Submitted by
litespeedchick
a Cross Country Rider
from greenville, sc
Date Reviewed: November 19, 2008
Strengths: so comfortable, such great tread, nice and stiff, great neoprene liner
Weaknesses: falls apart
Bottom Line:
See my review a couple down from last year. So after they fell apart and the shoe store said they couldn't stictch them, I found an exact replacement cheap on ebay.
They are great shoes, while they last, but this pair, which I have now had about another 18 months has both ratchets broken and 1 velcro strap delaminated. These have not come unstiched...i would like to keep wearing them if I could figure out how to replace the straps.
Submitted by
buzzy248
a Cross Country Rider
from Aberdeen, WA USA
Date Reviewed: August 16, 2008
Strengths: Durable and comfortable
Weaknesses: none
Bottom Line:
I bought these Carnac Dune's in 1998 I think and they are still in perfect condition. They were on closeout at the shop and they were 1 size too small but I got them anyway. I still think they are a little small but they have stretched a little and I still wear them for nearly every ride. They have thousands of miles on them on trails, roads, in snow, mud, rain, summer heat and dust and the leather is still perfect. I would like to buy another pair in a larger size for winter riding since I cannot get a heavy sock in the ones I have now.
Similar Products Used: Specialized, Answer Accelerator
Bike Setup: Klein Pulse Pro w/Judy SL, XTR V-brakes, ESP 9.0 drive train from 1997.
New Cannondale Prophet 2-still stock.
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Submitted by
Rick
a Weekend Warrior
from North Vancouver
Date Reviewed: August 31, 2007
Strengths: The kangaroo leather just won't won't wear out!
Weaknesses: What weaknesses!!
Bottom Line:
I bought two pair of the Carnac Dunes around 12 years ago and with a little preventative maintenance care I'm still wearing them today! What else can I say...outstanding.
Submitted by
Danna
a Cross Country Rider
from Greenville, SC
Date Reviewed: May 16, 2007
Strengths: Fits my duck feet, comfortable, stiff, grippy tread
Weaknesses: falls apart
Bottom Line:
No reviews since 2003? These were the best shoes I ever wore...it's difficult to fit a wide foot and not have the heel slip up and down. The grippy tread let me walk over slick stuff in safety while my husband is ice skating in his Sidis.
BUT: the ratchet mech. is a POS, the velcro straps delaminated, and last month the whole stiching on the top of the shoe came apart ...in the middle of my first damn race in 6 years. Neither Carnac nor Sinclair will respond to my request for warranty. The shoes were about 18 months old.
Bike Setup: 1996 Litespeed Obed (forever), SID, XTR, Chris King
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Submitted by
Kevin
a Cross Country Rider
from Port Charlotte, FL
Date Reviewed: September 10, 2003
Strengths: stiff 3 straps
Weaknesses: In less than 7 months, the sole of both shoes are coming off. After paying nearly 200 dollars I was expecting them to last a least one season.
Bottom Line:
I'm an agressive cross country rider who expects to get a high quality product when I pay a high end price. YOU DO NOT GET WHAT YOU PAID FOR. I would not recommend to shoe to anyone.
Bike Setup: Santa Cruz Super/XTR,LX Co/Cross Max Wheels
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Submitted by
Malcolm
a Cross Country Rider
from Canada
Date Reviewed: August 27, 2001
Strengths: Very, very durable. Prior to buying my first pair of Carnac's I destroyed a couple of other manufacturer's "high end" shoes inside a season. My first pair of Carnac's lasted over 3 years! They are beat up, worn down and lookin a little crusty, but they still refuse to die. I recently bought a new pair and the quality seems just as good.
Weaknesses: Soles are very stiff - great for riding, not as great for walking, but hey, you bought 'em to ride. Pretty expensive, but in terms of overall value they're cheap if they last 3 times as long as the competition.
Bottom Line:
Great quality, great durability, GREAT shoes. Bite the bullet and shell out the cash. After a couple years of abuse you'll be happy you did. As others mention, you'll end up saving money in the long term.
