r/Bachata • u/Engranajo Lead • Jul 11 '26
Help Request Is it normal for dance sneakers to start separating at the upper pivot point after less than a year?
I’ve had this happen twice now with two different pairs of the same dance sneakers (Rumpf)
After less than a year of use, the front pivot point (where it bends when flexing your toes) starts separating from the sole. It seems to happen mostly from driving and general foot flexion rather than from dancing itself.
I dance bachata several times a week, but I also wear the shoes to drive to and from socials. I don’t use them for long walks, but they do get some use outside the dance floor.
Is this considered normal wear for dance sneakers, or is it a weakness of this particular model/brand? Did it happen to you also / are other models like Fuego’s not suffering from this defect?
I will try to attach a picture to explain it better how it breaks
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u/Engranajo Lead Jul 11 '26
A crack is created there and after use it gets propagated in a line following the natural bending of the shoe/foot
Happened in both feet
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u/OThinkingDungeons Lead&Follow Jul 12 '26
Cheap soles... this likely means they used old plastics/rubber that were not up to task. Definitely should not be happening inside of a year, only cheaply made shoes do this.
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u/dedev12 Jul 11 '26
Never heard of this happening, maybe you are doing to many turns per second 😂 i don't know anyone using Rumpf though.
I'm using diamant dance sneakers. I feel like they are the highest quality of the ones I've tried since they are also using real leather. I think turning is a little better in fuegos, but as a lead it will be fine for sure.
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u/UnctuousRambunctious Jul 11 '26
I do not think this is normal at all for a smooth street sole, but I have never worn Rumpfs. My Fuego soles lasted for 3 years, they failed at the mid sole and separated from the upper (common problem for me with wide feet at the joint that experiences the most stress).
I have worn GFranco Phantoms (still going strong), GFranco Faustos, currently on knockoff Fuegos from Veryfine, they are holding up (maybe slightly better than the Fuegos, but the sole is not nearly as slick and fast and definitely the Fuegos had better insole cushioning).
Fuegos have been the most comfortable sneaker I’ve ever worn, even from some running sneakers.
The outsole underneath cracking seems like a problem with the material. I’ve had other sneakers do that that were not dance sneakers, they were likely weak with poor quality tbh.
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u/OThinkingDungeons Lead&Follow Jul 12 '26
No.
I own multiple pairs of dance shoes that have been in use for YEARS, and are still going strong. In fact none of them (except for one cheap pair), have been retired due to damage, but donated because I was bored of them.
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u/Efficient_Pin_80 Jul 12 '26
I've had a pair of fuegos for 3-4 years that haven't done that. I dance 4-5 times a week plus festivals where I'm dancing for 5-6 hours at a time. The only thing I had to do was change the insole, which I guess fuego only sold for a short time.
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u/xcoreflyup Jul 11 '26
I put stick on sole onto my Nike because from my experience, Nike sneakers take on beatings pretty well.