Oxidized Shoe Rubber

I have heard that if sticky rubber is left unused for long periods of time, the outer layer of rubber will oxidize, harden, and lose its stickiness. I have not experienced this previously and don't know too much about it, but I now have a pair of shoes for which this is a concern.

Specifically, I have a pair of Miura's (with XS Edge rubber), sized comfortably for long routes, that I bought about 2.5 years ago. I used them occasionally for about 6 months whenever I did long routes (the soles remained relatively unworn, in newish condition), but then a knee injury and a subsequent diversion into sport climbing led me to stop using them. They sat in the closet for about 2 years, essentially unused (I wore them once or twice each year). I've started using them again recently, but just don't quite seem comfortable with them on small edges or marginal smears. A big part of this likely is just due to readjusting to wearing a more comfortable, lower performance fit (after several years of wearing super-tight Testarossas), but I also think that rubber oxidation might have something to do with it. Thoughts? Anyone else experience this? Is it just in my head, and I should get over it, or is this a real thing?

And what to do about it? Would filing/sanding off the outer oxidized layer be a good fix? Will the oxidized layer just come off with a bit more "usual wear"? Or should I just spend the $32 to get Rock and Resole to grind off the old junk and put on some Stealth C4?

You can quickly and easily fix that with sanding. I use ~80 grit paper. Filing works too but its much more agressive (removes way more rubber), and is better suited to remving divots in your rubber.

Monomaniac wrote:You can quickly and easily fix that with sanding. I use ~80 grit paper. Filing works too but its much more agressive (removes way more rubber), and is better suited to remving divots in your rubber.

Brilliant. How much do you sand off, for best results? In other words, how deep does the oxidized layer typically go?

Not very much. You'll know when you get there. You're really just scuffing it up, as opposed to removing lots of rubber.

Great, thanks. I'll try it out.

Used to be very common with older rubbers, but hardly noticeable with modern rubber.

Yeah, agree the older shoes do that. I've got some 20 something old shoes and the rubber is all flaky and oxidized..not good for friction. Also the glue has come off the shoe and separated the sole from the top of the shoe on a couple we tried to use last summer.

I've noticed that XS Edge on floppy shoes in cold temperatures really sucks.

Used to use a wire brush for this on my EBs. Seemed to work.

doligo wrote:I've noticed that XS Edge on floppy shoes in cold temperatures really sucks.

I think that Dolgio might have gotten to the root of the problem here. Having looked into the oxidation issue a bit more, I don't think that this is the problem for these shoes; I think that the problem is, exactly as she says, trying to climb in comfortably-sized (i.e. floppy) shoes with XS Edge, in cold temperatures. I think that the XS Edge comes into its own in a stiff, tightly sized shoe, since it allows you to precisely hold a small edge because the hard rubber doesn't deform. In a comparatively floppy pair of all-day shoes, however, you really don't have the support to try to hold a tiny edge anyway, and you just end up doing more smearing and smedging. The XS Edge seems to be decidedly worse at this, especially when it gets cold and the rubber is just too hard. I've noticed the problems with this shoe mostly this winter, climbing at around 45 F; maybe in the summer it would feel different.

In either case, I think that I may eventually choose to have the Edge rubber ground off and some softer rubber, like C4, put on; a softer rubber seems more applicable to this fit and use of shoe. I'll probably just deal with the less-sticky rubber for now, though, and let it wear down a bit more with use. At the rate I use these shoes, that may take another few years. By that point, I'll hopefully be out of grad school and making the big bucks, so I won't mind dropping $35 for some new rubber.

Wire or plastic brush. Some light sanding with sandpaper.

I've used a cotton cloth dampened with Turtle Wax "Bug and Tar Remover" to remove oxidation from the rubber on my climbing shoes. Dunno where I read that years ago but it works really well. Makes them sticky all over again. Just "dampen" the cloth and rub until the shoe is dry. I suppose you could rinse with another cloth dampened with water if you are worried about solvent transfer to other gear. I never do that.

Other "solvents" might work. IDK. I suppose you could try on a very small section of rubber to see.

I saw the same thing this winter with a partner, that XS edge rubber sucks in the cold

Remember what I said just before we started to climb the other day. "Oops, I grabbed the wrong shoes." That's because xs edge sucks in cold. Since it was mid 40's that day I wished I had my other shoes. I did slip a bit on the second pitch. That was when I was laughing. Xs edge 65 or warmer IMO. It really shines when it is hot and small sharp edges where softer rubbers give a feeling of "gumming" off.

does xs edge NOT suck at any temperature?

slim wrote:does xs edge NOT suck at any temperature?

Yes, but @ temps you (not me) probably don't like to climb. If I'm climbing on a sunny but not particularly warm day, I like warming up the sole under the sun. If you must climb Astroman in 95 degree heat, XS Edge would be really nice, although everything else about it would still suck.