Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - New cheap double straps in town from Velo-Orange

http://www.velo-orange.com/dotoeclst.html

Thoughts?

Their products are usually well researched and tested, so I'm holding out the unreasonable hope that these are noticeably better than the synthetic Soma doubles.

If they don't last long but feel alright, replacement isn't much of an issue at that price.

(Was out of town for a bit--hope this hasn't been brought up yet.)

QBP is offering cheap double straps through their dimension house brand. Im kinda thinking thats possibly what those are.

They seem to not have a laminate sandwiched in the middle, like the old SOMA ones.

edit: fwiw, I had the old soma ones. They didn't stretch horribly but did stretch noticeably. Worth $25 but not much more than that.

Meh, They might be worth it for $25, but I still wouldn't trust leather w/out laminate.

Meh, They might be worth it for $25, but I still wouldn't trust leather w/out laminate.

What about artificial leather (which is what those are)?

^I'm positive any <$100 double is going to be "artificial" leather. As I said these are most likely the exact same SOMA doubles before they added a laminate. Almost sure of it. And yes, no matter what the material it will stretch... stores will say anything to get you to click the "Purchase" button.

Soma's website indicates their straps are genuine leather. These indicate synthetic.

Soma's website indicates their straps are genuine leather. These indicate synthetic.

The site does not. And vendor sites indicate synthetic for the new "classic" laminated ones: http://orange20bikes.com/bikeshop/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=181

*NEW* Soma Laminated SYNTHETIC Double Toe Straps!!!


All I'm arguing is that the Velo Orange straps are the *OLD* version Soma ones without laminate, and they are barely worth $25.

they are barely worth $25.

Well at least we agree on one thing.

Worth it for finding out whether doubles are your cup of tea.

$25 is basically the cost of MKS singles (which turn unusably limp in a short time), and for this wannabe-vegan the synthetic aspect is a plus.

The older somas are way better than the new laminated doubles. I Broke the new doubles in less than four months of riding, in a very short time they were delaminating and simply falling apart causing them to snap down the line. Toshis are where its at though. If your getting doubles, its money well spent.

With that said, the old somas still arent worth much, but Id say for 25 bucks they cant be beat for the budget rides/beater bikes.

+1 for toshis. You're going to spend the same amount of money on toe straps in the long run. Might as well pay for it all up front.

Laminated straps are seriously the only way to go. I wouldn't ride anything else.

But I mainly ride clipless these days, so my "beater" pedals (beat up old Toshi doubles on MKS Sylvans) are just collecting dust :)

Those are probably the same as Dimension double straps.

I don't even ride fully brakeless and I've had stretching issue with the regular leather straps.

I ended buying some Toshi double's at my LBS and I've never looked back.

I've heard some issues with the Toshi's snapping when used with GR9's. But I can't really vouch for that.

****, I run toshis on my gr-9s..

i saw that at veloshop here in portland advertized as vegan double straps. interesting spin to serve to the local flavour du jour, eh?

spin is universal. nothing is without spin.

It never fails to amaze me when people walk into the shop wanting to buy the cheapest stuff or ask for used stuff. It's going to break. It's going to suck. Save your money. Disconnect the internet. Save that $20/month for ten months and get some nice straps.

It never fails to amaze me when people walk into the shop wanting to buy the cheapest stuff or ask for used stuff. It's going to break. It's going to suck. Save your money. Disconnect the internet. Save that $20/month for ten months and get some nice straps.

Holy ****, how much does your shop charge for toshis?!

400 dollars, and if you don't pony up he'll shoot hip rays out of his eyes at you which force you to leave.

I'm a total cheapass. I'll admit it. I bought a pair of those from AEBike and they're really cheap feeling. They're wearing out from me slipping my feet in and out of the straps. I don't know how long they're going to last but I'm guessing not terribly long, although I'm pretty easy on my stuff. Other than full out sprint starts, I don't put too much wear on my straps since I have a brake. I'm kinda weary of spending $100 bucks on something that can be removed from my bike without tools. If you want cheapo doubles, jerry rig some nylon straps together and call it a day. They're pretty durable. I actually made some using Gorilla tape, which is some hardcore duct tape. It's pretty much canvas with a sticky back.

I've heard some issues with the Toshi's snapping when used with GR9's. But I can't really vouch for that.

more info please...

do you mean toshi's are no good when you add longer bolts on gr9s? I dont understand why that would be.

errebi sprints for the win.

my errebis delaminated on me eventually. they were good while they lasted though. ive had good luck with MKS.

I haven't heard of a single pair of Errebi's that didn't de-laminate. If you're handy with leather or the DIY thing, I'm sure you could figure out a way to glue them back stronger than they were originally.

The site does not. And vendor sites indicate synthetic for the new "classic" laminated ones: http://orange20bikes.com/bikeshop/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=181

*NEW* Soma Laminated SYNTHETIC Double Toe Straps!!!


All I'm arguing is that the Velo Orange straps are the *OLD* version Soma ones without laminate, and they are barely worth $25.

According to the response I received after emailing Soma, they discontinued the non-leather doubles because they were not holding up as well as they thought they would. They are looking into a new way to make them.

Hm, thanks for the investigating. Soma has been confusing. I am just really wondering if they offloaded their original model (which sold for $40ish) to velo orange, which is now just rebagging them for $25?