Member of the Month

GayWolf420
June, 2025

Online

Welcome to the Newschoolers forums! You may read the forums as a guest, however you must be a registered member to post. Register to become a member today!

Is a 120 flex boot much different than 130

profile picture
muffMan.
Posts: 2914 - Karma: 27,869
Before you boot chads come in every shop is either done or on to bike season.

Anysones I have some dalbello krypton ax 120s that I got professionally fitted 3 or so years ago. Coming from a 100 flex boot at 6’3 200 it was a big upgrade, but still feel slightly held back. Got a booster strap on it too.

Haven’t gotten much work done on them after and really just started feeling bad about them this year really.

Should I go,
new boots with stiffest flex or
Bootwork plus new liner like a zip fit
3 years ago
2 1
profile picture
animator
Posts: 4576 - Karma: 26,432
Wtf does “started feeling bad about them” mean
3 years ago
8 1
profile picture
drumbumocdp
Posts: 3230 - Karma: 1,108
Dalbellos come with a shim that you can toss in the back to stiffen them up. That and a stiffer tongue and you might be closer to where you want to be. The kr130 is an awesome boot though. Im 6’2” about 175 and it’s perfect. Especially with the stiffening shim in the back
3 years ago
1 0
profile picture
muffMan.
Posts: 2914 - Karma: 27,869
animatorWtf does “started feeling bad about them” mean


Like I was pushing them harder and could easily flex them more than when I bought them. Definitely have progressed since then so maybe that’s it
3 years ago
0 0
profile picture
animator
Posts: 4576 - Karma: 26,432
Coleg55Like I was pushing them harder and could easily flex them more than when I bought them. Definitely have progressed since then so maybe that’s it


Just ask your shop to order you 130 flex tongues?
3 years ago
0 0
profile picture
muffMan.
Posts: 2914 - Karma: 27,869
drumbumocdpDalbellos come with a shim that you can toss in the back to stiffen them up. That and a stiffer tongue and you might be closer to where you want to be. The kr130 is an awesome boot though. Im 6’2” about 175 and it’s perfect. Especially with the stiffening shim in the back


That’s actually kind of sick, I wish they made the ax in the 130 I got a slightly wider foot so the 100 last was nice. I’ll look into stiffening them up that way
3 years ago
0 0
profile picture
muffMan.
Posts: 2914 - Karma: 27,869
animatorJust ask your shop to order you 130 flex tongues?


Didn’t even know it was that easy. So it doesn’t matter that they don’t make the ax in 130? The normal krypton tongue will work?
3 years ago
0 0
profile picture
Icant_kfed
Posts: 1279 - Karma: 11,596
Depends completely on the brand, one 130 flex can be completely different from another
3 years ago
6 0
profile picture
IsaacNW82
Posts: 780 - Karma: 6,776
Icant_kfedDepends completely on the brand, one 130 flex can be completely different from another


I think in the blister boot design panel this year, a boot designer blatantly said all the designers and testers just ski the boot and pretty much just come to a feel consensus "oh feels like a 120, lets call it a 120"
3 years ago
1 0
profile picture
Burrito
Posts: 1864 - Karma: 937
Flexes are even semi-arbitrary within a brand's own line. Case in point with Dalbello - they market multiple boots as 130-flex despite having objectively different stiffness tongues. I have a pair of Lupo 130Cs which come standard with Dalbello's "P" tongue (there's a little molded detail on the inside of the tongue with an arrow pointing at a letter that designates stiffness), but Dalbello also markets the Lupo ProHD as a 130 despite it having the stiffer "B" tongue.

My advice would be the same as a couple other previous responses - if you like the shells just order a stiffer tongue. If for whatever reason that still doesn't get you there, then I'd consider a new pair of boots.
3 years ago
0 0
profile picture
tomPietrowski
Posts: 7295 - Karma: 18,720
IsaacNW82I think in the blister boot design panel this year, a boot designer blatantly said all the designers and testers just ski the boot and pretty much just come to a feel consensus "oh feels like a 120, lets call it a 120"

Who would have said a thing like that :) haha
But yeah there is no holy grail of what a 120 or a 130 is and many aspects can change how it flexes like how much the foot fills the shell or the liner used. I know we strive to make our boots feel like a good average of the competitions 130 boots for example, not the stiffest but also not the softest somewhere in the middle. From there we will be able to calculate roughly what flex modulus the other boots in the lineup should be, test inject and check that the calculations feel correct.
3 years ago
1 0
profile picture
muffMan.
Posts: 2914 - Karma: 27,869
Thank you all, just going to try out the stiffest tongue, and upgrade to World Cup booster to see if that helps. Maybe new liners if I can splurge on zip fits or whatever my fitter recommends
3 years ago
0 0
profile picture
zerospinskier
Posts: 4867 - Karma: 350
Here are the tongue options if you want to try something different.




**This post was edited on May 7th 2022 at 7:01:30pm
3 years ago
0 0
profile picture
muffMan.
Posts: 2914 - Karma: 27,869
zerospinskierHere are the tongue options if you want to try something different.




**This post was edited on May 7th 2022 at 7:01:30pm


Sick man, I’m sitting on a c tongue so defiantly feel like it will improve
3 years ago
0 0
profile picture
anders_a
Posts: 1680 - Karma: 5,605
6'3 and 200, get a 130 or 130+++ like 130 CS redsters etc.

gf at less than 150lbs, still rocks a mens 130 flex boot.



stiffer boots just feels so much better for pretty much everything.
3 years ago
2 0
profile picture
jompcock
Posts: 1579 - Karma: 11,761
The stiffener shims are really useful. I don't use mine mid winter but put them in anytime it'll be above like 35º. They come in a plastic bag with most dalbellos and slide right in place. They come with two different ones so make sure yours match. The wider ones stiffen/limit flex more.
3 years ago
0 0
profile picture
No.Quarter
Posts: 5257 - Karma: 16,966
I had a warranty replacement of a 120 flex boot and jumped up to the 130 flex. Salomon Quest 120 to Quest Max 130, albeit a very different shell style than Dalbello. Both boots had Booster WC straps and while there was a noticeable difference in flex, it wasn't all that much, what was much more noticeable was the improved fit of the shell, QM130 has a heat molded shell and Q120 did not. A new Booster strap should also help, replacing my WC strap that had over 200 days on it with a new WC strap was very noticeable despite the old ones not showing any visual indications of wear such as the distinct ruffles that most elastic bands get when they are worn out.
3 years ago
0 0
profile picture
apc.fr
Posts: 293 - Karma: 879
Get powerwraps
3 years ago
0 0
All times are Eastern (-4); Currently it's 1:29AM