Teva Makes Great Debut to Mountain Bike Shoe Market

Teva, thats "teh”-vah," not "tee-vah" have been around for 25 years, and have built their reputation on water based sports shoes, stemming from rafting operations in the Grand Canyon! Does this make them a suitable candidate for producing a mountain bike shoe? Well they have all the technology in place, amalgamated with a well chosen collaboration with legendary freerider Jeff Lenosky, they have produced a new purpose built flat soled freeride shoe.

But as a company Teva are not that unfamiliar with the mountain bike scene, supporting mountain biking at the Teva Mountain Games for the past five years and the event is now recognised as one of the premier freeride competitions.

They are a very environmentally aware company, and support many environmental initiatives such as the “Waterkeepers Alliance” and “Conservation Alliance”. They have a great company philosophy stating that-

“In the end, we want to make shoes that help you see the world, but not at the cost of making a world that you don’t want to see.”

Does this philosophy suit mountain bikers, yes I think it does! We are a curious breed who like to see new things, explore new areas and find special moments of solitary in beautiful environments. We love nature and being in the mountains, and if we can support a company who is dedicated to keeping the mountains the way they should be, that has got to be a good thing!

So as for the shoe itself, well we have been lucky to get some samples from Teva NZ to try out over winter, and the model we received to use and abuse is the “Link”. It is a great looking shoe, and the attention to detail is what really impressed me, they have obviously gone all out to produce a real competitor to try and dilute the 510 monopoly that is out there at the moment.

The first thing you notice when you pick them up is how light they are, they have definitely done what they can to keep the wait down without sacrificing performance and protection. The second thing you notice is the sole, which has three distinct sections to it. You have the main grip pad taking up most of the space perfectly where you want to have your foot on the pedal. Then you have a more aggressive tread design at the front and the back of the shoe. The front is to aid traction when walking up a trail, and the back section on the heel (Teva call it their E-Brake) has a reverse lug pattern to help aid traction when walking down the trail, very clever (great for trail building days!) There is also a rigid heel stabiliser to help keep your foot centred in the shoe.

These are all great little features that add to the overall package but the bit I like the best and will probably appeal to a lot of riders out there who like to ride a lot in the mud is the special technology that Teva have brought from their years of experience in the water sports industry to make the shoe resistant to absorbing water on a molecular level they say! Sounds very Star Trek, but Teva’s “Ion Mask” technology combined with waterproof materials throughout the rest of the shoe, means that the shoe should keep your feet a bit dryer and will be easier to wash after the end of a muddy ride! Love it!

So the nitty gritty! How do they ride? The sole is made from Teva’s “Spider365 sticky rubber” and to put any rumours to rest straight away, out of the box, the sole is not as glue like sticky as a 510, I would describe it to be more like a semi-worn set of 510’s. Is this a bad thing? For those of you who have been 510 users for a while will know that they are too grippy when new, and don’t start to feel their best until they do wear to a certain point, whereas the Teva Links feel like this straight out of the box. A lot of flat pedal riders use flat pedals because we like the feeling of freedom that being able to move your foot around on the pedal gives. We like the little positional shifts that happen so naturally when you are really flowing with a trail and in the air, and sometimes having a shoe that is too grippy really impinges on this.

On the trail, like any good product, you didn’t even notice them. Blasting down the Vertigo Trail in Queenstown Bike Park (which is rough and fast) I felt completely confident in the shoes from the first straight, jumping into braking bumps, rock gardens, roots and holes, there was no sign of them going anywhere on the pedals. After using 510’s for almost 10 years now, I was blown away that I could even think I could ride another brand of shoe, so well done Teva, you have hit the nail on the head with the Links!

These will be available from all good bike shops soon, including Vertigo Bikes!