Specialized made only 40 pairs of these black beauties for the Venge launch at McLaren. Now that I've photographed them in pristine condition I can get around to enjoying them. They are a nice reminder of a trip that included the amazing McLaren Technology Center, a good visit with my uncle and the highlands of Scotland and photographing Matt Goss riding the Venge to victory at Milan San Remo. Maybe Specialized have some commemorative Wellington boots for the upcoming Paris Roubaix assignment. Thanks guys.
16 Comments
Great style from Specialized, you’ll be wearing these with great pride Michael, good luck with the Venge wellies, look forward to seeing them.
Douglas
Sorry, but this shoe looks like a skate board shoe in patent leather. Wish the the big S would do a shoe like Dromarti, vintage Marresi or Vittoria with better lines.
Also, Michael, if you’re using a condensed display type you don’t need to make it gigantic to readable. Otherwise always appreciate your photography ;^)
Best,
Marco
Marco,
I think the skate inspired look was exactly what they were going for, it is a street shoe after all. I’ve not seen street shoes from Dromarti.
As a designer with years of typographic experience, who’s lived through the excess of practitioners like David Carson, I’m happy with the choice. The good news is that eventually it too will change on VeloDramatic.
::M
Available in chrome?
i think i’d feel pretty silly wearing those, um, lets see…anywhere. dromarti’s are cool. these are not. chris
Wow, what’s up with the Dromarti references. Again Dromarti don’t make street shoes, they do make very nice cycling shoes, but these are street shoes, casual sneakers.
There are thousands of different sneaker styles out there, if these aren’t your cup of tea, that’s fine, but getting bent out of shape over a pair of sneakers (and there will be only 40 pairs in the whole world) is not COOL.
Yeah, They need to add chrome to the collection.
M – Have you worn the shoes much and are they comfortable? Are these the types of things that are made for the team members for big product launches like the Venge? 40 pair – handmade or machine? And I may have missed this but are the Venge bikes the team issue for HTC or was it a one bike one race deal?
So far I’ve had them on for five minutes in a Milan hotel. They’re pretty comfortable. A 43 would have fit better, but again I was lucky to score a pair at all with the tiny production run. They are machine made based on the Stumpy 2 shoes that is regularly available online in white/black and optic yellow/black. They just substituted the McLaren Venge colors for the launch
http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bc/SBCEqProduct.jsp?spid=57059
Good question on the McLaren Venge and the teams for the rest of the year. Team issue, team color, S-Works Venges will be delivered to the teams fairly soon. In the meantime the riders have the option to ride the S-Works McLaren Venge. It looked like Cavendish was riding his at Ghent Wevelgem. Given the lack of spares, and the Spring propensity for crashes, the Team Venges can’t come soon enough.
I followed the link to Specialized and snickered when I saw that the weight was in the specs. Weight weenies amuse me. I like unique shoes myself and the limited edition is really special. I am looking forward to the Classics which are my favorite time of the season. Have fun YOU CREEP
Super cool shoes, I wish they make them in white with the black stripe. Wearing Jeans with these shoes; killer combo!
Dem is smexy. As a proud owner of Dromarti shoes (the street variety sans cleat mounts) I can see the need for both. You bastard.
Michael: where do you find these people?
Hey Chris,
It’s a home grown audience… some might claim hydroponically if you get my drift.
I take it you are bemused by the range of opinions. I was amazed at the diversity of responses this innocuous shoe post produced.
::M
how much can cost a pair of this shoes, if they are brand new??
the Stumpy II shoes are $125 in the U.S.
http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bc/SBCEqProduct.jsp?spid=57059