heel sole ripped apart from shoe, crumbling liek cake, Nike Jimbo shoe

[Gonzalito17]

I got the old classic white Nikes that Jimmy Connors wore at the US Open the year he went to SF at age 39. Rainbow colors in achilles area. Don't play in them much, just walk around in them but the heel part of the sole just disintegrated and crumbled apart, now the back half of the sole of the shoe is like a flap and the white filler is like crumbling apart like a cake almost. It's crazy. I can't believe a Nike pair of shoes has completely fallen apart like this.

I feel like sending them back to Nike and asking for a new pair. These shoes are years old but the sole is barely used from mostly walking around.

Any suggestions of what I should do? Did not save the receipt. THanks.

[Mighty Matteo]

i dont think they will do anything if it has been longer than 2 years since they were manufactured

[Borrelli]

Originally Posted by Mighty Matteo

i dont think they will do anything if it has been longer than 2 years since they were manufactured

Wouldn't be the first time this has happened to a Nike product..



Sneakers in general don't age well. Remember, these things are made at a cost of like $10.00 and using slave labor to do so. just because we pay absurd amounts of money doesn't mean they're not made from a bunch of glued together rubber and foam. I know the shoes you speak of and it's probably the rubbery foam part that dissolved just like this pair of air jordans. Not much you can do about it. Should've worn them when you had the chance.

Edit: Hang them on your wall or make something cool out of them?

[MAXXply]

Originally Posted by Gonzalito17

I got the old classic white Nikes that Jimmy Connors wore at the US Open the year he went to SF at age 39. Rainbow colors in achilles area. Don't play in them much, just walk around in them but the heel part of the sole just disintegrated and crumbled apart, now the back half of the sole of the shoe is like a flap and the white filler is like crumbling apart like a cake almost. It's crazy. I can't believe a Nike pair of shoes has completely fallen apart like this. I feel like sending them back to Nike and asking for a new pair. These shoes are years old but the sole is barely used from mostly walking around.

Any suggestions of what I should do? Did not save the receipt. THanks.

Are you saying these are reissues made in the last few years or are they the original early 90s vintage? If the latter, then of course it would not hold up to current day use. My pair that I found in a Goodwill store has disintegrated in the same way. It has been over 20 years after all. Like all things in life, things come to an end. Even tennis shoes.

[Borrelli]

Originally Posted by MAXXply

Are you saying these are reissues made in the last few years or are they the original early 90s vintage? If the latter, then of course it would not hold up to current day use. My pair that I found in a Goodwill store has disintegrated in the same way. It has been over 20 years after all. Like all things in life, things come to an end. Even tennis shoes.

I don't think they retro'd that particular air tech challenge? On another note, I saw somewhere recently that Connors was playing a senior event and he had on the same pair of air tech's that he wore back in the 90's. Probably old stock that he had laying around. I'm surprised those didn't disintegrate immediately upon hitting the court.

[gavna]

It has nothing to do with the quality of Nike and the cost to make the shoes. It's a chemistry issue with the materials and how they react with sunlight, heat, humidity....etc. The mid layers of many tennis shoes are/were made with low density PU or PE and this stuff degrades over time. Same issue with rubber that is white how it turns yellow, brittle and hard with age and access to sunlight.

High density rubber both synthetic and natural last much longer - just look at the picture above - the sole still in decent shape but the mid-layer turns to dust.

And if you are smart enough to figure out how to prevent this from happening on low density PU/PE you would be a millionaire.

[Sinner]

These right?


But yeah, you gotta remember, the retros are over 10 years old, while the originals were from 1992/93. This happens to a lot of vintage sneakers (not just Nike's). It's not reasonable to expect sneakers to last this long, especially ones with foam midsoles (which tend to breakdown from humidity, heat, etc. as some have mentioned). I'm fairly certain Nike will not entertain a claim for a refund/exchange.

[gavna]

Love the fact you have he cajones to even ask about sending back shoes that are 20+ yrs old! Are the shoes defective? No! Things do degrade over time -

[bosssauce]

Originally Posted by Sinner

These right?


But yeah, you gotta remember, the retros are over 10 years old, while the originals were from 1992/93. This happens to a lot of vintage sneakers (not just Nike's). It's not reasonable to expect sneakers to last this long, especially ones with foam midsoles (which tend to breakdown from humidity, heat, etc. as some have mentioned). I'm fairly certain Nike will not entertain a claim for a refund/exchange.

Those are very cool do you know where I can buy them?

[Gonzalito17]

Maybe I will try to shoo goo em together. If that doesn't work I'm gonna send back to Nike and just ask for a RF hat.

Very disappointed in Nike.

[ricki]

UV radiation destroys carbon bond in polymers. Long time frost also destroys plastic/rubber...

[Gonzalito17]

Thanks Doctor Ricki

[T21D]

Originally Posted by Gonzalito17

Thanks Doctor Ricki

Email me I can help and refer you to someone that can sole swap that shoe and be wearable again.

Those Jordan 3's up there can be sole swapped with a retro Flight 89 sole!