Episode Details

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