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Single Tracks Blog
Meet the KEEN Coronado Cruiser Shoe
Posted January 26, 2010 by element22
Hi folks, here’s another cool product from KEEN geared toward mountain bikers: The Coronado Cruiser ($80 MSRP). Although it’s not really a technical riding shoe, this is one of those products that is great to just kick around in. As its name implies, this shoe is for cruising (stylin’ while ridin’) and it kinda brings me back to the days before complicated, high tech bike equipment.
The Coronado Cruiser combines breathable canvas, soft leather, and recycled rubber to make a relaxed summer shoe. The sole is made up of two different compounds: the outer sole is harder, longer-wearing, and non-marking while the inner sole hides a panel of soft rubber under the ball of the foot to help your foot grip the pedals.
One of the coolest things about the Coronado shoes is that they’re made from recycled materials. With an eye toward the environment, Keen has chosen to use recycled rubber in the soles and recycled aluminum in the hardware. Even the packaging material is recycled. How’s that for corporate responsibility?
Taking these to the street on both my mountain and DJ bikes I found these shoes to be pretty grippy on flat pedals. Now these are not a shoe to hit the slopes with, but on those lazy days when you’re just riding around for fun, these fit the bill nicely. Still, there’s a bit of added room in the protected toe box and the area under foot is reinforced for stiffness which translates into greater pedaling efficiency.
Check out KEEN and their expanded Spring/Summer 2010 Pedal Shoe Collection. These shoes meet the basic needs of cyclists with stylish, comfortable shoes, socks, and bags that are ready to roll. The Pedal Collection includes KEEN cycling favorites, as well new styles that will enhance the biking lifestyle and should be available in stores now.
Features
- 3/4 length plate for increased energy return and support
- Non-marking rubber outsole
- Soft rubber forefoot pod for pedal grip
- Vulcanized eco-friendly construction
Thanks to the folks at KEEN for providing the Coronado Cruiser shoe for review.
Tags: bike, coronado cruiser, cycle, mountain biker
I bought these shoes last week. I would have preferred this style with SPD cleat option.. but they’re still nice.
Wasn’t precisely what I was searching for but started reading the initial few lines and it was useful so ended up reading the complete post, thanks.
I’ve had these for about a week now. There are several things I like about them:
1. The recycled materials
2.They are cool (the literal meaning) in warm weather.
3. The stiffener in the sole is quite good for walking. The shoes do not have the “wooden shoe” feeling of other cycling shoes). Pedaling efficiency is fair; better than plain rubber-soled sneakers. A little more stiffness in the ball of the foot would have been appreciated, though. But you can’t satisfy everybody.
4. The temporary shoe horns and the two pair of laces are nice touches. My “black/black” shoes looked a little clownish with the white laces, so the black ones provided were appreciated.
The problems are as follows:
1. Expensive for a Chinese-made canvas/rubber/leather shoe. I understand the construction is more complicated than a simple canvas sneaker, but still, 92 dollars direct from Keen is a lot for this shoe. If this results in fair wages for the Chinese workers, then I do not mind. Wages and conditions for many Chinese factory workers are truly shocking (See the documentary “China Blue).
2. The biggest problem: The grommets (eyelets) are basically tubular, with a little recessed area on the inside of the inner surface. The problem is that my otherwise-correct-fitting shoes have an eyelet located where the bone that corresponds to the first (lower) joint of the big toe is located. This means that you have a piece of metal pushing into that place, albeit with the tongue material in between. I tried lacing differently (looser), but I still got a nasty little lesion in that place. Basically I am cautiously breaking in the shoe by stages, but really I’m breaking in my foot just as much. Waiting until a callous develops there; it’s coming along and I think I’ll be able to keep the shoes, because I do like them otherwise. Nothing freakish or unusual about my feet, I don’t think.
I do think this is a design flaw, and if you encounter the same problem, I suggest you make a decision right away as to whether you want to follow a plan to “tough it out” (the pad of a band aid right on the vulnerable spot helps a lot), or return them while they’re still in new condition. The grommets should be flattened-out or concave on the inside, I believe, at least in this area (first or second eyelet from the bottom). As to the price, it is right around 80 bucks wherever you look; with free shipping and no tax you’d save $12.
3. The Keen signature wide-toe look results in great comfort for lounging and walking, but could be narrowed for this shoe, as it limits you somewhat as to pedal position. Most cranks are (regrettably) bowed-out now, to help the heel clear wide chainstays. So I like to position the foot as far inward on the pedal as practical, and the wide toe does not clear the crank arm if you place your foot too far in.
One thumb up at this point, with plusses and minusses taken into account. Could get another half thumb if my break-in regimen works out.
Chas.