Ride Concepts Men's Wildcat Flat Pedal Mountain Bike Shoe

Product Information

Sizes: 7-13 (Men), 5-10 (Women), 3-6 (Youth). Half sizes available on Session series in 2019, Flow and Launch series will have half sizes as of the launch.

Wholesale channel: IBD dealers for US and Canada. Managed by internal sales manager and external sales force. In line with the number of wet rides and stream crossings this summer, I have also noticed a bit of a smell, more than some lighter, more breathable shoes, such as the Flume BOA or Five Ten Freerider. Aside from the aforementioned yanking of the heel collar that resulted in a tiny rip, the Wildcat still looks in almost immaculate shape considering the adventures it has had.Johan loves bikes, which strangely doesn’t make him any better at riding them. After many years spent practicing falling off cliffs with his snowboard, he took up mountain biking in 2005. Ever since, he’s mostly been riding bikes with too much suspension travel to cover up his many flaws as a rider. His 200-pound body weight coupled with unique skill for poor line choice and clumsy landings make him an expert on durability - if parts survive Johan, they’re pretty much okay for anybody. Johan rides flat pedals with a riding style that he describes as "none" (when in actuality he rips!). Having found most trail features to be not to his liking, Johan uses much of his spare time building his own. Johan’s other accomplishments include surviving this far and helping keep the Vital Media Machine’s stoke dial firmly on 11. It has actually been quite surprising how differently the Wildcat fits compared to the Ride Concepts Flume BOA, which I have been testing simultaneously. The Wildcat is wider and longer in the same size as the Flume, with a noticeably roomier fit, particularly in the toe box. In this instance, the fit of the Wildcat worked a lot better for me, despite the fact that I have a pretty narrow, low-volume foot, which sums up the fact that I think the Flume runs a bit on the small side, whereas the Wildcat is true to size. The Wildcat is built with Ride Concepts’ Max Grip rubber outsole, which has proven to be plenty grippy with most of the flat pedals I use, but not as grippy off the bike as I would sometimes hope for (more on that below). Overall, the sole and insole offer a pretty stiff, responsive connection to the pedal, though it isn’t the absolute stiffest shoe out there. After this short initial test period, we have nothing much to offer in terms of criticism. The Wildcat is fairly stiff and a bit bulky, but that is to be expected from a mid-rise shoe with this much ankle protection and support. Other models in the range may well prove to be more “all-day, every day” in nature. Long Term Durability

Pros, good ankle protection, comfortable, velco strap across the top of the foot is a nice, rubber sole is fine, not too soft, and no problems after 6 months of heavy use on flat pedals, and nothing coming apart.

Durability

International channel: We’ve signed incredibly strong bike distributors throughout the world. We'll launch internationally in UK, Germany, Netherlands, France, Italy, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. After a few hundred miles in the shoe, the Wildcat has proven quite robust and durable, and I have been impressed by how well the Wildcat is still performing (and just looking) after a lot of long, muddy, and wet rides. How Did They Hold Up?After riding both shoes for many seasons, we’ve had ample time to thrash and bash both until they were ready for the garbage. One of the first things to fail on both was the elastic strap that retains the laces. After about 12 months of riding the strap lost its elasticity, but thankfully the Velcro strap is still present to secure the laces. The other failure point we noticed was the laces themselves, which eventually give out and need to be replaced. Thankfully both things are very minor, and aside from the expected wear both shoes held up extremely well. Off the bike, the Wildcat is comfortable enough, although the primary design goals of on-the-bike performance shine through at all times. This is a performance-oriented shoe, and as such, it can feel a bit bulky for walking around in or hiking with after a while. We’ve only had our sample for a week, and it’s already broken in a bit over that time, so this feeling might well go away with a few more hours of wearing it. At the heart of the Livewires are D3O High Impact Zone Insole, this high-performance insole is specifically designed to absorb impact forces, perfect for taking out the sting from the gnarliest of terrain and the biggest of landings while still offering incredible foot support when pushing hard on the pedals and going full speed as they push their skill levels higher and higher.