Ride Concepts is a name you’ve likely heard by now. The brand came in strong right from the start, with a solid lineup of both shoes and athletes. Hailing from Truckee, California they offer a huge line up of shoes (and even sandals) for both men and women. We’ve been spending a ton of time riding in the Powerline shoes, and are here to share how they fared.
Specs
- Weight: 435g (Men’s 10)
- Material: Synthetic, Rubber
- Black / Charcoal, Charcoal / Orange, Red / Black
- Half sizes from 7-13
- $150 USD
- DST 4.0 MAX GRIP rubber
The Powerline’s are built on top of the DST 4.0 MAX GRIP rubber sole. The DST rubber is a proprietary formula that complements the hexagon shape lugs. The 4.0 refers to the rubber’s durometer, 4.0 being the softest in the Ride Concepts line.
The molded rubber toe-caps provide added protection from both the elements, trail debris and impacts.
The charcoal gray seen above is a layer of EVA foam that sits between the outsole and insole. The foam keeps weight down, while providing support and impact resistance. The raised rubber on the heel helps with wear and tear.
The D3o patches in the insole provide extra cushion in rough terrain, and on harsh landings. For those un familiar with D3o, it’s often found in knee pads and protective gear. The material is soft under slow pressure, but stiffens upon impact. We found it to be a great addition.
The elastic lace tuck works really well at keeping things organized. Many shoes have this small feature, but often the elastic is not tight enough, or the wrong length, keeping laces from staying put. The aforementioned was not the case with the Powerline shoes.
The small perforated side panel gives some breathability to the shoes, and the metal reinforced lace holes ensure long term durability.
A heightened inner panel provides added support, and offers the ankle bone much needed protection from the crankarms.
On the trail
As most shoes are, the Powerline’s were a tad bit stiff for the first ride or two, after which they loosened up and felt increasingly comfortable. Many shoes take more time to break in nicely, so we were happy right from the get go, knowing the shoes were conforming to our foot shape. The shoe’s inner profile, combined with the D3o insole padding made for a very cushioned feeling. As shoes come in contact with the bike, a huge factor is which pedals one is riding. At the moment, we have the discontinued Gamut Podium Pedals on most of our bikes. The pedal platform is fairly small, and the grip level is low in comparison to more aggressive options. We prefer the feeling of some small movement on top of our pedals, but also don’t desire feeling totally locked in either. TheDST 4.0 MAX GRIP felt like the ideal level of grip for our preferences. The hexagon shaped lugs on the outsole allowed for a solid hiking platform, as well as a good shape to interact with pedal pins. After months of use, it’s clear Ride Concepts has employed high quality manufacturing for their shoes, as we had no issues with them coming apart, or wearing too quickly in any given region. Â
Overall
The Powerlines are a mid-grip shoe, with loads of ankle support, comfortable D3o padding, a low weight, and clean aesthetics. Though our shoe rack is full of many pairs of shoes (most for riding) we’ve almost exclusively reached for the Powerlines as we’ve headed out the door lately. If most, or all of the aforementioned features are what you look for in a flat-pedal riding shoe, we’d certainly encourage considering the Ride Concepts Powerline.Â
