BallReviews
General Category => Miscellaneous => Topic started by: Matt Fortney on December 29, 2012, 08:44:17 PM
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Basically, what I'm wondering is, has anyone out there taken a pair of every day street shoes (non marking hopefully lol) and turned them into bowling shoes somehow? Whether you replaced the sole altogether or modified it? If so, did you have any luck? Would you try it again? Did they last at all? Just kind of curious because I know people must have tried it. Thanks.
Matt
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You're right, someone has done it before. I remember reading about the process here some years ago. Hopefully they will comment on this here.
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If I remember, someone created a sole that went over your street shoes.
Not sure if its still around.
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Industrial velcro and a strong, yet flexible, adhesive should suffice fairly well with all the interchangeable soles and heels on the market today....
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http://www.ballreviews.com/miscellaneous/talk-about-stooping-to-an-all-time-low-t228426.15.html (http://www.ballreviews.com/miscellaneous/talk-about-stooping-to-an-all-time-low-t228426.15.html)
Trying to find that old topic but so far no luck. The above link makes mention of having street shoes turned into bowling shoes by a shoemaker.
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Yeah when I was first wondering about it I kind of did the same thing. Searching the archives for a topic on it. I wasn't able to really find anything specific either. I could take shoes to a shoesmith i'm sure, but honestly, it's more out of boredom than need. I really just want to see if I can do it and make them half way decent.
Matt
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Okay, found the one I remembered reading. This is it, but not really that much info:
http://www.ballreviews.com/miscellaneous/custom-bowling-shoes-t242127.0.html;msg1168618;topicseen#msg1168618 (http://www.ballreviews.com/miscellaneous/custom-bowling-shoes-t242127.0.html;msg1168618;topicseen#msg1168618)
Another one with a bit of info:
http://www.ballreviews.com/miscellaneous/customized-bowling-shoes-who-has-done-it-t200280.0.html;msg928201;topicseen#msg928201 (http://www.ballreviews.com/miscellaneous/customized-bowling-shoes-who-has-done-it-t200280.0.html;msg928201;topicseen#msg928201)
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Yup. That's the one I remembered too. And that's about the amount of info I remember being in it too lol.
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Hey, I was lucky enough remembering that I had read something about customized shoes without remembering how much I had read. :)
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You could always use a Bowlers Slide Sock over the shoe as long as the heel does not leave marks.
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Well...here's what I'm thinking. I have this old pair of Nike's with a flat sole. The bottom like, 1/8" is blue, the rest of the sole is white. So on my slide foot, If I cut the blue portion off of the heal and sole area, and maybe use like rubber cement to attach some velcro, I'd be able to stick on a sole and heal...and it should stick up a bit higher than the rubber left in the middle portion, so essentially...what would contact the lane would be exactly like bowling shoes. And the sole on the non slide foot is non marking so that wouldn't be an issue. The only real issue I might run into is how long they would last. I'd hate the velcro to just come unglued mid slide lol. Rubber cement is the only highly adhesive/semi-flexible glue I can think of to use to attach the velcro.
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Ive done it twice. The first pair i did it with was a pair of Adidas Shells, the second ones i jist recently did are a pair of Nike Ken Griffey Jr G-6. Both pair turned out great. For the push away shoe i didnt do nothing with it. But the slide shoe, all i did was grind(or melt lol) the toe and heel down flat or as close to it as possible without leaving i foot uneven then the other. After that i just used the wide velcro you get at walmart or a craft store and stuck it to the sole and heel. Trimmed off the extra and the were ready to go. Just jave to trim the sole and heels that you use. Big problem was with the toe i found that 1drop of super glue works well.
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My question is why bother? It seems like too much work, too much effort, with not much upside. The big thing I don't understand is the fascination with expensive shoes to begin with. I now it's a fashion thing and a status thing with bowlers, but i would much rather spend money on balls rather than shoes. I had shoes from Sports Authority for 6 seasons, two leagues in each, and they just died last year. They were $30 and got them as a present. My new dexters are almost bottom of the line and i can outbowl most, even if they have fancy shoes. I would love SST8's, but again, unless your bowling in 4-5 different houses with extremely different approaches (tacky wise) there's no real need. Just my two cents.
