Full-on protective shoe for the competitive athlete seeking the best extreme off-road/downhill shoe. The Hematoma features a high-top design that provides additional ankle protection, plus construction and materials designed to stand up to aggressive riding: high-abrasion mesh, an EVA midsole, and a high-traction rubber outsole.
Synthetic leather uppers are mated to a nylon plate (for additional midsole stiffness) and perforated insole for breathability.
Submitted by
shredbetty
a Cross Country Rider
from Sacramento
Date Reviewed: December 15, 2009
Strengths: Tough outter, stable footbed, rugged sole, easy clipping in and out, dries fast, sheds mud, padded in crucial areas (where branches, roots, rocks pop up), reliable, wear well, stiff sole, OK for hiking but not great (see stiff sole), good for short bike-hauls over rock, streams.
Weaknesses: No cleat opening tape, short cleat anchors.
Bottom Line:
Been using this boot for 2 years for everything from mountain riding, cross country, snow riding, commuting. All round amazing shoe, rugged, reliable, stable. Wouldn't recommend it for situtations where you do alot of hiking (more than a short sprint or climb to get your wheels over what you're not comfortable riding). They dry fast, have stiff soles for hours on the trail, even stiff enough for some 1/2 centuries on the road (I take my mountain bike to the eastern sierra for riding and sometimes ride a 1/2 century on the road to mix things up a bit). Once you get past the rather crappy cleat base and replace it with just about anything (I used the ones which came with my KORE GASS pedals), you'll have a great time. Would recommend, will buy again. Adidas also fit well for people with slightly wider feet, good room around the toes, enough to wiggle them back from numbness when snow riding.
Bike Setup: Old school Gary Fisher Hookoo hardtail. XT everything.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Ryan R
a Weekend Warrior
from Long Island NY
Date Reviewed: August 26, 2008
Strengths: Has to be by far the most heavily armored shoe I've tried! Very stiff and supportive, makes for positive pedaling.
Higher top equals more ankle support, good material quality
Very thick and tacky soles good for clipped in or not.
Weaknesses: CLEATS!!I had the worst time setting cleats on these shoes!
Cleat carrier, made of too soft of metal, stripped out quickly
Pedal interface is tough on Mallet 1's had to modify the shoe
Bottom Line:
Very good armor for a shoe that is decently light weight. Nice thick soles looks like it will last for years. And the materials look like it will take a nice beating without failing. I do prefer the higher top design, it just right and cut for comfort, No laces, or those STUPID ratchet levers to mess with when trying to take them off after a long ride makes them even better designed. I ride hard, be it on trail, freeriding, or just getting from one place to another. I go through shoes quickly and usually look for well built shoes that can take a beating, these can. Still I can't over look the cleat setup;
First off ADIDAS should have installed the cleat carrier and not left it off the shoe! Secondly, the groves for the cleats are wider than normal, making it very difficult to set the cleats straight. Let's not forget the crappy cleat carrier that ADIDAS gives you with them. Tighten it too much and the cheap metal strips! I had to modify them first with an older SPD carrier I had saved. Next let's get to the pedals; I use Crank Bros Mallet 1's, and I just bought them a while back. These didn't want to interface with them at all, not even with the provided shims from Crank Bros. Luckily I had and extra set of shims and double stacked them. This was tricky due to how hard it was to set the cleat, but in the end it worked. I'm still more than likely going to dremel them a little for clearance.
The armor on the shoes was the selling factor but so far the problems I've had has made me regret them. Luckily I got them for a great price so it's not so bad. Still the cleat problems really got me mad and so did the pedal interface. All that said for the great price I'll give them a good value. For the troubles, I have to give them a moderate rating. My Saw-Pits never gave me this much trouble setting a cleat, not did they ever have clearance problems either. If ADIDAS is serious about making cycling shoes then they better fix these design flaws soon before the word is out about the problems.
I'll write a follow up in a few months and see how well they last. Hopefully that helps to offset the horrible cleat system, and pedal problems.
