Summary: A cross between a street
boot and a motorcycle boot that is successful at both. Nice styling and
high-quality construction combined with comfort on and off the bike make
these a winner.
It's not uncommon to see motorcyclists in Europe
fully outfitted in leathers, race boots and other protective gear.
Civilians don't give them a second look, because, well, that's just the way
a motorcyclist dresses for the road.
But walk into a shop or a diner in the States
with your one-piece Alpinestars and chins hit the table. People just
aren't used to seeing "real" motorcycle clothing, and a full leather outfit
is considered to be somewhere between pretentious and foolish.
It's a shame really, because proper riding gear
for our sport should be accepted just as much as in any other.
Remember when you could ride a bicycle wearing a pair of shorts and a
T-shirt? Now if you're not wearing Lycra tights, fingerless gloves,
clip-on boots and a Camelbak, you're a dork. Didn't it used to be just
the opposite?
I should be past the age where I care about
these things, but hey -- nowadays, everyone has to look cool, right?
Well, you can have your cake and eat it, too, with the new Shift Fuel Street
Shoes. Look cool and get a little protection on the side...why not?
Shift didn't say much about the Fuel Street
Shoes when they sent them over, probably because the marketing department
had yet to settle on a tag line for this new hybrid product, their first
motorcycle street boot. So when I
opened the box I thought "Oh, it's a nice-looking moto boot, right? No
wait -- they're street boots! -- No, they're motorcycle boots...!"
I asked Shift about the Fuel Street Shoe, and
they summed it up pretty neatly by telling me that the
Shift Lodown Riding Jeans and the Fuel Street Shoes were designed with a
similar philosophy: "A casual look that you can wear anywhere, with
features designed for motorcycling".
Multi-purpose gear in any sport is usually a
compromise, because it's either too biased towards one or the other or it
has features of all but is master of none. I think the Shift designers
hit it right on the money with the Fuel Street Shoes though, because they
work equally well both on and off the bike.
This is a pleasant surprise because nearly every
short motorcycle boot we've tried so far has been a bit of a compromise.
Hard toes, steel shanks and ankle cups are good for riding, but can get in
the way of walking.
The Fuel Street Shoes, as their name declares,
are biased towards the casual, but not by much. They're surely better
than a pair of Nikes for riding, yet they're comfortable to wear for
everyday use.
The quality of the construction is outstanding,
which I think you can see in the photos below,
and the choice of materials and the design is super. The styling is
a sort of cross between those shoes worn by race car drivers, a modern
athletic shoe and a motorcycle boot. The black fabric feels like
suede, and as you can see in these photos, it gives the boots a rich look and feel --
I was actually concerned about getting them dirty!
The piping that edges the combination split
grain and synthetic leather sections looks like it's made from a reflective
material, but unfortunately it's not, which is too bad, although it's
possible that reflective piping may not be compatible with the street
styling.
The rubber bars across the toes serve as
both a styling touch and shift pad and the Velcro ankle strap across the top
keeps the laces from coming unraveled and catching on the foot pegs.
One of the cool design features of the Fuel
Street Shoe is the "hidden" eyelets. The laces run through small
webbed loops in back of the material on each side, which helps to keep them
from getting hung up on the bike.
After wearing the boots a few times, the laces
loosened up nicely, making it easy to put the boots on and take them off.
There's a big grab loop in back of the ankle that helps also. Some
motorcycle boot lacing systems are either fussy or too complex, so Burn and
I shot some video to give you an idea of how easy it is to put on the Fuel
Street Shoes and get them laced up tight.
The strap across the top does a good job of
hiding the knot, and combined with the hidden eyelets, this keeps the
streamlined look even after the boots are laced. I also discovered
that I could tuck the ends of the laces behind the top of the boots on
either side of the tongue, which keeps the loops in the bow free from
snagging and also adds to the smooth look.
Shift Fuel Street Shoes are available in sizes 8
through 13 whole sizes only. I normally take a size 10.5 (US) or 44
Euro boot, and the size 11 Fuel Street Shoes fit just about true to size.
They're nice and snug along the sides and they provide good ankle support,
with some extra room in the slightly wide toe -- perfect for me and just the
way I like them. I don't like it when my toes get cramped!
Although they don't have hiking boot cushioning,
the boots are comfortable for walking and they quickly lost their new-boot
stiffness, feeling comfortable and broken in after wearing them about 3
times.
Conclusion
I really like the Shift Fuel Street Shoes; I've been wearing them both on
and off the bike and pretty much everywhere. I wear them with either a
pair of medium weight cotton socks or a thick pair of wool ragg socks, and
although the boots don't have any obvious venting, I'm surprised that they
don't seem to make my feet sweat, which is usually the case with most 8"
street boots.
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From "K.M.": "I read your review of the Shift Fuel shoe/boot
and have to say it was spot on! I have been using these shoe/boots for
about a month now and have nothing but great things to say about them!
I am not a "road-racer", just a "play-about" rider and find that
these boot/shoes really fit my need perfectly! They fit like a pair of
sneakers (and I often forget to take them off due to such)! The protection
is mild, at best, but more so than a plain pair of sneakers. The soles
grip well (so long as they are DRY...not good when wet).
They look and fit very cool and casual. I like wearing
them! As the old saying goes..."Any gear that gets WORN is more protective
than the gear in the closet"!"
