Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

purchased a less expensive cut and then covered up the imperfections that came with it. Another method, not often seen on expensive MX boots, that manufacturers use to cover up lower grade leather is a stamped pattern - like a pebble grain, for example. To test for correcied grain leather, bend the boot. If tiny wrinkles appear that make it look like the su rface of the leather is separating from the underlayer, it's probably been coated. It 's not always easy to detect , so don't be too quick to judge a boot until you 've compared a few. Side by side , it's quite easy to see the difference. McA lpine rated Hi -Point and Hondaline boots as having the best leather. Eithe~ would serve as a good sample for you to exarnme. The single most important feature of a boot by John McAlpine's standards is proper fit . The major cause of injury is a loose fitting boot and a n im properly designed boot cannot offer good protection from twisting or bending forces, He used the Hi- Point boot as an example for the industry to follow . T he pattern is cut so that the boo t very closely conforms to the shape of th e huma n foot . Firmly fitted , it offers maximum suppo rt. Bu t even th e best boot on the m arket will not protect you if it's too loose. W e've all seen riders wearing good boots that are too large for them. T hey look baggy around the ankles . T hose boo ts obvio usly are n ot supporting the a nkle; yours sho uld fit firm ly, just short of being tight, Dr. Meye r backed up those statements. All boots give a certain amount of su pport - "like an Ace bandage," he said - so the way they fit is important. He especially liked th e way the T ony D boot laces u p , then is covered by the t raditional MX boot flap . In fact, he added that he 'd seen Tony D boots used in treatment of broken legs . The cast would be removed earlier than usual, and the boot would provide suitable support for the half-healed.bone, ~ Boots, Dick Meyer explained , should be designed to support the foot , ankle and lower leg. They should . be designed to spread any force over the whole area rather than allowing it to concentrate on anyone area. Ideally, the boot should be very stiff and rigid with good padding to absorb the force over the whole . unit. Unfortunately, most people a lso want to be able to walk normally, and that prevents designers from coming up with the ultimate in foot protection for a rider. Dr. Meyer envisions a " Pro boot" made specifically for riding , probably only practica l for the professiona l racer who would wear the boot only while rid ing and not expect it to serve as a walking boot also . It wou ld be much stiffer through t he 1 foot/sole area; it would be heavily padded , a nd it would probably have a form of h in ge at the ankle to a.allo w movemen t-in on ly the intend ed direction. He's I almost described the Heckel boot - it lacks only the ~ padding in the foot /ankle area and that's no ' dou b t why he put Bu ltaco's plastic boot on top of his list. The list , we should explain , represents which e.boo t is best from only the safety viewpoint and does not take into account comfort or personal preference. . " If I were going to go out and buy a pair, " he added. " I' d probably pick the Tony Ds." G. noot weight is also a factor. Lightness is an advantage in one respect because once a boot starts moving due to impact , the heavier it is, the harder it is to stop. A heavier boot would have a tendency to move farther than a light one, in some cases possibly making the difference between a semi-serious twist of a joint (ankle or knee) and a broken bone or torn - ten don . On the other hand. a lighter boot is also an indication of a thinner piece of leather having been used in the boo t. T he result is a loss of stiffness and puncture protection. ry,;] The bottom line is this: Consider the safety Uaspects. First try some boots on, a nd then buy the trsa fest ones you can live with. Pro tection is what it's v'1 l1 a bout, so don't be "so ld" o n a product sim p ly beca use it's a neat co lor or because everybody else wears it. Be p ra ctica l. • I Full Bore List price: $74.95 . Distributor: Full Bore East (Div. of N,E,H, Corp.) 780 MainSt, Holden. Mass. 01520 Sizes available: 5-14. half sizes. E width Soles: Smooth (MX) or cleated (enduro) Color: Black w ith red. white and blue trim We ight 7 1b, 4 oa, Heckel List price: $85.00 Distributor: Bultaco International P.O. Box 62148 Virginia Bcti.