2007 Bomber Shoe

Over the past couple years, the world of mountain biking has been undergoing a change in style. While riding styles such as freeride, downhill and street have evolved to create slopestyle, bike manufacturers have met the demand by developing new gear to suit the needs of these ever evolving riders. At the same time the mountain biking industry has begun to meet the aesthetic demands of these seemingly eccentric groups of riders by offering flashier parts and gear so that just about anyone can turn any rig into a would be show bike and look good while riding it at their local hill. For 2007 Marzocchi has entered the fray by offering some of the most killer looking footwear to hit the slopes with their Bomber Shoe.

Introduction:

The Bomber Shoe is nothing new, in fact Marzocchi took a good thing and made it better by partnering with Five Ten Footwear and using the Impact as the basic design for the Bomber. For those of you who don't know, the Five Ten Impact has been the standard for platform pedal footwear over the last couple of years offering grip to riders of flat pedals that rivals that of actually being clipped in with SPD pedals. Where Marzocchi has stepped it up is in the overall style of the shoe. By redesigning the upper part of the shoe using white leather and carbon fiber, they have created a shoe, which not only provides the performance of the Impact, but also takes on the look of a casual skate shoe.

Soles:

The first thing you notice when you pick up the Bomber Shoe is that it shares the exact same sole and toecap as the Impact. Obviously a “if its not broke don't fix it” approach, as this sole provides an insane level of grip on platform pedals. The secret to all this incredible grip is that the sole of the shoe utilizes a special rubber compound called “Stealth S1” which is a tacky, shock-absorbing rubber. It is this sole technology that sets these shoes apart from any pair of skate shoes you may be currently wearing to ride in.

One thing you will notice when first starting to ride in these shoes is that it does take some time to get used to the fact that once you put your foot down, its down and you will need to pick your foot up off the pedal in order to reposition it giving you the feeling of being clipped in. However when things go wrong you can always get your foot off the pedals and firmly planted back on tera firma.

Leather Uppers:

The upper of the Bomber shoes has been primarily redesigned and improvements over the Impact have been made. Most notably the use of carbon fiber along the inner side of the shoe along the ankle and top lace eyelet where you are most likely to have crank arms rubbing on your shoes as you pedal. On the Impacts over time, this edge was suede connected to mesh and would begin to fray and tear but on the Bomber the carbon fiber is connected to the leather upper via a double stitched seam making for a more durable and crank resistant connection. All the seams on the Bomber are double stitched and all areas of the shoe that may come in contact with roots and rocks on the trail are covered by the high wrapping sole and toe cap. The inside of the shoe is constructed from extremely durable ballistics’ nylon mesh allowing for your feet to breath on those hot days out on the trail.

Conclusion:

Overall Marzocchi has taken the Five Ten Impact and kept everything that makes them great, combined them with a few new technological improvements and provided a great new look to an already good shoe to create the Bomber. The retail price of $120 USD is well worth it, as you get a shoe which looks great when worn out and about casually as well as on the trails along with a highly durable shoe that will change the way you ride.

For more information check out www.marzocchi.com

Thanks to Brian and Joey at Cactus Bike for making this review possible.

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