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The Vibram Five Fingers Bikila is Out!

I’m happy to announce that we have a winner to the Vibram Five Fingers Bikila giveaway contest. There were almost 3,000 entries in the contest, and I will be emailing the winner here shortly!Of course, having a winner means just one thing: it seems…

I’m happy to announce that we have a winner to the Vibram Five Fingers Bikila giveaway contest. There were almost 3,000 entries in the contest, and I will be emailing the winner here shortly!

Of course, having a winner means just one thing: it seems the long wait has finally come to an end — the Vibram Five Fingers Bikila is out, which is to say it is making its way out, albeit slowly and piecemeal, to retailers both online and offline alike. Specifically, CitySports will have for sale about 180 pairs available online this afternoon for purchase in the blue and yellow mens version (photoed above) at this link (inventory will go live at approximately 3pm!). As I alluded to above, the Bikila’s distribution is happening a bit piecemeal, which is why I’m sad to say that the women’s version isn’t yet available for online purchase! When this changes, I will send out another email about it.

I’ve no idea how long this short batch of Bikilas will last, but if I had to guess, I think they will go quickly, so if you’re looking to buy the Vibram Five Fingers Bikila, I’d not delay! As far as other details are concerned, the Five Fingers Bikila sizes (in theory) the same as the Vibram Five Fingers KSO (though the fit feels a bit different due to different strap technology: the Bikila has a wider top opening, a more forward top strap, and no heel strap) and is priced at $99.95. Note that the BIRTHDAY coupon code should get you free shipping at CitySports (let me know if it doesn’t!).

Again, here’s a link to buy the blue/yellow Vibram Bikila — note that this page will update to have inventory for purchase just as soon as CitySports flips the switch this afternoon!

And if you hadn’t already seen it, I posted a ton of pictures (and detailed description) of the Vibram Five Fingers Bikila in the silver/grey/red over at BirthdayShoes the other week. In short, I think the Bikila is an awesome product and I both look forward to putting it through the ropes and hearing how VFF fans at large like these new “barefoot running shoes.”

Justin / Chief Editor, BirthdayShoes.com

By Justin

Justin Owings is a deadlifting dad of three, working from Atlanta. When he's not chasing his three kids around, you'll find him trying to understand systems, risk, and human behavior.

52 replies on “The Vibram Five Fingers Bikila is Out!”

City Sport activated the link early by my calculation. I just ordered a pair. Thank you SOOOOOO much for the heads up

Is the red/gray model mens as well? When will it come out? I like those colors better.
Thanks for the update!!!

So does this mean they are out in the stores as well? I just hope the women’s deal isn’t the same in the stores 🙁 I’m all excited! I’ll be visiting City Sports after work!

Now available! Just ordered. Just an FYI…the BIRTHDAY code does work, but you will see shipping charges as you submit payment. Once you submit the order the screen will refresh, apply the discount and ask that you re-enter your payment info.

Good luck to all!

yet again Justin and Birthdayshoes is on top and out in front. thanks to this great post I have a pair of Bikila’s headed to my house! Dont know how you do it but I love it and thank you! It’s been a long wait and racing to the link, hitting refresh a hundred times, and feeling like an excited kid was totally worth it.

The Bikilas popped up at CitySports about 2:50, a couple of minutes after I got the e-mail. My order went through, though the “BIRTHDAY” code for free shipping didn’t work for me. It might have been case sensitive, and I didn’t want to go back and enter it in all caps because the site was moving slowly. Got a confirmation e-mail, too. Thanks very much for the heads up and the great website.

Wow, they are selling out fast, can’t wait on the women’s to come out. Watching for an email to see if I won a pair though

Justin – Thanks for the heads-up, man! I’ve been on a waiting list at a local running store in town (St.Louis) for weeks, and they just keep getting told, “Next week. They’ll be out next week.”
Well, I was able to score a pair of Bikilas in what I hope is my correct size! 🙂 The color, though… oh the color. Not sure what they were thinking on this, but it’ll do. It will be my first foray into Vibrams, but I’ve been running in minimal shoes as much as possible lately. Can’t wait to get ’em and report back.

Thanks again,

Brandon

I just ordered them! I really wanted the Red and grey but o well these VFF’s are awesome!

42’s were gone at 3:00pm EST. I had the selection, but by the time I clicked add, it was gone. 🙁 I think they’ll be a hit.

Awww man, they don’t have them in my size! I wear a 41, but the smallest they have is a 43. I guess I’ll have to wait for another shop to offer them….

At of 4:00PM, all sizes under 44 sold out… representative stated they are expecting another shipment next week, but do not know the exact date.

M44 is sold out too. Dang it. I wear a 45 in the classics but need a 44 in the KSO style Vibrams.

