Saucony Grid Type A2 - Tri Specific Shoes

I finally got some new shoes for racing this season. My old (and I mean old) pair of Mizuno Aeros served me well for a couple of years but they’re getting to the point of retirement. Maybe some training on the track but that’s about it.

I’m excited because after much searching I settled for a pair of Saucony Grid Type A2 race flats. These shoes are triathlon specific and have some cool features like pull loops for the heal and tongue.

The pull loops for the heal and tongue.

Other cool features are drain holes in the sole of the shoes for water drainage. The elastic strap to hold the tongue in place can get in the way when slipping on the shoe but isn’t much of a problem.

The drain holes run along the center of the shoe from heal to toe.

The insole has drain holes also.

The shoes are lighter than my Aeros too. I wear a size 14 and they come in at 238.5 grams (8.5 oz) compared to 335.7 grams (12 oz) for the Aeros. They have surprisingly good cushioning for a shoe this light and great flex throughout the entire shoe. These are for people with a neutral foot strike.

My old Aeros weigh almost 100 grams more than the A2

Saucony makes great shoes and to come out with a tri specific shoe is going to have the other shoe companies running to get a model into the multisport category. Zoot has come out with their tri specific shoe but at $130 compared to the $90 I paid, I’m happy with the savings. And Saucony had the Grid Type A out for well over a year before upgrading to the A2 while Zoot is just beginning to market theirs. Plus I think red just looks fast!

A new set of Yankz and I’m T2 ready!

Bad Luck with Continental GP 4000

Back at the end of '05 I had bought a pair of Continental GP 4000. I heard they had good rolling resistance and decent puncture protection. They didn't have the Kevlar belt but instead used what they call a vectran which saves in weight and is (supposedly) stronger than steel. I must admit that they do have a good ride to them. Although they weren't as fast as some other tires I rode, they were good enough for me to race on. I had put a couple hundred miles on them when one morning I flatted. But not just the tube, my front tire split across the silica tread. I was lucky that it wasn't too big and I put a boot patch and rode the 7 miles home.

I got kind of disgusted with the tire and put the second one on the side and bought a pair of Michelin Pro II for the P3. These are very nice tires and I like them a lot better than the GP 4000 I've got a close to a thousand on them and have yet to even flat them once. I finally put the second GP4000 on my road bike along with a Bontarager Lite that I had in the garage. I have about a thousand on these when the GP split. This time it wasn't just across the top tread but also down one sidewall. Again I was lucky and was only 1 1/2 miles from home. I had been riding up some of the ridges around the area and was going to go out to Waikiki and back for some high cadence work. No patch could salvage this blowout. I'm just glad it didn't happen on one of my descents.

I must admit that in both cases I ran over something. I looked but couldn't find anything. Yet I've rode over objects before and never had a tire split on me. After my first incident, I read some posts that others had the GP 4000 split on them also. It could be coincidence but my luck with these have been on the "not so good" side. I think I'll go shopping for another pair of Pro II.