Not sure why you all are saying fuse, but there was/is no fuse backing on the elite 9 or 10. There is however a generous amount of glue "stitched" in and applied to the knit on the inside of the shoe. It's similar to the JC 2, except brandblack did it the "right" way on their model (it doesn't feel how these do). I'm 99% sure the glue is the reason why there was the same "purplish" bleeding on the beethovens as well. If you've played in a pair (of elite low 9s atleast), you should notice the upper feeling a *tad* bit more relaxed. It isn't drastic, but it's a change (it has for my university red GR elite 9s).