New Balance MT-100/MT-101 Heel Shave

[Joe Riff]

I have seen photos and videos of Anton Krupicka taking a knife to the heels of his NB trail shoes to give them a neutral heel drop. Has anyone here ever tried it?

I bought a pair of MT-101's a few weeks ago for a winter time snow/ice shoe and some trail work. I tried them out on the pavement to get a feel for them before the snow flies and overall they are a nice "REDUCED RUNNING SHOE" as it were. I just have one complaint, my heel hits the ground much earlier and harder in my stride than it does in my Feelmax. This starts to get on my nerves after about 3-4 miles and I usually like to run 8-12 miles. I am considering doing the heel shave like Krupicka, but I'm worried about messing up the shoe. They appear to use a layered design and I don't want them to fall apart on me after I invested $70.

I don't get why they don't make them with a neutral or near neutral heel drop if they are designed for a forefoot strike? If the guy you're designing them around (Krupicka) is still taking a knife to them, shouldn't that tell you something about your design? Other than that, they seem to be a great shoe.

 

[Jimmy Hart]

In Krupica's case they are

In Krupica's case they are actually using his advice on the MT line to build the trail shoe in the minimus line. They made the MT's and he used them, made some recommendations, they changed a few things, and now they are basically building his ideal shoe in the minimus line as their trail shoe.

for the MTs there is a post on birthdayshoes.com where a guy had both the 100's and the 101's taken to a zero drop by a cobbler and i think he quoted it at a $25 cost. i'd rather pay a little to have a pro make my shoes look right rather than take a knife to them. unless you are sponsored and can get all the free pairs you want...

 

[jschwab]

I did it with my 790's which

I did it with my 790's which I got for $26 a pair on an Amazon sale, when I got real desperate. Would not do it with my 100's. For me they are all about having traction in the snow. I don't like the design, but if I run on ice, I might want them someday. Besides, they take a prominent place in my shoe shrine - shoes I don't intend to wear, but love (Kilkenny's, 790's, 100's). Actually I got a bruise on my foot the other day and the cushioned 790's came in handy for a few days until it healed.

 

[Jimmy Hart]

that's the benefit of having

that's the benefit of having a cobbler do it schwab. they can put the outer rubber with the traction lugs back on the shoe for you. the ones on b-day shoes look like they have never been touched.

 

[Joe Riff]

Jimmy Hart wrote:that's the

that's the benefit of having a cobbler do it schwab. they can put the outer rubber with the traction lugs back on the shoe for you. the ones on b-day shoes look like they have never been touched.

Thanks for the tip. If I can find a cobbler around here that can shave the heel to a neutral height and still preserve the traction layer, I'd gladly pay $25+ for it. You wouldn't happen to have a link would you? I did a search over there, but I couldn't seem to find anything. Thanks again.