NitroPye

Since I know a lot of you use clips / straps so shoes are an important part of you ride I thought I would link these. Not my style, but I figured might be someone's style. The "vintage" model looks like a good canidate for a shoes / clips / straps combo.

They are also all models $15. Not sure how they are pulling it off but I have a feeling it has something to do with me just being brain washed into thinking shoes should cost more.

https://www.starbury.com/

Straws

it's because it's a Steve and Barry's brand. They'll fall apart in mere hours, I guarantee it.

stbtra

word.

Michael Is Cool

i have a pair of starbury II's and they seem to be holding up fine.

darksiderising

$15: $14.99 more than the hourly wage of the person who made them.

Cyclist0383

What's the story with Steve and Barry branded goods? I've never heard of them.

vee_dub

I use china made Kung-fu shoes, set me back US$5.

jussik

All FUGLY too.

Legalize It

Yall should do your research on them shoes. Ive heard about them. Ben Wallace wanted to do something to give an alternative to expensive shoes, like expensive Jordans. So he joined together with Steve and Barry to release inexpensive shoes that were comparable in quality to any other shoes available at Foot Locker or Sheikk.

And btw theres no "Vintage" model out of all those shoes that ive seen. But maybe im wrong.

shogun17

a lot better than paying 5 times as much for nikes even though the makers still get the same **** wage.

fordfasterr

I think the one he meant was the Mirage model. I like it !

BMonei

Cheap shoes = smelly feet.

cavit8

https://www.thenation.com/doc/20061002/southpaw

Severian

Interesting.... they look like nothing I'd buy. But, if this guy is legit (500k of his own money?) this seems pretty cool.

The Nation article is light on words from fair trade activists though. The only quote is their worry that the shoes are made in china and therefor CAN'T be fair labor. according to them.

NitroPye

Ya I don't know. Personally I don't like any of the designs but then again I have had the same two pairs of footwear for years: a pair of boots, my cleats.

I think it is possible to have good quality products on the cheap like this, and I do feel that most of the "cheap will fall apart fast", "cheap is bad for your feet", "cheap makes you get foot fungus" is the wonderful marketing of Nike et al over the years. Expensive doesn't mean good.

As for the labor involved in making these shoes, I try to give the benefit of the doubt, and it is possible that fair labor happens in China. I do think think it is ridiculous that you pay $100 for a pair of name brand shoes and they were made by sweatshops.

charlesxbronson

I would rather not possibly be wearing shoes that were covered in overworked children's blood.

Oh No

too bad you're using a computer soldered together by overworked children huh.

charlesxbronson

UR RONG, i avoid it at all costs.

sometimes i'm tricked.

ryansexton

Who cares about the children...

DEY TOOK URRRR JOBBBBBBS

Oh No

thats respectable.

darksiderising

It's all machine-soldered these days. And what's wrong with someone trying to reduce the amount of slave-labor that they support financially?

Severian

If you throw your computer out it'll probably get stripped of parts by overworked children. Quite often undocumented immigrants here in the United States. Or in junk piles in China.

darksiderising

I guess the whole cheap-labor system is a bit complicated. We rely so much on it. It's hard to even comprehend how goods and services would be manufactured and delivered without cheap/slave-labor somewhere along the line. And it's everywhere. Most of the material for chipsets comes from poor South American areas, I think (I may be wrong, I'm vaguely remembering someone telling me this).

brunop

no they don't.

darksiderising

Nice, insightful article. Thanks.

On a line more related to the topic of this thread, it seems like people posting in this thread who have actually worn these shoes seem to like them. Or have the folks guaranteeing that they'll fall apart had experience with them, too?