How Mountain Bike Shoes Work, with Rick Reed from Ride Concepts

Rick Reed is the Brand Manager for Ride Concepts, a mountain bike footwear company based in Reno, Nevada. Before joining Ride Concepts, he was a sales director at Five Ten. In this episode we ask Rick: Why are mountain bike shoes more expensive than “regular” shoes? Is there really an advantage to wearing something made specifically for biking? How does pedal grip translate to trail grip when it’s time to hike-a-bike? Is there a sweet spot when it comes to sole stiffness? Is stiffer always better, at least when you’re on the pedals? What do you think about the trend toward moving cleat positions back toward the mid foot? Are there advantages to using traditional laces instead of Velcro or something like a Boa, or is that just for aesthetics?   What types of features can be built into a shoe to provide protection against injury? What are the biggest constraints when it comes to designing a good bike shoe? How is the environmental footprint factored in when designing a pair of shoes? Are there ways the impact can be minimized? Where are most mountain bike shoes manufactured? How are women’s mountain bike shoes different from men’s shoes? When you sponsor athletes like Rachael Atherton, do you have a way of quantifying the return on that investment? Do influencers move the needle to a similar degree? Get more info about some of the shoes we covered in this episode at RideConcepts.com. --Keep up with the latest in mountain biking at Singletracks.com and on Instagram @singletracks