Submitted by
bobbob
a Cross Country Rider
from Mt Tamborine
Date Reviewed: December 20, 2009
Strengths: Leather upper. Tri strap
Weaknesses: 1st set - soles fell off straps fell apart. 2nd set velcro separation again from the carbon straps within a couple of weeks of first using them. dumb design. While the length and width was good they are not roomy as they push down on the tops of my toes. No more French shoes for me.
Bottom Line:
These will be relegated to living in my car as these become my spare pair for that odd occasion when I forget to put my good shoes in or when my good pair are wet.
Despite the good price one pair new $40 failed completely and I tossed. The $80 pair will live on with the velcro professionally sewn on.
Carnac you've run your race with me. I have some Vitorria on the way to try out, let's see how the Italians go?
Weaknesses: The soles are slippery on rocks, and on trees or roots if you will.
Bottom Line:
i have had these since 99' just this last Nov 04 did the straps delam, big deal, i just super glued them and they have been good since. the color schemes could be picked better i think.
The shoes do have a hard sole which causes them to slip on rocks and sketchy surfaces. i would rather have a shoe with a softer rubber compound for gripping the hike a bikes or traversing an impassable section...
Basically get shoes like these if you have the money(240$retail), want something different, (you rarely see anyone with em), and care about long term durability, these do last a very long time... i would give these a 4 for holding up. still look good after all these years i could easily pull 10 more years off with these. riding 1-3 times/week that is.
Similar Products Used: specialized, northwave team. converse chucks!! yes! they rocked!
Bike Setup: turner-the best
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Kevin
a Cross Country Rider
from Santee
Date Reviewed: April 13, 2004
Strengths: They used to be very stiff. They used to look cool. They used to have functional lugs on the front.They used to fit real well.
Weaknesses: The velcro straps delaminated fairly quickly. Now I have duct tape to hold the straps together. The threads along the outer part of shoe opposite of the insole have disapeared on both shoes. Now the shoes flex horibly. The threads of the heal cup (both shoes) have broken free. The heal in the back parts of both shoes have seperated from the shoe. The lugs are gone.
Bottom Line:
I have put a few thousand miles on the shoes.. so I expect that I would have to replace them at some point. But I was suprised that the straps gave up so quickly. I will have to buy a different pair of shoes for a real comparison.. so I will rate these shoes on the straps alone.. They straps should not have broken in a month or two after paying $100.. I will never buy another product from Carnac.. it is obvious they got on the cost savings band wagon and sent there shoes to some third world country.. and the quality shows...
Submitted by
Mark A. Lohnes
a Cross Country Rider
from Skagway, Alaska
Date Reviewed: December 28, 2003
Strengths: Great Carnac fit, very breathable
Weaknesses: Nothing severe, just minor nit-picks - rather portly in weight, lugged sole does not help clear mud and debris from around the cleat (spd's)
Bottom Line:
After almost 3 years of year round riding, my shoes are wearing out. The heel cups have lost almost all the thread that holds the cup to the main shoe body - had to use seam grip to prevent further wear. I walk a lot in these shoes...so the worn lugs are my bad. Howeveer the design of the lug around the cleat does not help clear mud and debris from the cleat resulting in difficulty in clipping in the pedals. The shoes are heavy compared to other freinds shoes of similar size. I have bene very happy with the fit, as usual. I have not had the velcro delaminate as mentioned by others, so complaints there. All and all these have been a solid purchase.
Similar Products Used: northwave stealth, sidi srs, shimano 220
Bike Setup: bergwerk faunus lrs, marzocchi marathon sl, huegi 240, dt wheels, xt and xtr mix
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
r c
a Cross Country Rider
from midwest
Date Reviewed: October 25, 2002
Strengths: neoprene tongue is comfortable
Weaknesses: velcro delamination/separation from the carbon straps. flawed design - velcro is glued to straps, glue failed. area of delam. right where the strap passes thru the buckle. fruit-loop colors!
Bottom Line:
very disappointing for such a high end shoe, i've heard others have had better experiences. returning shoes in exchange for lower end model (alize) we'll see how well these are constructed (no neoprene tongue). review to follow.
Strengths: Fit is very good for those with narrow heel and wide forefoot. Not super stiff so if you gotta get off and skate across some scree or other sketch parts of the trail you'll have somewhat stable footing. Real leather and nice carbon straps. Kinda stylee Euro 'breathe rite strip rider' look.
Weaknesses: The stitching and heel cups have blown apart after a measly 150hrs of riding. Come on, this is a spendy shoe that is meant to be put through the paces. My 6yr old Carnac's are in better shape.
Bottom Line:
Nice shoes if you ride smooth trails in dry conditions but as soon as you start using them for expedition style backcountry trips or ruffian trails be prepared for them to blow to pieces pretty quick.
I've burned through two pairs of these shoes in less than 250hrs ride time. It's now apparanet that the old Carnac shoes were MUCH better made.
On to the Sidi Adrenalin's... We'll see how long they last.
Strengths: super comfy, velcro doesn't came apart when wet
Weaknesses: stitching comes apart, soles get flexy over time
Bottom Line:
These shoes don't last forever but they lasted pretty long. The stitching came out in the same places as the other guys review. Mine lasted a lot longer than his and they were wet tons of times. Over time the sole starts getting flexy. That not too cool for racing but for pushing up stuff and walking that's good. I called Carnac a while back about the stiching coming apart and they told me take them to a shoe store. What?! Why is it my fault the shoe falls apart and I have to pay to fix them. Anyways, I took them to a shoe store and they couldn't fix b/c they can't sew through plastic. So the shoes wore out no biggie that is expected. So i went out and bought a new pair a few weeks ago. This time i bought the model under the Sirius. These are the $175 Alize. They blew up on the first ride. The stiching on the inside of the shoe catches on my race face cranks and ripped apart. I'm currently in the process of going though the LBS to get this taken care of.
OK, I bought these shoes at the first of the racing season last year as part of my team gear, for the first half of the season the only time I wore them was at races, then around the end of July first of August I started wearing them all the time on rides just because they were so comfortable, keep in mind that I never rode them in the mud, always wore my old Shimano's for those types of rides. Well I ended up laying off from riding from Sept-Feb, since I have started back these shoes have just literally fell apart, the heal cups on both shoes are hanging by threads and the velcro has completely come off of 3 of the carbon straps. I know these shoes are designed for racing and not for long wear but man they should last much longer than these have, at the most they have about 8 months of riding on them, I expected to get at least 2 seasons out of them. After all I have a couple of pairs of Diadora's and Shimano's that have about 3 times as many rides on them and they are in twice as good of shape. If I would of reviewed these shoes after about a month or two of riding I would of given them a 5 because they are absolutely the most comfortable shoe I have ever ridden, but with the durability problems Ive had with them I am only giving them a 2.
Bike Setup: geared: Santa Cruz Chameleon with Sid SL, XTR/XT components, Race Face post, Easton stem w/ monkey lites, Atac HP's SINGLE SPEED: Santa Cruze Chameleon, Marzochi superfly, Race Face cranks, atac's, Phil Wood's laced to X517's, Thomson post, FSA 120 stem, monkey lights, Sram 9.0 carbon levers with avid TI brakes
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