Repair gouge in Vibram sole
 

Any idea how to repair a gouge in a Vibram sole? I have a chunk out of the side and center of a lug, cut by my cage-style mountain bike pedals. I've had these boots a total of three weeks and I haven't ridden that much with them, probably 100-160 miles.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...8e2bbdb330.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...7d0f804e5b.jpg


I got Vibram because I thought that compound was supposed to last, but now I see that Vibram is not a single compound but a brand which markets dozens of compounds and soles. The boot is Vasque Talus Trek UltraDry. They say the compound is Vibram XS Trek, which isn't listed on the list of compounds that I saw:

https://us.vibram.com/on/demandware....-june-2015.pdf

although it is mentioned in the following link, apparently trading off some durability for grip, hence my situation. (I did go hiking in wet weather yesterday, and I can verify that I kept my footing despite every opportunity to bust my a$$.)

XS Trek

I tried ShoeGoo but that didn't adhere, maybe because the tube is old. I was also thinking epoxy. There's also this StormSure stuff, which mentions curing so may be epoxy-related? Does rubber cure too?

https://www.stormsure.com/index.php/...-15g-tube.html

Any ideas will be very appreciated.

Bike-related because these are supposed to be my riding boots. Looks like I'll be going for different pedals now.

Is there a shoe/boot repair cobbler in your area? If Shoo-goo didn't work I'd check with them.

Dan

I had a pair of leather boots with Vibram outsoles resoled by a cobbler. Three months into a yearlong deployment to Afghanistan the outsoles started to separate from the boot. This was a less than ideal situation because Afghanistan. So with a sample size of one my experience with resoling boots has not been positive.

Ignore it. It will either get worse, or it won't.

That's not where shoes wear out from hiking. So you can hike as much as you want and ride as much as you want and you won't be doubling the wear.

In other words, do nothing.

The only sole repair option that works is a resole (with occasionally mixed results). Yours are not resoleable.

That's a good idea, I'll try that.

I might ask the cobbler what he/she thinks about slicing off the lug and putting a new one (block of similarly-shaped material) on with glue. It seems to me that I risk tearing off the front side of the damaged lug.

Getting some.

Wow - so much less than ideal.

Hard to accept the getting worse scenario with boots that are so new.

It seems like a dental cavity -- a situation that creates the circumstance for its own worsening, unwise to ignore.

Thanks. I agree, not resoleable.

From my experience with rubber soles, about all you can do is wear the shoes until the split gets bad enough to let water into your shoes. Then pitch 'em.

as others have said, wear them til they wear out then chunk them. and stop looking at the bottom of your shoes

IKR. I looked at the photo and thought "Seriously?" Talk about worrying over nothing.

you might snip that little curved part which might help prevent it catching on the pedal?

Yep! Glue rarely holds onto Vibram or any bendy stretchy material for any reasonable amount of time. It is emergency only. Water entry will compromise the entire sole adhesive and/or stitching (but stitching that can be renewed by a good shoemaker.)

Shoe goo is great for sneakers, etc. With real Vibram soles I would slice off the damaged lug to get a smooth surface (no crack) to prevent the cracks getting deeper. I did that with a pair of field boots and they are still good to go after about 14 well-cared for years. They were are my favorite field/hiking boot, full leather with kangaroo upper shaft and are light, foot formed and now unavailable. My damage was in the outer edge near where a pedal may hit.

I avoid pinned pedals for the reason that they can damage soles (and shins and calves).