TEVA Links shoe

Teva review.....as seen on PB

"Before you go throwing away your 5.10 stealth rubber soles, hold fire
hardcore gravity racers, these Teva Links will not be your first choice
for dropping out of the start gate"


Teva Links - Jeff Lenosky Signature Shoe - Reviewed



by Simon Paton
Aug 24, 2011

The Teva "Links" Jeff Lenosky Signature Shoe

Teva Links Shoe
The
Links shoe is a flat pedal, mountain biking shoe made by Teva and was
designed and developed by Jeff Lenosky with twelve months of serious
input from him. We hooked up with Teva at the Fort William World Cup
where they were displaying a full line of adventure shoes, as I would
call them. Understandably, a performance shoe designed by the Godfather
of urban freeriding would be great looking as well as engineered to
excel at the local jump trails, skate park, BMX and of course, urban
street sessions. Teva’s Links shoe sells for $100 USD, or £85.00 if
you’re U.K based.

Teva Shoe Tech Points: (clockwise from upper left)
The Links' sole tread is made from Teva's Spider 365 sticky rubber,
molded with directional wedges and triangular dimples designed to keep
the pedal centered on the shoe. Teva's shock-absorbing heel stabilizer
is a great bonus with solid rubber panels and a tough external frame
that ensures your heel is very well supported and protected. "Flexible
Armor" located on the front and side areas is a fine rubber mesh layered
over the shoe to protect from sharp pedals and all things nasty.

Jeff
riding the new Tevas during a street photo session in New Jersey.
Having a shoe that sticks to the pedals really helps, as does Teva’s
padded heel when you have to make it back to the pavement without the
bike.

Teva Links shoes come in 2 colorways with the high performance "Flexible Armor" and one in casual black without the rubber armor.

Teva Links Details
Shoc-Pad
heel: Teva was sharp to design a shock absorbing heel cup into the
Links shoe (think Nike Air Max, but without the visual bubble) to
provide some cushioning should you have to throw the bike mid-jump.
While some may question if a heel cushion is needed on a MTB shoe, the
answer is ‘yes’ for those who will be collecting air miles, and ‘no’ for
those who plan on staying near the ground. All said, the feature is
prudent insurance for that moment when you are bailing, mid pack through
the trails and a big hole awaits.

Intelligent sole design:
Teva’s 365 sticky rubber sole compound ensures that your foot will stay
put, and for added control, the sole's main pedal contact area has over
100 three-millimeter-deep diamond shaped holes which are perfect spots
for your pedal’s pins to locate. Near the front of the sole is a wavy
wedge grip that helps center the pedal for climbing. The rear of the
Teva sole has similar shaped wedges aligned in the reverse direction to
get you down the hill safely.

Ion-Mask Technology:
Teva originally developed their shoes around water based activities, so
water resistance is a theme that prevails throughout their lineup. Ion
Mask keeps most of the water out of your shoes, while allowing the
material to breathe a little. If you keep the Tevas submerged, or ride
wet conditions all day, water will eventually make it to your socks, but
Teva’s Ion Mask treatment is perfect for splashing around for two to
three hours in the rain. Would you really want to go out and get them
dirty though?

Weight: For those who are
interested, my US size-eights weigh in at 440 grams each. A Shimano
AM41 in the same size is 20 grams lighter.

Jeff Lenosky (right) puts his purple Teva's to task against Dave Smutok during an dual-stunt competition.

The Performance
Before
you go throwing away your 5.10 stealth rubber soles, hold fire hardcore
gravity racers, these Teva Links will not be your first choice for
dropping out of the start gate at the Fort William World Cup Downhill
track. I know some riders personally think the 5.10s are too grippy, as
once your foot is planted on the pedal it's there for good. The Teva
Spider 365 rubber is grippier than the Vibram soles you see on the likes
of Shimano offerings yet it still allows for slight adjustments on the
fly, mid pedal stroke.

Pinkbike's Take
Our
only complaint about Teva and Lenosky's great performing freestyle
shoes is that we hate to get them dirty. So, if you spend most of your
time at the jumps and you can live with yourself after trashing such a
nice looking shoe, then the Links is your next MTB purchase. Pop these
on Sunday morning, drive to the trail center, wear them out on the bike
all day in comfort, and then hit the cafe after for a bacon sandwich in
style. I've been running Teva Links shoes for three months with no
failures and I haven't taken them off. Can someone tell me if they still
sell Odor Eaters?


Want more info on Teva or where to buy the Links shoe? Click here for Teva's website. While you are at it, give Pinkbike your thoughts on this new freestyle/jumping shoe.

I wish you could pan down...these guys are definitely wearing Links.


The soles sound fun to try. But I like to wear my gay on the inside.

So you would stuff your shorts with those shoes? Just like your friends in the pic. I agree, pretty gay.

can't be better than 5.10 5.10 is perfect 5.10 has no flaws 5.10 is god!

grantw wrote:can't be better than 5.10 5.10 is perfect 5.10 has no flaws 5.10 is god!

Spam. TRUTH....but spam.

+1 for Five One Ohz.

Those Tevas are for divas.

Mint Sauce wrote:

Those Tevas are for divas.

So your saying you have one of every color.

^^^^^^ummmmm WTF!!! DAT are you cheating on me?

I would get the purple ones if they came in smaller sizes... but only because it comes in purple.