Why do they say you have to replace your running shoes every 500miles(800km)?

This is why:

http://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/planned_obsolescence.asp

I know letsrun loves to interpret every situation as "the man" trying to screw them over...however in this case they say you have to replace your shoes every 500 miles because the shoes wear out after 500 miles...run in a pair of shoes for significantly longer than that and you will notice a difference

no consipiracy here folks (and if there is a planned obselesence (sp?) component to it...well the companies have to stay in business so they can sponsor those olympians we all love to watch)

running shoes feel more responsive when they are 1200 miles on them, and they still feel pretty good. Its actually amazing.

So the planned obsolescence concept is not complete paranoia.

You may be able to squeeze 750 or 1000 out of a pair of shoes in your early 20's but try that at age 30 or later and you will feel it.

Shoes break down. If you are trodding around in a pair that is past due to be replaced you may notice that your get some small aches in the legs and maybe feet after every few runs. Run in newer shoes and you will likely find they disappear in a couple days.

It irritates me no end how shoe companies replace a good shoe or change a good shoe. Then it is back to trial and error to find a suitable replacement. I have ended up buying 5 or 6 more of a shoe I like and stockpiling them for the future.

any comments here on what shelf life of shoes is, if they are properly stored?

Almost all trainers are made with EVA foam in the midsole.

As you know, this foam collapses with use.

In all of my shoes, the collapse under the point where I push off is considerable, whilst the rest of the shoe has very little collapse. This is the main problem, and the reason why we have to replace them.

what happens to the midsole if the shoe is not being used but stored, does it break down on its own over time?

Keep in a cool dry place away from sunlight, dust mites, boring insects, flesh eating bacteria, glue consuming ameobae, and EVA degrading viruses.

I like to put them in the walk-in humidor with my Cuban cigars.

You can't be serious? Apart possibly the Nike Mayfly, shoes break down from impact and funky foot sweat. Unless you want to break them out 20 years from now I don't think you will have to worry about dry rot.

Its like the industry says you 'need' to change your engine oil every 3000 miles. hahahahah

Now that I think about it your question does have some merit. I had some track spikes only race in twice toward the end of college. When I was approaching masters I got back in shape and used them once I passed 40 and noticed no breakdown or issues. I also had a couple pairs of trainers still in the box and over 10 years old following a long lay-off after injury and ran in them as I approached 40. No problems.

Other than being older and slower, they were fine for 55-70 mile weeks.

Mr Variety wrote:

Its like the industry says you 'need' to change your engine oil every 3000 miles. hahahahah

OK, so how often do we need to change our oil???

carguy wrote:

Mr Variety wrote:

Its like the industry says you 'need' to change your engine oil every 3000 miles. hahahahah

OK, so how often do we need to change our oil???

every 5-6k is fine

The Great Flagpolio wrote:

Keep in a cool dry place away from sunlight, dust mites, boring insects, flesh eating bacteria, glue consuming ameobae, and EVA degrading viruses.

I like to put them in the walk-in humidor with my Cuban cigars.

You can't be serious? Apart possibly the Nike Mayfly, shoes break down from impact and funky foot sweat. Unless you want to break them out 20 years from now I don't think you will have to worry about dry rot.

actually its not the dumbest post ever, its been documented there was leakage of air from the orig nike air midsoles

I wish I could get 500 miles out of a pair of shoes. I start to feel the wear at 300 miles (sometimes 250) and they are toast by 400. I ran in Brooks Axioms for awhile and never made it to 400 (prob not 350) before they had that dead feel and before I started to feel those little aches and pains.

I look at the replacement of our shoes this way; either the shoes wear out or you wear out. It's the price you pay to play the game.

wow dude, I run the adrenialine and mine have now got something like 700 on them and I am just now feeling the decay...

are you a very heavy runner? Do you wash them in the washing machine? What do you do with them?

echoplex wrote:

is this just propaganda from the running shoe industry aimed at making runners buy more shoes?

When you get a new pair of shoes try and squeeze the forefoot from the sides. You should find it to be very stiff and near impossible to do. Try it after 400-500 miles on them. You'll find its exceptionally soft and very easy to squish. Now maybe like "off the grid" you are just looking for something to protect your feet from rocks and such and don't really care if what you've got is squishy and not giving you an shock absorption. That's cool, whatever floats your boat.

Now whether or not the shoe companies can make shoes that don't deteriorate like this is another matter. It is, however, not a conspiracy that a running shoe after 500 miles is not doing the same things it was right out of the box.

I was thinking more along the lines of sarcasm than stupidity.

In any event, 'Nike Air' is the lubricant that keeps the Nike machine running smoothly and profitably. You can bet than any issue with the air product would be corrected quickly.

I did witness some accelerated Nike Air leakage - I had a bunch of runners over to the house one fall and had a bonfire in the back yard. One guy was sitting in a chair and had his feet fairly close (but not in the fire [FIRE-FIRE-FIRE-FIRE!!!] just enough to warm them) and a short time later we all heard an audible pop and hiss from his foot. The air pocket heated, expanded and popped. He said it felt weird walking around on a blown air sole.

This has always really bugged me

At 50 miles per week that means they will wear out in just 10 weeks. Do all you regular runners out there really buy new shoes every 2 1/2 months?

It’s amazing the amount of innovation they claim to be making and then don't seem to have made any improvement in this department

One more thing surely, if as in a lot of shoes a large element of cushioning is provided by air, this part is not going to wear out anywhere near as quickly?