Weaknesses: I seem to recall paying a few coind for them waaaay back then but hey
Bottom Line:
ok here is the definitive review. I bought a pair of carnar shoes in february of 1996. Since then i have had 3 full years of xc racing followed by regular weekend blasts with whoever wants a ride. My shoes are beaten senseless but still hold me feet secure and are stiff as the day i bought them. The external heel cup has started to come away and they are scratched to death. They outlasted my first pair of shimano spd pedals ( and bike ) I bought a new bike with time pedals switched the cleats and have ridden ever since. Ladies and gentlemen 5 years and counting in mud, dry, uphill and down dale. There is no reason to go for buckles or nasa colours as these are the goods. Pay for em and use the money you save over 5 YEARS to buy some new other gear......
Strengths: super comfy, hard leather toe box to protect from rocks and what not, carbon straps don't loosen up or loose velcro strength when wet, easy to walk up hills in because this shoes are not too stiff, stylin, just plain nice
Weaknesses: they have started to loose some stitching in places, but none of these places are important, like i said earlier they are not so stiff but that also makes them a little less efficient (they are MTB shoes so i don't really care)
Bottom Line:
these are some damn nice shoes, i rode really hard in them this summer through all sorts of bog and water and they never slipped or loosened up. i am sort of disappointed by the stiching that i have started to loose, but i am sure that Carnac would take care of them if i ever decide to send them back. the price is pretty high but they are comfy. i usually don't bother taking them off until a few hours after i am done riding.
Bike Setup: who cares, i use the shoes with time pedals
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Submitted by
Sean O'Neil
a Cross Country Rider
from Missoula, MT, USA
Date Reviewed: November 29, 2000
Strengths: Sturdy construction, excellent fit, roomy toe box, laces + velcro, durable kangaroo leather that stays soft
Weaknesses: a wee bit expensive, but they last and last and last and last
Bottom Line:
I have bunions on both feet and need a very wide toe box. But my feet are narrow otherwise, and so I need a snug heel pocket. The Carnacs are just the ticket. I use the Carnac Legend with my roadie, and the Legend-equivalent Carnac mtb shoe (? Scirocco ?). I have been using these Carnac shoes for over 4 years now, and NEVER have had any durability problems. Everyone I know has had similar experience with Carnac shoes.
SuperDave, it sounds like you got a flawed pair -- get a warranty replacment!! All you have to say to the Carnac dealer is, "I paid $175 expecting top quality and I deserve a replacement." Also, I don't think Carnac stopped making mtb-specific shoes. I think the Alize was a failed attempt to make a "low-end" Carnac, and it's the only Carnac model that I've ever heard complaints about.
Expensive, but worth every penny. I'd give 'em 10 flaming chiles if I could.
Submitted by
Super Dave
a Cross Country Rider
from Silver Spring, MD, USA
Date Reviewed: November 28, 2000
Strengths: Nice armored leather toe box, wide toe. Looks cool?
Weaknesses: Condensed hot spot, falls apart.
Bottom Line:
This review is for the Carnac ALIZE mountain bike shoe. You can go to their web site to see this shoe. I have been trying for months to get them to add this shoe to the review section, but having given up, I am reviewing it under "Carnac shoes".
I am a 6 foot 185lbs cross country rider. I have a friend who rode his Carnacs for years, based on his testimonial I ordered their new "Alize" mtb shoe (which, strangely, looks just like their new road shoe...)
I absolutely love the armored box toe. It was great, I didn't have to worry about squishing my toes every time I timed jumping something wrong. I put my Time cleats in this shoe and took it racing the very first day I owned it.
After a 44 minute run in the race, these shoes had: a) stripped all the stitching from the right heel cup, which was dangling. b) peeled the velcro off the straps, at the corners c) pulled a cleat screw through, shearing the cleat mooring
In addition the "hot spot", where you could feel the cleat pulling, was extremely noticeable the entire time. The shoe was not only not "stiff", it was so flexy I was afraid I would break it.
Apparently Carnac has decided to scrap it's MTB-only designs and just put MTB treads on their road shoes. Big mistake. I don't ride like a maniac, and I destroyed these new shoes in under an hour. I returned them for a full refund and bought some Lake MX300's for under half the price. The lakes are euro ugly, but man do they work.
I've heard a lot of good things about carnac, I hope mtbr opens up a section to review the Alize MTB shoe so I can move my flame over there where it belongs.
