Ride Concepts released a casual shredding shoe last year, the Vice, and now they have the Vice Mid, with added protection that stretches up to the ankles. The Vice Mid was developed with Ride Concepts athlete and all-around wild man Andreu Lacondeguy.
The Vice Mid uses the RC Fuzion outsole, which is reminiscent of the Vans-style waffle pattern, but instead with a hexagonal pattern that takes up the whole sole, though the sizes of the inverse hexagons vary. “Sloped-angle inverse hexagons, varying in diameter from 9mm at the toe and heel to 7mm at the pedal contact area, allow the pedal to “inject” into the outsole for unrivaled sensitivity,” says the brand in a release. Ride Concepts uses their DST 6.0 High Grip rubber for this.
Inside the shoe is Ride Concepts’ familiar and welcome D3O insole, smoothing out big impacts, and there is TPU molding around the toes to protect the piggies. The Mid Vice upper is made from suede and should brush off mud and abrasions from pedals.
I received a sample of the Vice Mid in a size 8. I usually go by European sizing as I tend to have better luck, and their equivalent for that is a size 41 and it feels spot on. I usually ride clipless, but do go back to riding flats when I have some shoes around to test. If the Vice Mids had been around when I started riding, there definitely would have been some pairs of them in my closet.
I dig the casual look and feel of them, but they also feel like they’ll get along easily on the bike. The lacing is tight along its gusseted tongue, and the shoe takes an extra minute to tie up, but they feel tight as a freshly locked tire bead when they’re knotted.
Colorado finally decided to snow after I received the Mids, so I haven’t had any ride time on them yet — just grocery-getting missions — so be on the lookout for a more thorough review when things dry up. My initial impressions are that the inverse hexagon sole is grippy, but the pattern is flexy under pedal pins, compared to the outward sole on other shoes of theirs, like the Powerline.
Photo: Hector Cash
Pricing for the Vice Mid is $120. It’s available in US sizes 7-13. They are available in two colors. See more on the Ride Concepts website.
1 Comments
Feb 5, 2022
Gerow, my bike is gonna soap your mouth for using four letter words like "flat"... That is a durty word that bikes do not like, don'tcha know!?!?