Similar Products Used: Plenty of XC shoes, Specialized Saw-Pits
Bike Setup: Giant Reign (custom built) with Crank Bros. Mallet 1's
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Ryan R
a Weekend Warrior
from Long Island NY
Date Reviewed: August 26, 2008
Strengths: Has to be by far the most heavily armored shoe I've tried! Very stiff and supportive, makes for positive pedaling.
Higher top equals more ankle support, good material quality
Very thick and tacky soles good for clipped in or not.
Weaknesses: CLEATS!!I had the worst time setting cleats on these shoes!
Cleat carrier, made of too soft of metal, stripped out quickly
Pedal interface is tough on Mallet 1's had to modify the shoe
Bottom Line:
Very good armor for a shoe that is decently light weight. Nice thick soles looks like it will last for years. And the materials look like it will take a nice beating without failing. I do prefer the higher top design, it just right and cut for comfort, No laces, or those STUPID ratchet levers to mess with when trying to take them off after a long ride makes them even better designed. I ride hard, be it on trail, freeriding, or just getting from one place to another. I go through shoes quickly and usually look for well built shoes that can take a beating, these can. Still I can't over look the cleat setup;
First off ADIDAS should have installed the cleat carrier and not left it off the shoe! Secondly, the groves for the cleats are wider than normal, making it very difficult to set the cleats straight. Let's not forget the crappy cleat carrier that ADIDAS gives you with them. Tighten it too much and the cheap metal strips! I had to modify them first with an older SPD carrier I had saved. Next let's get to the pedals; I use Crank Bros Mallet 1's, and I just bought them a while back. These didn't want to interface with them at all, not even with the provided shims from Crank Bros. Luckily I had and extra set of shims and double stacked them. This was tricky due to how hard it was to set the cleat, but in the end it worked. I'm still more than likely going to dremel them a little for clearance.
The armor on the shoes was the selling factor but so far the problems I've had has made me regret them. Luckily I got them for a great price so it's not so bad. Still the cleat problems really got me mad and so did the pedal interface. All that said for the great price I'll give them a good value. For the troubles, I have to give them a moderate rating. My Saw-Pits never gave me this much trouble setting a cleat, not did they ever have clearance problems either. If ADIDAS is serious about making cycling shoes then they better fix these design flaws soon before the word is out about the problems.
I'll write a follow up in a few months and see how well they last. Hopefully that helps to offset the horrible cleat system, and pedal problems.
Strengths: stoutly armored. The cleat can sit back farther than othershoes. Actually fits my wide foot at a size larger than I wear with Vans
Weaknesses: shoes do not engage mallet C platform.
Bottom Line:
The shoe is the most heavily armored shoe I have ridden. I have kicked through some rather gnarly rocks and hardly noticed. Its a comfortable shoe. Unfortunately, it fails to engage the platform on the mallet C. There are sections where I don't like to be locked into the pedal and these shoes simply fail at those points. If you spend your whole ride clipped in, then I couldn't more highly recomend this shoe. The more you find yourself riding unclipped, the more I would recommend something else.
Similar Products Used: Shimano DX, specialized sawpit, stacks of XC shoes.
Bike Setup: 04 norco shore.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Alfredo J Alfaro
a Cross Country Rider
from Sarchi Norte, Costa Rica
Date Reviewed: January 31, 2005
Strengths: Very tough shoe, light and comfortable. Quite easy to set cleats on. A snap to wash or clean. Being a half height boot provides extra ankle protection
Weaknesses: should have spikes treaded holes in front for use in slippery terrain!
Strengths: The sole made of hard gum that stabilized with plastic framework.The inside of the shoe made of a kind of plastic material' so you can wash the shoe easily and dry it fast for the next ride. this shoe is amazingly comfortable and protect the ankle from being twisted. the front of the shoe made of hardened cloth to protect the foot from rocks.
Weaknesses: The MSRP is little expensive.
Bottom Line:
This shoe worth any penny. especially for DH racers ,who looking for hard sole and protection for their foot.
