After releasing the Links shoe in 2012 Teva have been busy creating a clipless shoe. Collaborating with Crankbrothers on the Pivot they will retail in the UK for £110 and be available through JE James.

A quick rundown, the sole featuring inverted cleat bolts and a nod towards mechanical advantage when walking rather than a sticky rubber. Normal lacing coupled with a thin but wide velcro strap will keep your foot in place and this is aided further by some solid looking heel support. No asymmetric ankle support as other shoe companies like Shimano have gone with in their AM45, check out the full details, photos and video below.

TEVA Pivot:

Although the collaboration with Crankworx is evident from the press release (see further down) Teva have the Pivot’s setup with Shimano cleats and pedals at their booth in Whistler. It seems like the effort has gone into making a shoe that really fits the clipless market regardless of what brand of pedals you run. There looks to be enough room to allow the pedal mechanism to fit in and the whole area is backed by an aluminium plate so hopefully they won’t suffer from wear in that area which is where other shoes have fallen down in the past.

A neat feature on the Pivot’s is a move away from the traditional placement of cleat screws. Instead of bolting from the outside these are fixed and adjusted internally leaving no chance for the bolt heads to get full of mud so you can’t undo them, its always the simplest of changes that are best. The screws are accessible, albeit when you have taken the shoe off, via a port in the tongue so once the insole is out you can adjust the cleat position without having to undo all the laces. Again a good idea but there may be an issue with water getting in, we will get a pair into test and see how they go.

With Five Ten having their rubber compounds well covered Teva have taken the approach of developing mechanical advantage when walking, this is after all a clipless shoe so a sticky rubber outsole isn’t as necessary. There are some big cut out’s in the front and rear of the sole, these are directional too so the rear accommodates descents and the front walking back up the trail.

Aside from the sole the rest of the shoe looks pretty good. The velcro strap is wide and thin so that should keep things secure and the laces out of the way and there is a good structure for heel support in the rear. We will give some a long term hammering and see how they perform.

For now here is a video describing the development of the shoe and what went into the design decisions they have made.

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Also here’s the press release:

Following the introduction of its freeride mountain bike collection in 2012, action outdoor brand Teva®(a division of Deckers Outdoor Corporation NASDAQGS: DECK) is launching into year two with an innovative product collaboration with bike component manufacturer Crankbrothers that will diversify its product offering.

“Our bike collection is truly a labor of love for the brand,” says Chris Hillyer, Product Manager of Innovation. “From support of some of the best events in this space to the wealth of knowledge and experience found in our incredible athlete team, we’ve been able to respond with product that fits the performance needs of top athletes without sacrificing the style that is a vital part of the mountain bike culture.”

Taking cues from its original freeride mountain bike shoe, the Links, the brand has expanded the collection to include nine styles, ranging from performance shoes like the new Links Mid developed with our athletes,  to casual, urban bike styles like the Joyride, Roller and Freewheel. Coming in fall 2013, the brand will partner with Crankbrothers to deliver the next level of product to the market with the introduction of the Pivot, an all-mountain clipless style.

“After the introduction of the Links we heard it over and over—‘when are you making a clipless shoe?’,” continues Hillyer. “With the help of Crankbrothers we’ve been able to look not only at the shoe but also how it integrates with the bike as a whole. This partnership has helped us develop a product that looks and performs great straight out of the box.”

“Our product team is impressed with Teva’s over-commitment to making not only a special product, but with its outsole and cleat interface, a superior product for this shoe category,” says Andrew Herrick of  Crankbrothers. “While virtually all other brands that make a “skate culture” cleat-compatible shoe tend to drill holes in the bottom of skate shoes, Teva has worked with our team here in Laguna to engineer the proper way to make a shoe from zero.  We love a fresh pair of eyes looking at common problems with product design and creating a solution.”