their policy is not to recommend them due to the lack of shock absorption. I mentioned that with shoes one lands on the heel with full bodyweight plus momentum whereas with the Vibram you land on the sole.

I used to run a couple of years ago but developed knee pain and injured my ITB on the other leg and am considering giving these a try.

Any thoughts?

thirstywork2

Why would you sell something you wouldn't recommend?
they are not for everyone but no reason not to try them on and see for yourself .

Yorky

thirstywork2 wrote: »

Why would you sell something you wouldn't recommend?
they are not for everyone but no reason not to try them on and see for yourself .

They don't sell them

robinph

There certainly are stockists in Ireland but I couldn't name them off the top of my head. I would advise you to buy them from an actual store where you can try them on as the fit is very specific and guessing from the online charts on the Vibram site you are likely to get a slightly wrong fit.

sarsfieldsrock

I've used the Vibram KSO but they are similar enough not to make too much of a difference.
I have used them and did a half marathon in them last year. That was the clontarf so it was not totally on road but a few miles were on cement footpaths.
Runways stock them in Dublin and I think Basecamp have them as well.
I got Injinji toe socks to wear with them as well as I found they chafed a bit aftera few miles running.
If you do get them then work your way into them and gradually increase the milage. Ideally you should avoid cement but thats true of any shoe. I would also have used them on treadmills a fair bit before I cancelled the gym.
I actually find them brilliantly relaxing on my feet after a very long run. After a few hours in a normal shoe the different footfall feels great.
Obviously I like them!
Also do buy them in a shop. I bought a pair on the net cheaply from China and got sent a size 8 as I ordered the Vibram size 42 and got sent a US size 42.
Nobody I know is a size 8 so they are still a surprise present waiting to happen.

DULLAHAN2

I have a pair. There allright i can feel that i have better running form with them. For me it will take about six months to get used to running on the road. I have no time for this so i am going to use them as my running track shoes instead of getting spikes.

My advice is that if you have time to get used to running in these then get them but you would be better off going to a coach who can instruct you on better running form and buy a pair of runners. You have to train your body to run barefooted which takes time going to a running coach will give you better running form in runners.

These will not make you a faster runner or prevent injury. Give this a read.

Thats just my opion some people will take to them like a duck to water the rest wont.

adagio

I work in one of following stores; http://www.barefoot.ie/page.asp?id=130, therefore my input may be helpful.
When selling the Vibram I always start by asking what the intended purpose is, walking round the farm , running on trail, running on road, wearing while weight lifting, wearing in the gym..etc and then advise from there.
I always urge caution to those who propose using them as a road running shoe, but I find that 100% of people have already carried out research into the product and the pro's/con's.
A few points:

• Never buy them on-line. I have sized many folks for the Vibrams and the measurement is not always accurate (for instance, I'm a UK 8 but neither the Bikila/KSO fit well - I require a UK 7). Always go into a store, have your feet measured w/the Vibram measure and try several sizes.. never settle on the first fit.
• If you are purchasing them for road running... TAKE YOUR TIME W/THE TRANSITION. There are so many variable to consider for each individual user therefore I'd treat all comments by other users as an interesting point but not necessarily applicable to you.

Enjoy.
A.

El Director

I am ready to take the plunge and buy a pair of Vibram Five Fingers. I will take the advice here and else where on line and try them on and then buy from a sockist. So can anybody recommend one in Dublin? 53 Degrees North is closest to me but I just want to make sure that the people I deal with know their stuff. Cheers.

this is how to measure yourself for Vibram five fingers products.

http://www.ehow.com/how_5425942_right-size-vibram-fivefingers-shoe.html

If you do this correctly and can be sure that you will get the correct size from a supplier I don't see why you couldn't buy online.

thirstywork2

I don't agree glasso,for one simple reason and this is from experience,they might not fit or suit your foot.
Some peoples toes don't fit in them,for example my small toe doesn't and I persisted wearing them only for my foot to be very sore after.
Im now trying pair of the vivo's
http://www.terraplana.com/uk/mens/evo-35.html/

Let you know how I get on in them,only ran 2 x 1miles so far but been wearing them for everyday wear.

Krusty_Clown

thirstywork2 wrote: »

I don't agree glasso,for one simple reason and this is from experience,they might not fit or suit your foot.
Some peoples toes don't fit in them,for example my small toe doesn't and I persisted wearing them only for my foot to be very sore after.
Im now trying pair of the vivo's
http://www.terraplana.com/uk/mens/evo-35.html/

Let you know how I get on in them,only ran 2 x 1miles so far but been wearing them for everyday wear.

Hi Thirstywork2, genuine question: if you have these shoes, can you explain how these differ to a cheap pair of shoes from Dunnes Stores, Pennies, or Heatons? All are very light, have thin (cheap) soles, breathable uppers. Is there some other difference, other than the price tag?

thirstywork2

Good question,the first thing would be the sole is punture resistant and the shoes are handmade and hand stitched so from a durability aspect I believe they would last unlike a pair form Dunnes or Pennys.
I do believe that they are over priced but thats just my opinion(I think most things are:P)

The whole barefoot movement is something that I have a very open mind about but I do believe in order to make a transition you cant just start wearing these straight away and start running.
The upper on thsi shoe is water resistant also,made more for the winter months.I didnt like the feel of the summer ones.

