Home > Other Fun Stuff > Advocacy & Industry News > News

Shimano Preps for Unbound w/ Flint Hills Edition RX6 & RX8 Gravel Shoes

A cyclist riding a gravel bike in Shimano's flint hills edition RX8 shoesThe Flint Hills Edition RX8 "Twilight." Photos c. Shimano
Support us! Bikerumor may earn a small commission from affiliate links in this article. Learn More

What’s in Kansas, the so-called Wheat State? I’m from there, and I’m here to tell you: not much. Except for Unbound Gravel, and wide-open skies.

Luckily, Unbound is exactly what Shimano had in mind with the release of its new gravel shoes. Three entries of the Flint Hills Edition RX8 and RX6 riff on the sunrise, sunset, and moonlight that blanket Kansas when the Unbound gravel race descends on it each June.

The shoes, Shimano said, “celebrate the early mornings and late nights that riders undertake while pushing their limits in Kansas each summer.”

a cyclist on a gravel bike wearing shimano's shoes
Flint Hills Edition RX6 “Moonlight”

Cyclists have spun on Shimano’s RX race platform for years. In the words of BikeRumor’s Cory Benson, the RX8 was “Shimano getting serious about gravel from a proper race perspective” back in 2019.

But you could never get a pair until now in “Twilight” — or the more moderate-spec RX6 in either “Sunrise” or “Moonlight.”

The designs mostly speak for themselves, in their gradient color palettes. The course maps on Sunrise and Moonlight are a cool touch. Meanwhile, “Twilight” brings the focus on the course in tighter: You’ll notice detail that resembles rolling hills on its pink and purple, perforated upper.

In a decisive departure from the shoes’ Kansas theme, Shimano has given each one its own haiku.

I present:

“Twilight,” by Shimano.

Under purple skies, light transforms the landscape, bask in the twilight

If it’s your thing, the RX6 variants also have their own poems — of whatever merit. (They appear to be confined to Shimano’s press release, so I’ll liberate them here):

shimano's two other haikus. "A PALE GLOW RISES, YOUR CELESTIAL PARTNER, MOONLIGHT GUIDES THE WAY" and "GOLDEN RAYS EMERGE, LIGHTING UP THE MORNING SKY, GLORIOUS SUNRISE"

What you can’t do, as of this writing, is get any shoe except the Sunrise in women’s sizes.

Find all specs at Shimano’s website. A pair of Flint Hills Edition RX8’s will set you back $275, and the two RX6 versions check in at $180 MSRP. Cleats are sold separately.

shimano.com

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

0 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Subscribe Now

Sign up to receive BikeRumor content direct to your inbox.

Subscribe Now

Sign up to receive BikeRumor content direct to your inbox.