Changes

Cheshire Shoe Repairs provide a variety of outsoles, and I've used their "Pyramid Cross Country", which is labelled as Reebok on the outsole. It's a an 8mm stud, and provides good grip on most surfaces. It's good on soft mud and most rocks, though it fails on some slick rock. It's surprisingly okay on concrete or asphalt, but that's not its forte. You can add metal spikes for winter running (see below), though it's awkward to get the spikes into the studs. The studs don't last as long as the rest of the shoe, and as the studs round off, the traction is reduced more than you might expect. (I've not been able to find this sole other than at Cheshire shoe repairs in the UK.) https://www.cheshireshoe.co.uk/running-shoes-resoles-repairs/

The Peak District outsole has 8mm lugs in a dog bone pattern. I've found this outsole to be as good or better than the Reebok outsole on all surfaces and seems to be is much harder wearing. There are some slick rocks where it doesn't grip, but that's rare. Compared with an Inov8 MudTalon sole, this vibram outsole is far better on every surface. The main downside is that you can't get metal spikes into this outsole as the lugs are too narrow. (Another downside is the cost compared with the Reebok, but prices have increased over the last few years for both.) [https://keycobbler.co.uk/collections/running-shoe-repairs https://keycobbler.co.uk/collections/running-shoe-repairs]==Vibram Peak District Longevity==Below are photos of a pair of Altra Lone Peak shoes after around 1,000Km (600 miles). After this much distance, the midsole foam had compressed enough to make them useless, and the upper had started to split, probably after contact with a sharp rock. As you can see, the Peak District sole is virtually unchanged. There's no reduction in grip on any surface, and the lack of wear on the outsole prevented me from realizing how worn out the shoes had become. Most of the distance has been on rocky or muddy trails, with a bit of road running to get to the trails. <gallery widths=300px heights=300px class="center">FrankenShoe Life1 (Large).jpg| The shoe on the left has a new Peak District sole, and you can see the colour has changed. File:FrankenShoe Life2 (Large).jpg| A close up shows the surface pattern has rubbed off, and the edges of the lugs are not quite as crisp. But after that distance, it's remarkable how little wear there's been. </gallery>

The alternative to screw in metal spikes is to have an overshoe that has additional grip. Common brands include Yaktrax or Kahtoola exospikes, and I've used both. The advantage of the screw in spikes is they work in all conditions, and the additional grip can be handy on some surfaces even in summer. The screw in spikes add little weight and are always there. Overshoes are relatively heavy, and have to be put on when needed, and that can be hard if the weather is cold. Stopping to put overshoes on snow covered shoes with cold hands is a grim experience sometimes. I've also had problems on mixed surfaces, where there's exposed rock and ice with Yaktrax falling apart. Overshoes are also heavy and bulky to carry, so I've given up on mine completely, and prefer screw in spikes. (If you need crampons, then you need crampons, and spikes won't help. I have the Kahtoola microspikes, which are a half way to crampons that work with running shoes, but rarely use them as I don't like running when things are that bad.)

I have converted a few road running shoes for technical trail use with mixed results. Other than the outsole grip, the main difference between a road and a trail shoe is how well the upper grips your foot. I've put the pyramid outsole on the Altra Torin which produced a remarkably comfortable shoe that has excellent traction and works really well for nontechnical trails. But when things get gnarly, the shoe isn't close fitting enough to give the agility you need. Converting a road shoe that has a Pebax foam midsole creates a hybrid that works reasonably well on hard, relatively smooth trails. The trails need to be close enough to asphalt for the bounciness of the pebax foam to work. On trails that are even vaguely technical, the bouncy foam becomes unstable and creates significant additional ankle stress. Of course, if you’re you're on a course that transitions between easy, firm, trials and asphalt, then the Pebax foam might work well.