You may have caught a glimpse of the Only What’s Necessary trail shoe in our A-Z clothing round-up at Eurobike last fall. The unique flat pedal mountain biking shoe is a modular deal that give you one outer lace up boot, with a couple of removable liner booties to choose depending on the weather. It is definitely an unconventional shoe, but is designed to pack the most possible durability and grip into a shoe that can serve from hot and dry days through to cold and wet slogs. If that sounds in intriguing, jump past the break with us and take a closer look and find out how to preorder a pair before they ship out this month…
The FR01 is the first production generation of the modular shoes and use a thermo-bonded kevlar outer boot with an exclusive dual-compound Vibram rubber sole (super stick over the pedal) to stand up to the elements and the worst a mountain bike pedal can throw at them. Also since they come into two parts, they are made with materials that are said to not really absorb water, and so are both easy to clean and quick to dry.
Inside there are two removable liners. The first a quick-dry mesh bootie is designed to keep you feet comfortable on hot days. The second is a fleece-lined softshell with a waterproofing coating to keep your feet warm and dry in the most foul weather. Both include the padded insole element of the shoe and are designed to offer the same fit (thickness) no mater what time of year you are riding.
The end result is a platform pedal trail shoe that you should be able to ride in year round. And with that versatility comes the cost. At 220€ (190€ outside the EU) they aren’t so cheap, but if the work as promised will certainly beat buying a summer and winter pair of riding shoes. The preorder for delivery this month is limited so act fast (and maybe touch base with OWN) for availability.
