Alpinestars and Achilles injuries…

They take material out of their boots for better feel more flex you will not have that issue with astars

Yea dont cut out any pieces of the boot and you should be fine. These guys are modifying their boots to be more flexible because 1. They have to race in new boots every week and 2. Top tier pros ride on the balls of their feet at all times and are hitting huge jumps where one miscalculation is a much harder hit than a weekend warrior. Dont cut anything off em just break them in like most ppl do and youll have no probs. 

What Pop and Travis said

Yup....Tomac and other pros remove safety features of the boots. 

I'm fairly sure it's more than the pros taking stuff out, I could be wrong about this but they get a full 'factory' boot that's quite different to the 'off the shelf' boot 

At what point does alpinestars notice the riders adjusting their boots to be more flexible, but stop them knowing there’s been 3 achilles in 2 years, and 2 in the same week.

I'm sure Astars tells them the risks. Riders keep doing it. It's on them. 

*Rodbell also tore his Achilles in 2023.  Also wears Alpinestars.  

And if I recall correctly, Vince Friese also had an achilles injury from A1 2023.  Also wears Alpinestars.  Just keep wearing the Alpinestars and droppin those heels boys.

This exactly. I got to ride with a pair of Eli's SX boots in 2016 thanks to a buddy and wow, that's the most feel I've ever had in a boot.  Incredibly thin/light but also very supportive, more so than the off the shelf ones.  The interior felt gutted like it was a mm thick.  They definitely had a ton of material removed from them as well as the special booties.  This was the previous gen tech 10, can't say exactly how the new ones are BUT, they likely are making alterations to the athlete's boots which have a slight vulnerability for the sake of feel.  

That’s what we’ve been told for Tomac. Do we have any confirmation that the other two were doing the same thing? People have said they do it because they have a new pair of boots every race, but Swoll did his achilles in practice and I don’t think he has a new set of boots every practice, as I’m not sure Ferry is on the « new set of boots every race » program either

My guess is other boots like Fox instincts are much more flexible, so riders run them stock. The Alpinestars are pretty stiff, so riders are probably modifying them too much and they end up less supportive than the other manufacturers.

Riding on the balls of your feet is inviting an Achilles injury, removing the stuff that is supposed to stop that injury from the boots is dumb. 

So its down to personal choices and risk.  And simple maths. 

If you pick up a pair of Tech 10’s off the shelf they are absolutely rock solid. They barely move at all. I don’t think it’s possible to take a brand new set of boots every week like these guys do and go and ride SX with the level of comfort and feel that they need. The only way to do it is to remove some of the rigidity of the boot, and when you do that, you leave the door open to injury 

If most people wear Astars than most achilles injuries will be people wearing Astars.  

These guys just need someone to walk around and break in their boots like Donn Meada did for Bubba and his Nike boots. 

I injured my ankle pretty good in a pair of Instincts and switched to Tech 10's in '23. I couldn't believe how stiff the Alpinestars were my first ride. Felt like I was walking in ski boots. 

I’d wear Vans before Alpinestars

I cant believe more people dont wear Sidi. They are super comfortable and quality is top notch. 

There is a tech 10 enduro now that doesn’t have that ankle lock out that the pros usually cut off. It’s still stiffer in that direction than most other boots. 

If it’s a known thing that the riders are cutting the boots, it’s kind of insane that Alpinestars would allow that to keep happening instead of modifying the boot design themselves. Thousands of hours of engineering and research go out the window when your professional athletes pull out the box cutter and scissors. Are riders taking a dremel to their helmet to open up the vents more in the summer? 

I don't think that's how it's happening. Pretty sure a stars is just making them custom boots. 

Definitely agree with this. As technique has changed and riders are putting more emphasis on ensuring they are on the balls of their feet, we will see more achillies injuries. Total speculation but on a similar note I think we have been seeing relatively less ACL injuries than before with riders keeping their feet on the pegs more in turns instead of hanging a leg off 100% of the time.  

Most of the 'custom' part of the top guys' boots is extra/different grip material on the inner part of the boot and they will get lace up or custom booties.  They do sometimes remove or alter the 'flexion bridge' which is the part between the first and second buckle.  That makes the boot much more flexible, but as we are seeing it also allows the boot to flex much further than it was designed to.  Same as riders not wearing roost guards, neck braces, super thin gloves, etc-they will favor feel over safety and always have.  Also more riders aren't just on the balls of their feet, they are riding on their toes which is way more leverage on your achilles.  I'd be interested to know if every rider having this injury also removed that flexion bridge-I'd be they all did.  I'll have to pay closer attention to Eli's boots now to see if he's now running it or a different version of it. 

Spot on. It's amazing how flat footed everyone rode 10+ years ago. Been trying to kick that habit for a couple years now 🤣

I tore mine in 2023 going through the Washougal whoops, wearing Tech10s. I remember looking at them before leaving for the weekend and thinking “After this weekend I need new boots.” And sure enough I should have replaced them one ride earlier.

There is always that balance of comfort/protection but I still think they make the best boot. Purchased a new set of Tech 10s after it healed and will continue to wear them. Just have to be cognizant of where your feet are when you’re about to land hard!

I agree, especially about the ACLs.  I think riders have ridden on the balls of their feet for decades or in the past, moved the feet around on the pegs between balls of the feet to arches in hard landings.  It wasn't always this or that and there wasn't as much focus on it.  As you noted, it's when they ride on their toes that the serious stress is put on the achilles.  And in the past, we had guys who would ride on their balls of their feet or toes mainly in the whoops, but in transitions, they were more back in the boot to being on the balls of the feet or partially the arches.  Now in the transitions, they are more forward being on balls of feet or toes.  Most guys aren't hurting their achilles while blitzing whoops, where they have to weight the rear edge of the footpeg to help maintain traction with the rear tire.  The issue is in G outs in transitions or on hard landings.  That's where guys are tearing the achilles.  In two years, you have Eli, Rodbell, Jalek, Evan Ferry, and Friese all damaging achilles tendons.  You used to never hear about this injury in years past, but you would hear of blown out ankles.  Has to be related to technique and in some cases boot modifications. 

The only issues I've ever had with astars,  the lower model boots tech 3 and tech 5s , when you are in ankle extension they almost want to pope my ankle out of socket and the whole boot folds inward. 

I had a pair of tech 10s that still did that when I rode.  So I switched to fox , the mobility and support on fox boots is the best for me.  

https://fastway.zone/product/22-4-023-0031s/

I ride flat footed, and have done forever, i had a big kicker off a small Supermoto jump onto a tarmac landing and landed with my feet right back on the rests, it it wasnt for both my heels hitting the deck, and the bike being lower than an MX bike, i would have done both of them. As it was , i had to get help to get on and off the bike for the rest of the weekend, think i was wearing Tech 7's . 

I get why people think its wrong to ride flat footed, but fuck them LOL.