• Va. 23462 Sizes available: 5%-13. half sizes. E w idth Soles: Smooth (M X) or cleated (enduro) Color: MX · Yellow with black trim Blue w ith yellow trim Enduro · Black with red trim Trials · Red with yellow trim We ight 7 lb. 6 oz. I T he old standby, Full Bore boots were among the first and the best real m otocross boots to show up in the U.S . back whe n m ost of us wore Sea rs linem an boots . It wou ld n't be exactly co rrect to say that they've been im p roving them constantly, although th ey have gone through some ch anges , Some of the changes wer en't tha t great, but the la test Full Bore boot rates high on ou r list. Despite their differi ng op in ions on wh at boot was the absolu te best, both John McA lp ine and Dick Meyer agreed that t he Fu ll Bore was number two on the listi ng of eight. And that's sort of like m ot ocross: two seconds is a darn good score. Som etim es it qualifies as a first overall. Const ruction -wise, the Full Bores ha d several ex cellent features. There's an overlay (shift pad) on the ,toe to protect both the boot "upper" and your toe from wear and tear, Two rivets at the heel help hold a highly stressed seam together. Staples are used to secure the outer sole, which has neatly chamfered edges and is on e p iece with the boot heel. The ne w Full Bore b uckles are the handiest, qu ickest a nd easiest to fasten among those we tested. There are no holes in the straps. the bu ckles grip the straps at any point that feels comforta ble to you. They also release quickly and easily. O nly time will tell whether they'll work after a season of h ard .. and perhaps muddy .. racing . If the buckles should corrode ba d ly, they p robably wouldn' t grip a nd •release pro pe rly. O nes we've seen with a few months use wer e still functi oning perfectly. An effect that McAlpine refered to as "the Full Bore Syndom e" is gone fro m the new models. Old er Full Bores had plastic toe a nd heel cups built int o th e boots, and it was a case whe re th ey'd literally wea r out before they b roke in . No longer is that the case , The new Full Bores can be worn and raced with immediately wit h a lmost zero break- in time. The soles are still stiff -- a good safety feature .. so the Frankenstein walk remains, at least for as long as we've worn the test pair. When the toes curl up and the ankle leather softens a bit more, walking shou ld become easier. The Full Bore ankle padding is excellent, as is the shin pad d ing . All in all, a very good boot. These French-made rigid plastic boots could have been the ultimate in dirt rider foot protection, but they have a couple or three shortcomings. And those flaws have been enough to turn many riders from using them . There seem to be no middle-of- theroad opinions regarding the H eckel boots . . people either refuse to wear them or they refuse to wear anything else . That very syndrome, in fact , was exemplified by our guest experts. W hen asked to list the boo ts 1-8 ranging ' from the best to the worst, McAlpi ne placed them in the number eight slot while Meye r gave them a qualified nu mber one rating. He said they offered the best protection, b ut he wished they were ligh te r'in weight. At 7 lb . 6 oz. a p ai r. the Heckels were th e heftiest boo ts in the test, W eight aside, the main com p laints against the H eckels a re ( 1) that t he absolutely bo m bproo f foot sections allow no "feel" for the shifter lever and (2) tha t they are not comfortable. Personall y. we co uld live ha ppily ever after wit hout feeling the shifter come in contact with the top of the boot toe. Of course, some bikes may present shifting problems to those wit h insensitive toes , but we've found no problems with any other than the older Sachs boxes. Comfort is another story, however. The hinge that is beautiful safety-wise leaves an ugly mark on many people's ankles. We tried wearing Heckels for a while once. just to see if we could get used to them or if they'd break-in at all. They never did . And all we had to show for it was skinned ankles . Don't write them off. though. They are highly protective .. probably the very safest boot you can buy. And some people can wear them with no discomfort, so before you decide either for or against the plastic boots , by all means try them . You may be p leasantly surprised. They could be improved by trimming some weight and by 'using a padding "sock" similar to ones we've seen in plastic hockey skates. With more padding to absorb shock and for comfort, plastic boots could corner the dirt rider boot market. HI·Polnt . List price: $n.95 Distributor: Hi·Point Accessories 3709 W . Erie Ave. Lorain. Oh, 44053 Sizes available: 5-13. half sizes Soles: Smooth (MX) or cleated (enduro) Color: Black leather w ith metal shin plate Weight 7 lb. According to our boot construction expert. these were the best. The standard of the industry. The material used in the Hi- Point boots is full grain leather, and it's used almost everywhere. Even in places where it's not necessary to have it like in the collar around the 21

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