A chance for scrooges to experiment with minimalist shoes?

I have been reading about minimalist shoes in the running literature, but things really ratchet up a notch for me when the skin doc showed up at March's Malakoff 17km in a pair of Vibrams and proceeded to mow down the competition in her category. Although advocates of minimalist shoes/barefoot running emphasize injury prevention, it is the possibility of improved running economy that attracts me most - :-) who doesn't need an advantage? To add a twist to this story, a recent study (also commented in NY Times) observed that it was more economical to run in the lightweight (150g/5.3oz) Nike Mayfly than barefoot.

How many of us would have taken the minimalist plunge if not for the steep price? Since there is no guarantee that minimalism will suit me, I am just not prepared to fork out RM100 more than the price of my mainstays - the plain vanilla, Asics Galaxy & Patriot. Two months ago, while shopping at Giant Bayan Baru, I stumbled on this Axel model that bears an uncanny resemblance to the iconic Nike Free - deep grooves in the midsole and no outersole. Since a pair costs RM50, I thought there is not much to lose if they turned out to be duds.

The shoes have removable foam rubber insoles. The insoles are unusually thick at 5mm and so were soon discarded to prevent their detracting from, ahem, pure minimalism! Minus the insoles, the weight reduces from 8oz to ~7.5oz (may not be accurate as I was using a kitchen scale). The shoe is at least one size larger than regular running shoes - I usually wear size 8.5 or 9, but the size 8 Axel fits too loosely without the insoles. I measured the shoe thickness at 15mm (without insoles) under the heel - I did not measure the thickness under the ball because it is a bother to get the tongue out of the way. The heel counter is feeble or non-existent, but I think this is the norm for minimalist shoes. The shoe is highly flexible because of the deep grooves. A minor bother is that the tongue has no provision for attaching to the laces.

I have tried the NikeFree clone for two months already, starting timidly with short runs, and then progressing to longer sessions. So far, there is no problem with the glue failing. The impact areas wear out faster than normal shoes - but this is expected due to the absence of a durable outersole. Will I go back for a 2nd pair? Yes, because even if minimalism turns out to be a hoax, these clones are light enough to be re-purposed as racing shoes.

(Update 27 June) Competing interests: none. I receive no support from any organization for the above work and have no financial relationships with Axel or Giant.

Postscript: After a year of use (several 21k races), the toe areas have completely worn through. Time to retire the shoe!