So is this a fad?
Time will tell but like I say I have an open mind and you won't be seeing me in pennys/heatons or Dunnes shoes knocking out 6minute miles in the phoenix park anytime soon:D

Patrick_K

How in the name of all that's good and holy can they charge £102 for that?
Obvious answer being supply and demand I guess, so there must be a lot of people with too much money out there.
I'm with Krusty on this one, if I want a shoe with no support, no technology, nothing except a puncture-proof sole then I'm off the Dunnes with a tenner.

PK

baza1976

I think there is something obvious everyone is missing. Why aren't the top elites wearing these bare feet shoes? If they are so good and create so much advatage you think all top class coaches would be pushing there lads to wear these!!! I notice from Kiwirunners blog/thread that even the lads that couldn't afford new runners would look for older pairs of runners rather than run bare foot.

So when i see a top class kenyan wearing these in a major marathon, then I'll consider wearing these fad shoes.

thirstywork2

I don't think these brands have the money to sponsor these athletes.
A pair of Asics Kayano's rrp is €145 but doesnt stop people???
I know that one of the top American football team are training in them but yet sponsored by Nike.
As I said earlier I agree they are over priced but a pir of shoes costing €10 in Pennys or Dunnes will fall apart in no time !!!

ps who said anything about advantage?
I think the message they are trying to bring with Barefoot shoes is reducing injuries but yet time will tell.
When I spent time training in Australia my coach there had me do 800m repeats on a grass track in barefeet and it felt great.
Ireland doesnt have the weather or many places you can do this.

baza1976

thirstywork2 wrote: »

I don't think these brands have the money to sponsor these athletes.
A pair of Asics Kayano's rrp is €145 but doesnt stop people???
I know that one of the top American football team are training in them but yet sponsored by Nike.
As I said earlier I agree they are over priced but a pir of shoes costing €10 in Pennys or Dunnes will fall apart in no time !!!

ps who said anything about advantage?I think the message they are trying to bring with Barefoot shoes is reducing injuries but yet time will tell.
When I spent time training in Australia my coach there had me do 800m repeats on a grass track in barefeet and it felt great.
Ireland doesnt have the weather or many places you can do this.

I think you said it yourself right there. Less or no injuries would be an advantage.
But I stand by previous post.

Krusty_Clown

thirstywork2 wrote: »

Good question,the first thing would be the sole is punture resistant and the shoes are handmade and hand stitched so from a durability aspect I believe they would last unlike a pair form Dunnes or Pennys.
I do believe that they are over priced but thats just my opinion(I think most things are:P)

The whole barefoot movement is something that I have a very open mind about but I do believe in order to make a transition you cant just start wearing these straight away and start running.
The upper on thsi shoe is water resistant also,made more for the winter months.I didnt like the feel of the summer ones.

So is this a fad?
Time will tell but like I say I have an open mind and you won't be seeing me in pennys/heatons or Dunnes shoes knocking out 6minute miles in the phoenix park anytime soon:D

Thanks for the response. It was a genuine question, rather than a criticism of barefoot running. When I injured my calf last year, I found doing some barefoot running on the grass in the park helped immensely. The thing is you obviously don't want to puncture your foot on broken glass or something similar when running barefoot, so I was thinking a cheap bargain basement shoe might offer some form of protection without the price, just for those 100m dashes in the park.

Do you run 6 minute miles in your vibrams/vivos?

thirstywork2

I have only ran twice in the vivo's and few times I did run in the vibrams would have been around 6minute miles until they cut my foot:mad:
Maybe you could buy pair of spikes or racing shoes and get the same benefits?

thirstywork2

thirstywork2 wrote: »

I don't think these brands have the money to sponsor these athletes.
A pair of Asics Kayano's rrp is €145 but doesnt stop people???
I know that one of the top American football team are training in them but yet sponsored by Nike.
As I said earlier I agree they are over priced but a pir of shoes costing €10 in Pennys or Dunnes will fall apart in no time !!!

ps who said anything about advantage?
I think the message they are trying to bring with Barefoot shoes is reducing injuries but yet time will tell.
When I spent time training in Australia my coach there had me do 800m repeats on a grass track in barefeet and it felt great.
Ireland doesnt have the weather or many places you can do this.

a lot of the big companies have near-barefoot products - Nike Free for example - not sure if the top marathon / road athlethes use these?

El Director

I went for the bikila's. Called into 53 Degree's North, got chatting to Ambrose, sound guy and not at all pushy-didn't pretend to be an expect on them and was as keen as I to see how they go. He was also aware that people coming in to try these have also done their research and have it weighed up as best they can. I was advised that the bikila were the one's to go for if I intend in running in them. Tried on the 44 and 45's, the 44's were a little tight but the 45's were like a glove, it really didn't feel like I had them on. Tricky to get each individual toe in but now (after two days) they just slide in.


My plan is to use them around the house, the gym and whenever I can, no running until perhaps a month or so.

So why did I decide to go for them in the end? Well firstly to help me with forefoot/midfoot stirking. If I had a nice flat green area with no holes, glass etc then I would try barefoot, but I don't. Second, and more important, I hope that these help me build a strong ankle/achilles region. I have achilles problems and have been really trying to sort them. I understand that the 5fingers don't provide a silver bullet but they imo have their part to play in solving my problem. I am currently strengthening my calfs and hamstrings which will help I been told but what about all those little muscles around the ankle? Well as there is no support in the 5fingers hopefully help strengthen that area as you try to keep balance, walk and eventually run. It's worth the gamble imo. The bikila's 125 euro, but orthotics can reach into the 100's and physio bill's mount up.

So these alone won't solve my problem but 5fingers crossed they will be part of the solution.After two days walking around in them all I can report is that I really like the feeling, the strange looks and giggles......well I'm already used of that