Just got back from the City Sports in NYC at 35th and 5th Ave – as of 3:45pm they don’t have any Bikilas yet, although their salespeople do…

to update my earlier post, I contacted CitySports and they kindly removed the shipping charge. Very nice.

Woohoo! Thanks so much Justin!! I got a pair of 42’s, and 43’s (just to be sure). Believe it or not, I normally wear a 42 KSO size, but their first run of orange/grey/black KSO’s were a bit smaller, so I had to go with a 43 in that color. I also normally wear a 43 in classics. I’ve been waiting for the Bikila a while now. Thanks again!

unfortunately, i bet a few of these are going to find their way onto ebay… thanks for the headsup though!

I got the email around 2PM EST, took my shoes off at my work desk and measured my feet. I ordered a pair of 44 and 45 as I’m not sure which will fit me the best. Hopefully they ship soon so I can break them in.

I got my pair ordered =) Like a few reviewers said, this colorway is a little out there…but since I have some black KSOs already…I thought why not pick up a pair of super outrageous Bikilas! I can’t wait=)

Also, if anyone does end up trying to sell them on eBay, beware of scamming Nigerian Buyers…while selling things in the past I’ve come across a ton.. just keep your buyers limited to US customers and you should be fine. I’m totally gonna use my Bikilas so I don’t have to worry about that…happy running ppl.

Got my order for a m42 in at 2:52pm est the moment they went live.

The coupon didnt work.

Moments later I got an email saying my order was adjusted for the coupon!

Still waiting on a shipping notification. Woot!

What a terrible color scheme; takes the sting out of having a 44 in my cart and losing it before I could enter payment information.

Wasn’t sure which size to get. I measured my foot as 10.5″, so i got a size 41. Wanted to place an order for size 42 also, but it was too late.

If they are too small, and someone has a 42 to trade later on, lemme know.

Thanks for the scoop, I got my Bikilas just before 2pm Houston time. Maybe i’ll be the first in Texas or at least Houston to have them. I 2 day shipped them, I can’t wait.

I ordered mine yesterday size 40 I am not crazy about the color but if there are more coming out next week with a better color I will just sell these! I can’t wait till my pair comes in!

Wow! The guys at City Sports hooked me up with a Red/Grey pair of 44Ms that they had for the Boston mini-release!!
I’m tracking the package on UPS.com now. They’re on their way and should be here on Monday!!! My wife has agreed to deliver them to me here at the base if they arrive before I get home! She’s awesome!

And, yes, if I didn’t get the hook up I would have broken down and gotten one of the funky blue/yellow ones.

Thanks, Justin, for the quick head’s up on the release! Totally diggin’ the site!

I went to City Sports in NYC and got some news (rockefeller store on 48th n 6th).

For the guys: Green/Blue color variation in one size run, should be in Saturday (I think this is what the salesman told me, could be today as well, sorry short memory). They have been getting A LOT of calls from people, and they expect them to go fast. Though they will get another shipment the following weekend! And I believe he said in a couple different colors.

For my fellow women: No women’s sizes yet 🙁 They expect them in next weekend. The color variations are unknown, and they aren’t sure if there will be the Magenta/Orange color variant, it seems they changed the schemes for the women. They’re forecasting the red/grey color scheme since that was what Boston got. Not sure about the others.

As others who have a pair of these lovely beasts have said the shoe fits different. The sales men said the toes could be different, and since some areas (like the heel and ankle box) could effect how they feel on your foot.

At any rate, I am antsy for a pair and very happy at how well these Vibrams are doing!

Reading all these posts I’m greatful i was able to sneak in and get a pair of 43’s before they were gone.

Jonathan,

I got a shipment conformation around 12pm today. I opted for next day shipping though, so I’m not sure about other shipping methods.

Yep! Mine arrived in Buffalo, NY at 2:12 PM today according to the package arrival scan on UPS.com. Can you tell I’m excited? Or maybe that’s obsessed . . .

Anyone know the environmental aspect of Vibram’s? I tried writing and have not received an answer. I’m wondering where their material comes from, where they are made, and if they have a take back/recycling program in place. Thanks

I got a shipment confirmation. But I had them shipped to the store. Not sure if that matters. Fun fun.

Man, I really hope that some of the other online stores get some of these. From the looks of it, there won’t be nearly enough for all of us!

Adding onto my comment above, I went onto CitySports at around 10:30 EST time. They had my size, 40. I quickly purchased them, went to go see if they still had them, and they were all out of 40s once more. Got lucky!

Managed to pick up a pair at CitySports yesterday and took them out for a testdrive…two words people: Awe Some!!! These Bikila’s are built for running!

