DIY Nike+ Shoe Hack
This is a quick how-to that will explain – with lots of pretty, but vdark, photos – the most destructive way to hack a pair of ordinary running shoes or ‘trainers’ into Nike+ alternatives.
I recently bought an iPod Nano and the Nike+ Sports Kit, but decided against the £80 Nike+ Shoes; I already have a nice pair of running shoes! (and £80 is taking the mick). The Nike+ Sensor, however, (a glorified Pedometer – to be honest) is designed with Nike+ Shoes in mind… it pops into a little groove in a certain strand of Nike shoes- very limited in the UK. I’ve never seen a pair in person.
First thought was (had by many)- I could attach this thing to the top of any shoe. Velcro has been used, strap it between your laces, even purchase an attachment or knit your own cover. BUT, surely this thing is built into the sole of a shoe (in Nike+ Trainers) because it requires some sort of pressure to make it tick… I did a little reading, and as much as all the others have done… I’ve not yet read of a hacked Nike+ and the real deal being compared on the same stretch / measured distance in regards accuracy. So, I’m going to try to emulate the Nike+ Trainer’s with this hack. (See the Apple FAQ).
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Step One: You’ll want to start with the Nike+ Kit and a pair of shoes, best to start with a pair that have a good thick out-sole. The goal is sole… |
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Step Two: Select your weapons. I went with a Stanley Knife, a metal spoon*… a pencil, screwdriver (nice and sharp for prodding). |
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Step Three: |
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Step Four: Do research. I Google-ed around for a day and a bit, couldn’t find an illustrated how-to, so I wrote this one. However, there are other hacks out there. Consider your choices. See forums. |
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Step Five: Here you should use a pencil (not sharp, that won’t work on fabric) to mark out a good location to start digging… your trench will start here. Use the location of the sensor on Nike+ Shoes to place yours. |
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Step Six: First incision, just a straight line to discover the fabric below, I had (under the in-sole) a soft padded black layer, a white cotton and then a thin (waterproof?) plastic layer. Then the rubber base. |
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Step Seven: You are not cutting deep at this stage! Just have a look under all the padding, check you have space to dig… if not sew up, and try somewhere else! I had thought- if I had the room, I would only pin back this top layer – cut away the necessaria space from the rubber and then sew this layer back again. It didn’t end up as neat. |
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Step Eight: Now, here I started scraping away the cotton padding. It looked good here- nice and neat. One nice scalpel oval, pulled the padding away. Beneath is the rubber sole. |
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Step Nine: Strip away, start hacking (slowly, slowly!) at the rubber. |
Ten: Last few cuts, this was about 20 mins later- just tidy up… I kept prodding with a screwdriver at the deepest part while watching the back of the sole- to see how close I was from coming through! It didn’t happen, luckily. Ended up with a right old mess of rubber pickings. |
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Put your in-soles in, stick your shoes on, walk around…. alter your cut, etc.
When ready plug your iPod Nano into the Nike+ Receiver, stick your shoes on and access the menu that appears automatically. It should all work perfectly at this stage. |
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Here I plugged it in, everything sync-ed hunky-dory… |
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Nike’s database let the whole venture down, was soon fixed… later discovered my quick test of the Nike+ Sensor was done in “Workout” mode so I didn’t get a pretty diagram of my run… which was up and down 3 flights of stairs. 20 calories! |
So, there we go. One pair of everyday running shoes hacked to use the Nike+ Sports Kit the way Nike designed it, sort of. Alternative methods can be found all-over the web. Here’s some great Nike+ Sites:
The Pod-o-Phile
PSLudge
TUAW (Fantasic)
iPod Sports Kit .com (Could very well be a front for Nike Marketing)
Apple F.A.Q
this is an old post - the formatting may be jumbled
it may simply make no sense... i was young!
Awesome! I bookmarked your blog, and waiting the Nike + iPod sport kit available in my country. For now, I’d rather do the conventional way.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEiRtNLqKQY
Cheers.
no, you are awesome – that ad is fantastic. very well done Pinot.
Thank you very much :D
Excellent, i will do this with mine as well.
:)
[...] Bloggers have posted numerous articles about how to “hack” your own shoes and install the sensor – such as the arguably most popular method exhaulted by podophile. I chose this easiest and cheapest route: packing the sensor into a tiny ziploc bag (the kind that extra buttons come in when you buy a sweater), wrapping the bag in a couple of layers of clear packing tape (to ensure the sensor wouldn’t get wet) and tucking this little puck into my shoe between the tongue and laces. It has been in that location for about 80 miles so far and has not been a problem. Podophile has compiled a roundup of hacks and accesories available for the sensor from small velcro packs, rubber sleeves, and even the instructions to knit your own little sensor pouch (shown to the left)! More here and here. [...]
[...] Bloggers have posted numerous articles about how to “hack” your own shoes and install the sensor – such as the arguably most popular method exhaulted by podophile. I chose this easiest and cheapest route: packing the sensor into a tiny ziploc bag (the kind that extra buttons come in when you buy a sweater), wrapping the bag in a couple of layers of clear packing tape (to ensure the sensor wouldn’t get wet) and tucking this little puck into my shoe between the tongue and laces. It has been in that location for about 80 miles so far and has not been a problem. Podophile has compiled a roundup of hacks and accesories available for the sensor from small velcro packs, rubber sleeves, and even the instructions to knit your own little sensor pouch (shown to the right)! More here and here. [...]
[...] but don’t want to spend that extra buck on Nike+ shoes, here’s a do-it-yourself tutorial to transform any running shoe into a ”plus” [...]
Dude, what the fuck?
Apparently the sensor does not need to be in the sole,
Its not pressure activated it measures motion.
Lots of people are reporting that the shoe adaptors are very accurate.
From what i can see in your pics your runners (i think they are cross trainers) dont have nike air,
i seriously wouldnt go cutiing any shoe with nike air (or gel if you use asics) because you could easily cut the cushioning (spelling, lol) unit.
Im planning on getting a lacelid.
Do you take donations via paypal?
Thanks nike dunk, but really not necessary- I’m just glad you found the site :D.
Your post has completed me :)
I can’t part with my Asics…and this post made it possible. thanks!
[...] Do It Yourself! Cheap & [...]
Man o man, When r those Mac n cheese’s dropping? I need at leat 2 pair, because I will be rocking those every damn day.
crazy is all i can say… i need a pair for the next P.R praide
i would love these!!!!!
Apparently the sensor does not need to be in the sole,
Its not pressure activated it measures motion.
Lots of people are reporting that the shoe adaptors are very accurate.
From what i can see in your pics your runners (i think they are cross trainers) dont have nike air,