Article by Sam Winebaum
VCarbon Shoes
On the sidelines at the Boston Marathon I had a chance to see and even jog a bit in 2 VCarbon “foamless” racers. VCarbon is not currently making full shoes and likely won’t as they are seeking to interest brands in their unique technology so the prototypes use uppers from existing shoes. Focus here is the ride from the chassis
Their innovative approach is based on a carbon composite midsole chassis with below the center of the foot (and a sockliner) a Kevlar fabric surface. The founder, Paul has decades of composites experience for industry and defense applications and has a small team to fabricate prototypes in house.
VCarbon says it can eliminate all foam and foam energy loss through its patent pending design.
They use a carbon composite outer chassis with the foot suspended above any ground contact by a non-stretch cradle, a very taut trampoline, if you will of woven Kevlar fabric with above that a conventional sockliner.
Instead of the runner’s weight depressing foam layers, your down forces on the run deflect the carbon chassis as the Kevlar cradle is totally non-stretch.
The feeling on the run is unique. One clearly feels there is no big stack of soft foam compressing as there is none. The chassis stays all of a piece and rigid (with some deflection of the chassis but not sensed as such). The ride is highly directed with the rocker moving you forward dramatically (the rocker geometry is easily tunable through the shaping of the chassis) yet at the same time there is no sense of real sense of impact shock or instability.
My run was very brief but exciting and we hope to more fully test a “cobbled together” pair in the future.
Commercial availability is unknown at this time.
EUROPE Men's & Women's SHOP HERE
AUSTRALIA Men's & Women's SHOP HERE
AMAZON Men's & Women's SHOP HERE
3 comments:
"... a very taut trampoline". Neat toy but are we now at the point where we can admit running is no longer running but just 'materials assisted bouncing'?
Sam’s review of the shoe said no energy loss and surprisingly little shock, no mention of the shoe being bouncy. I do recall a Pybex ad showing a steel ball bouncing higher on their foam compared to others, maybe that’s the toy foam ad you were thinking of.
Sam and his team maintain a fine site and forum but one senses a certain manufacturer's narrative desperation when their comments stray into trolling, mangled attempts at mischaracterization and apparent wilful lack of reading comprehension.
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