Similar Products Used: Shimano, SIDI, Lake, Rivat, Specialized
Bike Setup: DC Hummer, Sandvik Roadie, 57 Schwinn Spliff Machine, 92 HeiHei One Speed
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Submitted by
dardis tim
a Cross Country Rider
from boulder co
Date Reviewed: May 1, 2000
Strengths: I'm talking Syrius here.
Super stiff sole. Light weight. Good heel cup grip. Excellent walking feel.
Weaknesses: Clown colors. Price.
Bottom Line:
Despite the price and the clown shoe motif these are great for the wider forefooted folk.
I liked my older Tahoes but when I walked they felt that they would slip off the at the heel and they were clodhoppers...no good feel for what you were walking, running, scrambling over.
The Syrius sole is super stiff and light like all good Carnacs. But these are better than the Tahoe. The heel cup grips. I can walk without feeling as if I'm going to lose the shoes. And despite the stiff sole the tread feel is exceelent--you can feel the terrain on which you walk. Very nice.
Similar Products Used: Carnac Tahoe. Sidi cross shoes
Bike Setup: neato stylie whoopie swooshing supergofast
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Zach
a Weekend Warrior
from Claremont, CA
Date Reviewed: September 30, 1999
Strengths: Very Stiff Amazingly Comfortable Breathable
Weaknesses: Not much
Bottom Line:
These shoes are great. They are comfortable and work great. They don't clip in and out as easily as others I've tried, but they are much more solid while cliped in. Normally I wouldn't have bought such a nice shoe (out of my price range) but I guess since they were discontinued (Dunes) I got them on sale for $32 down from $199. For that price I couldn't pass them up.
Submitted by
ProCal
a Cross-Country Rider
from Peoria, IL
Date Reviewed: July 18, 1999
Strengths: Large toe box, Comfy lycra liner
Weaknesses: One cinch strap
Bottom Line:
I shopped around for new shoes for over a month. It came down between the Answer Accelerator, the Sidi Dominator, the Specialized Team, and the Carnac Alpine (last years tahoe). The Carnacs won, hands down, the large toe box, and comfortable lycra liner mixed with the durable leather outer shell make these a great looking and solidly built shoe. I have only ridden in them once. But they connected me to the bike well and my feet were comfy the whole ride (not bad right out of the box). I hope that when they are fully broken in, they feel like old friendly slippers, if the first ride is any indication, I won't be disappointed. I only worry that the Lycra liner doesn't stretch out or break down or that the single velcro cinch strap does not fail (this year's model has two). If you have wide feet, and want a great shoe, this is it!!!!
Submitted by
Christopher Baus
a Cross-Country Rider
from Tahoe, NV
Date Reviewed: May 14, 1999
Bottom Line:
I was out for a ride today and was thinking how much I really liked my shoes, and figured I'd share my thoughts. I've had the Cypress for over a year now and really dig'em. If you are looking for high quality, durable, ride all day comfortable shoe I'd recommend giving these a try. These french shoes don't quite cinch down as snug as their Italian counterparts, which I think is a good thing if you are putting in some miles. I like to be able to wiggle my toes to make sure they are still there after a few hours in the saddle and the sizable toe box allows me to do this. I use 'em on my road bike too. Kindda screams -- look out mountain biker on road bike! But they're so nice I don't mind lugging around a little extra traction... Speaking of traction, walking comfort is decent. I hiked about 2 miles through the snow in the middle of my ride today to get to Echo Lake and didn't get blisters or anything which I think is good for a cycling shoe as stiff as carnacs. I really beat the begezus out of these things in the New England monsoon season last spring and they still look and feel near new. Unlike my previous Shimano shoes there is no restretch period after a wet ride. They hold their shape nicely. The bike store guy claimed that the leather was actually kangaroo hide. Well if you are going to kill something to make a shoe, I guess a kangaroo is as good as anything, and a kangaroo makes for a comfy shoe. Anyway I experienced no quality problems as others have.Only negative. There are only 2 shoelace eyelets on each side of the shoe. This is pretty useless. 4 or 5 would allow a more controlled fit. The Delta is a similar design with no laces and is kangaroo free... I like laces and kangaroos.
