Sometime Spoke contributor and Christchurch ruler Laurence Mote has just taken ownership of Spoke‘s latest product for review in our March issue: a pair of Specialized Rimes, and this is what he had to say about opening the parcel.
“I take pleasure in small things. Ripe avocados, tail-winds and clean sheets top the list. Parcels with my name on them are next level. Parcels containing news shoes? Yep, it doesn’t get much better than this. Parcels containing new shoes with Vibram soles? Someone please fetch me a glass of water.
Straight of the box there’s a lot to get excited about. A product of the Specialized School of Body Geometry, by all accounts the fit, form and function should be taken care of. The BOA dial closure system and deliberately low profile tread soles caught my eye. Two lower Velcro straps are clean and unobtrusive, and every fabric junction on the synthetic upper looks smooth and intentionally well resolved.
Yet I’m held back with questions: how long will they last? Can a shoe be both stiff and comfortable to walk in? Won’t the combination of race inspired upper and walk-to-the-top-of-the-hill sole simply cause the shoe to tear itself apart? I’ve had more shoes fail on me within months than my wallet would care to remember. So at RRP$350 these shoes come with pretty high expectations.
The first around-the-block-with-new-cleats test ride and who should I run into but one of my riding buddies, looking like he’s out on a test ride himself. Indeed. And he’s also wearing new Specialized Rimes! Co-incidence? No doubt. He hadn’t had to think twice about his new purchase. With the combination of Specialized shoes, which he currently uses, and Vibram soles, he now owns the ultimate pair of do-everything shoes.”