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I only paid $25 for my griffeys. Already had the velcro. Took about 25 mins to do the shoe. And my dad gave me the soles to use. So i got a total of $25 in my shoes and im the only one in my region with a pair of custom shoes.
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My question is why bother? It seems like too much work, too much effort, with not much upside. The big thing I don't understand is the fascination with expensive shoes to begin with. I now it's a fashion thing and a status thing with bowlers, but i would much rather spend money on balls rather than shoes. I had shoes from Sports Authority for 6 seasons, two leagues in each, and they just died last year. They were $30 and got them as a present. My new dexters are almost bottom of the line and i can outbowl most, even if they have fancy shoes. I would love SST8's, but again, unless your bowling in 4-5 different houses with extremely different approaches (tacky wise) there's no real need. Just my two cents.
Although we differ in the thoughts on the need for changeable soles, I agree that paying the price they typically ask for them is ridiculous. I've always had interchangeable soles back when I used to bowl at several different centers per week, and kind of stuck with them. I'm glad I did because the center that I bowl at just switched last season to synthetic approaches, and to this day they might be tacky as can be one week, and slippery like ice the next. Overall, I do think a good, reliable, quality pair of shoes is important. Important enough for the price tag... debatable lol.
On the other thing you brought up...turning the shoes into bowling shoes...there really isn't much a point. I know that. Honestly, like i said it's more a boredom thing and to see if I can do it. It's a pair of shoes that's been sitting in the closet....I have extra soles and heels from old bowling shoes laying around, and the velcro is going to cost me what? 5 bucks? Kind of have the question of whether or not I can in my head now lol.
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My question is why bother? It seems like too much work, too much effort, with not much upside. The big thing I don't understand is the fascination with expensive shoes to begin with. I now it's a fashion thing and a status thing with bowlers, but i would much rather spend money on balls rather than shoes. I had shoes from Sports Authority for 6 seasons, two leagues in each, and they just died last year. They were $30 and got them as a present. My new dexters are almost bottom of the line and i can outbowl most, even if they have fancy shoes. I would love SST8's, but again, unless your bowling in 4-5 different houses with extremely different approaches (tacky wise) there's no real need. Just my two cents.
Agree totally about it being a matter of fashion/status. I bought the sst8 wht/blk shoes more due to liking their looks than the need for high end shoes. I'm much more into golf than I am bowling. Golf shoes have advanced by leaps and bounds in both looks and tech in comparison to bowling shoes. Apparently not enough money to draw the big name manufacturers into the bowling shoe market.
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My question is why bother? It seems like too much work, too much effort, with not much upside. The big thing I don't understand is the fascination with expensive shoes to begin with. I now it's a fashion thing and a status thing with bowlers, but i would much rather spend money on balls rather than shoes. I had shoes from Sports Authority for 6 seasons, two leagues in each, and they just died last year. They were $30 and got them as a present. My new dexters are almost bottom of the line and i can outbowl most, even if they have fancy shoes. I would love SST8's, but again, unless your bowling in 4-5 different houses with extremely different approaches (tacky wise) there's no real need. Just my two cents.
Although we differ in the thoughts on the need for changeable soles, I agree that paying the price they typically ask for them is ridiculous. I've always had interchangeable soles back when I used to bowl at several different centers per week, and kind of stuck with them. I'm glad I did because the center that I bowl at just switched last season to synthetic approaches, and to this day they might be tacky as can be one week, and slippery like ice the next. Overall, I do think a good, reliable, quality pair of shoes is important. Important enough for the price tag... debatable lol.
On the other thing you brought up...turning the shoes into bowling shoes...there really isn't much a point. I know that. Honestly, like i said it's more a boredom thing and to see if I can do it. It's a pair of shoes that's been sitting in the closet....I have extra soles and heels from old bowling shoes laying around, and the velcro is going to cost me what? 5 bucks? Kind of have the question of whether or not I can in my head now lol.
That makes sense then. It would be neat to try. I'd always be worried that it would break, mid slide, and I'd wind up on my face! LOL. Good luck with them.
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Ive used mine for over 2 seasons and never had a problem with them. Good luck if you have any questions just shoot me a pm and ill be more than happy to help you.