Michelin Tire Tech for Shoe Soles?

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"…………….Michelin will markedly increase its activities in the footwear sector following the signing of an agreement with Chinese textile firm the Jihua Group on 26 November……………………………………………………
Jihua and Michelin, represented by their respective entities JV International and Michelin Lifestyle, intend to identify pertinent solutions in a market they see as hungry for technology. The purpose of the partnership is to manufacture and distribute high-performance soles with a view to securing a five to ten per cent share of the market (some 500 million pairs of soles) within the space of five years………………"

http://www.tyrepress.com/2014/11/michelin-becomes-sole-supplier-to-footwear-market/

Personally, I would like to see some winter shoes with soles based on the XIce Xi3.
 
"High-performance soles" and "Michelin Lifestyle?" Sounds kinda like a Super Sport.

I run faster and jump higher in my PF Flyers.
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I used to have a pair of...Reebok's?...that had soles made from a Goodyear compound they had used on Indy Tires.

it was back in the mid 90's... i don't really remember the brand, or what the line was called, but there were air chambers under you heel, and the ball of the foot, connected by a tube, and as you walked the air would scoot back and forth to cushion your step.

edit:
basically These, in a mens 10, in black. wore 'em for Marching band through HS.
 
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Funny for me to see this thread..yesterday as I took a fall onto my back, hurting my elbow and wrist..I was thinking how cool it would be for Nokian to use their rubber as a sole for winter boots/shoes..I think it would be brilliant..I would buy a pair for sure..lol..but they better make them in size 16!
 
Originally Posted By: mjk
will they prematurely dry rot?
The Michelins shoes would dry rot a lot that's for sure!
 
My 9 year old daughter has this "tech" on the soles of her Babolat tennis shoes. There is a little michelin man on blue sole.She thought it was a ghost.

The shoes have barely worn in 1 year and average of 2+ hrs/day of tennis but but alas she outgrew them of course.....We since moved onto New Balance due to cheap prices of them at the factory store.

chaussures-babolat-sfx-bleu.jpg
 
LOL. The average consumer doesn't know what a Michelin is, and would not buy said shoes unless if they were stupid cheap. Meanwhile, 50% of gearheads would buy on name alone while the other 50% would avoid due to fears about dry rot.
 
Originally Posted By: SubLGT
Studded shoes are available:

http://icebug.com/int/grip-tech/grip/bugrip/


One year I drove sheet metal screws into the soles of my running shoes so I could run through winter.

It actually worked out pretty well, except for the one time I got poked in my big toe - but I moved that screw to a thicker part of the sole and all was good!
 
Originally Posted By: asiancivicmaniac
...and I will still be buying New Balance because they still have shoes that are made in the U.S.

There's a lot of controversy over that. The uppers are made and sewn overseas - all of them. They can say that it's made in the US if at least 70% of the value in parts and labor are in the US, but of course this changes all the time. Even if the only part actually made in the US was the EVA foam, if the cost of labor to glue the parts plus the cost of making this foam is at least 75% then it's considered made in the US and can be labeled as such. Of course it costs far less to make the uppers in China than it would here, so it's kind of gaming the system since the bulk of what most would consider to be the shoe (outsole and upper) is made in China.

Some of them look like they have a newly applied heat-glued label instead of their standard label. Sometimes they have to determine if their "content" meets the requirement depending on fluctuations in labor or part pricing, and apply a different tag in that case.

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/36476797/ns/business-us_business/t/new-balance-sidesteps-ftc-ad-rules/
http://www.wsj.com/articles/new-balance-shoe-materials-arent-all-u-s-made-1412109111
 
Nike had a shoe a long time ago(20+ years) ago called the Gridstar - it was a "turf trainer" but the sole looked a lot like a Goodyear Wrangler. Puma and Goodyear had a joint collaboration. Conti and Adidas also collaborated as well.
 
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