I like the speedcross 3, they are a solid built shoe, that is very comfortable, provides adequate protection, and fantastic traction, especially in gnarly mud. But, extensive running in them definitely lets the sides of my knees (IT bands) know that they have a pretty heavy/overbuilt heel.
So, lets fix this. The Speedcross actually have a nearly perfect heel for manipulation. While Salomon claimed to have reduced the drop on the SC3 to 9mm, I thought it felt more like the typical 10-11 used in the 2. Thus, I wanted to cut out 5-6 mm and end up with a 5-6 mm drop.
Its pretty simple: Get a hacksaw and go at it. Tools required: Tape measure or ruler, hacksaw, gorilla glue.
First I used the tape measure to draw an outline to determine where to cut using the saw. Be patient when doing the cutting.
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| Trying to follow my outline |
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| Cut all the way to the edge of the red foam, where the black line ends, top middle |
After making your initial cut, go ahead and cut a slice (5-6mm slice) for me. Again exercise patience when doing this.
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| Saw'd out a 5-6mm foam slice |
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| Shoes - foam slice |
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| Gorilla glue the shoe back together |
When glueing them back together - I used Gorilla glue. Gorilla glue requires a little bit of water to activate, thus lightly dab water onto both of the sides of the midsole you want to glue back together. Be very conservative in your application of gorilla glue as it tends to expand and bubble if over applied. Also, you'll need some weight to keep the midsole compressed while the glue dries. I used a chair, and by having a chair leg sitting into the heel cup of each shoe, I was able to weigh down the chair, and thus compress the midsole (sorry I forgot to take a picture of this).
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| 6mm drop speedcross 3 hard at work @ Woodstock 100 mile |
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