I have seen several references to the color scheme. I guess Vibram has determined that the best marketing technique is a bright colored shoe that will draw glances and discussions.

Having selected the Palm/Gray Sprints (my only in stock choice) I was okay being more subdude. But now with experience and commitment to using the VFFs I would readily opt for a brighter color scheme.

I picked up a pair in Washington DC on Saturday (May 8th) from City Sports in Chinatown. They told me they’d gotten 25 pair in that morning. I came in at around noon and bought the 5th pair they’d sold that day, but there were 3 more people still trying them on when I left. The checkout clerk seemed pretty surprised with the response. I thought about trying them for the half marathon I ran yesterday, but common sense prevailed and I stuck with my KSOs for the race.

I wore the Bikilas around all afternoon yesterday to start getting used to them. The feel is different but not bad. The KSOs have always felt like a second skin. I don’t have the same feeling with the Bikilas. They feel more like a super-light running shoe to me, probably because the sole is stiffer. I’m pretty geeked to try them out on a recovery run this evening…

what is the promotional birthday shoes code that gives us free shipping from city sports?

Picked up my size 41’s that were shipped to the store today. I’m not sure if they fit right. I can get them on, but the toes feel more cramped than the size 41 classics that i tried on in store… Not sure if I just need to break them in, or if I need to find a size 42. Anyone having sizing issues?

@Michael,

It is BIRTHDAY

@Jonathan,

That is strange — if anything, the 41 Bikilas should feel bigger than the 41 Classics as the standard advice on switching from Classic/Sprint styles to KSO/Bikila/Flow (closed top) styles is to size down for the latter.

@Justin: That’s what I heard, but these definitely don’t accomodate my toes the way the size 41 classics do. Maybe I happened to get an odd sized pair? Gonna check my local citysports tomorrow to see if they have another size 41 to try on. Can’t wait to run in these!

Got them Yesterday!

Thanks again to Stephen at City Sports for the speedy delivery. Put them on right out of the package and they felt great . . . until I ran in them.

I took my oldest boy out to run the course for a local 5k that we run together in August. We only ended up running about 2 of the 3.1 miles because he hadn’t eaten lunch and ran out of juice. However, it was long enough to realize that the straps fit differently than the KSOs. They are just about 1 strap-width further forward than the strap on the KSOs which, on my foot, puts the strap right on the tarsal-metatarsal joints or where the cuniforms meet the metatarsals. Yes, I had to go to Google Images to figure out which bones/joints were involved.

The result as that the top of my left foot hurts. Now, I may very well be able to adjust the strap further back (I think I remember reading that somewhere around here) behind the joints and relieve the pressure, but I’m going to wait until after the Cleveland 1/2 marathon before I fool with them again.

Other than the strap I liked the feel of them. They are definately stiffer than the KSOs, and you can feel the “sturdiness” pretty significantly in the arch. It doesn’t necessarily feel like arch support, but you can tell that it’s there. They feel more like a traditional running shoe than the KSOs with their “second-skin” feel.

And, yes, this doesn’t feel like a “walking around shoe” like the other VFF models. I wore them out in the yard with the kids for a little while before my run and you can tell that they were designed for running.

I ran 8 miles in my KSOs this morning with no problems. As soon as I put them on, I could feel the strap settle in right behind the soreness on my left foot. It felt good and right . . . that’s where the strap belongs.

So, my initial impression . . . I’m a little disappointed. I wanted to be able to put them on and run like the wind, and maybe I will. But right now, with the top of my left foot still aching a little bit, I am concerned. I hope that I will be able to adjust the strap, or find a mod for them, so that they don’t put so much pressure on those joints. I’d hate to have to wait for the Trek Sports to come out in the fall, after all the wait and excitement over the Bikilas.

I’m not giving up on them, I’m just shelving them for a few weeks until I don’t have a 1/2 marathon and my first trail race to run.

Went to try another pair of 41’s in store. They fit everywhere except the big toe. That’s where my toe is right up against the end of the toe pocket. I guess my big toe is a little bigger than most. Here’s hoping they restock 42s soon!

Indiana Running Co. in Bloomington got in their first shipment of Bikilas. They only got 7 pairs. Fortunately I was first on the waiting list for size 42s! These things feel amazing! Can’t wait to try them out on a run tomorrow.

Just got the Bikilas from The Footzone in Bend today. have been in KSO for about six months, tried on the KSO treks, felt sloppy, but when I slipped on the Bikilas, felt very like a smooth fit. Yes they are sturdier, but with the lava rock here, and the miles of singletrack trails here, I will check them out soon. I have been in the 41 in the KSO’s, 41 kso Trek as mentioned felt loose all around, 41 Bikila feels good so far, cant wait to put them to the test. First the treadmill then the trails. See you all on the flipside.

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