I was wondering if anyone was having issues with Dexter SST-8 traction soles and, if so, what can be done to help? I have had mine for about 2 months and I cannot keep the T3 sole in place. I am on the third one of these. They start to roll up a bit and then start coming loose around the toe area. By the time that I notice they will not fully re-attach it seems. As I said, now on the third one in less than two months. I ordered these from a supplier on the internet and that is where I get the replacement soles. However, I tried again last week and they are backordered. I have not been able to find a local supplier that has them in stock (Singapore) so I am getting a bit perturbed. In fact, right now, I have duct tape around the toe to keep the one that I have in place.

I noticed this weekend during a small tournament there were three of us on one set of lanes that were all wearing these shoes. I had mine taped together as I said, one guy was continually working on his to try and keep the sole in place and the other guy told me that he gave up completely and put a different sole.

I have never had this issue before but this is the first set of "reversible" shoes that I have owned. Perhaps dragging my toe is causing the problem?

Any ideas would be helpful!

Thanks,

Is the T3 the sole on the non-sliding foot...as in for a power step? If so, I had a pair of Dynothane shoes that came with a power step toe attachment. I had to remove it and replace with leather cause I don't use a power step and it was dragging. When I took it off I found it not only had velcro but glue to hold it on. If that's the sole you really need you might want to think about contact cement to hold the toe area in place. That's a lot of pressure when you push off......or Bowler's Paradise has them in stock since there's no available Pro Shop;)

I had the same problem with my new SST-8's. My sliding sole stayed perfectly in place, but the traction sole kept peeling back at the toe. After trying removing it and cleaning the velcro on the sole and shoe did not work, I super glued it into place around the perimeter of the toe. I have had to repeat this a couple of times to keep it in place.

By the way, I am not too concerned about gluing it down. If it was my slide sole, that would defeat the purpose of having interchangeable soles, and I would be more concerned, but I don't expect to change the traction sole until it wears out. At that point, I can use an X-Acto knife to cut the part that is glued, and will probably have to re-glue the new sole anyway.

Sorry to revive an old topic, I just got the SST 8s this weekend and after just 6 games I can't keep the traction sole on at all (doesn't even stick at the toe anymore even when I'm not wearing it) I blame it on the fact that I drag my back toe on my slide but I am glad to see I'm not the only one with this problem.
It was recommended that I try shoe Goo from the sporting goods store so I'm gonna try that. It's used by skateboarders and such to repair shoes so it should hold up to bowling - right?! I'll post here to let you know how it works.
Really disappointed that I have to glue my brand new shoes together tho

I have had to glue my traction sole around the perimeter of the toe several times now, and still have the same problem. Please post back and let me know if shoe Goo works.

Otherwise, I am thinking about taking more drastic action like cutting the traction sole straight across the toe portion and gluing some felt in its place which would make them more like my old Linds which had a leather toe slide on the traction sole.

Man, all this talk about issues with the SST-8's make me glad i just got the SST-6's

Dude, I've used shoe Goo before. After 24 hours Godzilla couldn't tear it loose.

Joe, if you really decide to change the front of the sole, there's a Tandy Leather in Essex, Md. I've gotten leather and suede from our local store for years. They'll sell you a small piece of good leather and you can either velcro it or glue it in w/Shoo Goo or contact cement.

lol. Thanks for the tip on shoe Goo and the leather shop. When I ordered the Dexter SST-8's, I ordered an extra felt slide sole and leather heel. The replacements are gigantic. They would probably fit Godzilla! There is enough excess felt that I should have enough to make a toe slide. I will definitely give shoe Goo a try, but I will have to give some serious thought before cutting the traction sole to create the slide toe.

I bought some shoe Goo, then decided not to glue the traction sole in place. I kept thinking it would be permanent, images of Godzilla struggling to separate them and all. lol. And, I kept thinking I might really prefer carving out a slide toe on the traction sole like my old Linds.

So, I traced the shape of the slide toe from my Linds, then cut the traction sole to match and an S8 white leather slide sole to fit. Yes, it was a little scary, but I did it. I used an X-Acto knife to get a straight cut on both.

I have been sliding around the house now for around 15 minutes and it feels great. And, the S8 toe is staying in place on the traction sole without any glue.

My natural delivery is to slide forward on my sliding foot, then slide my other leg behind for balance. I have been struggling a bit on the lanes lately, and now I'm wondering if not being able to slide my other leg behind easily had something to do with it. I guess I will find out tomorrow night in league.

I'm having the same problem. Unfortunatly glue is not a viable option for me as i frequently bowl with either hand. This is why i bought these shoes in the first place.
I bought these last summer after a rotator cuff injury forced me to bowl rt handed. I needed a new pair of shoes anyway so i thought i would be covered when i healed and went back to bowling lft handed. Now the felt has started to come off the toe area on my T3 sole and it will not adhere at all for the first 1/4 inch or so. has anyone found a fix for these that would still allow me to bowl rt handed when i need to? should i just return them?