Well, that was a nice hiatus. This will be the first of many regularly updated designs in addition to some new supplemental content for your free viewing pleasure. 

This most recent design is a named after the bad-ass 12 mile bike path that runs from Cambirdge out to the stix. I started this design a while ago and couldn’t figure out how to finish it. I wanted something that was technical looking without looking like something that came out of the Nike Innovative Kitchen. There is a tendency in the footwear industry to get bored with what is simple and beautiful. This usually leads to hideous, overbuilt toys for your feet.

I started with a clean slim suede forefoot for smooth pedal clip interaction. The bottom portion of the eyestay and mudguard wraps under the midsole, so long term wear on the stitching won’t completely ruin the front end of this sneaker over time. This would have the added bonus of making this concept durable for skateboarding. The rear quarter underlay is created from ballistic nylon or canvas with a folded edge. My intention here was to supply stability while maintaining a soft and comfortable collar. 

The sole design came from some experimentation with adding contours and textural transitions in what is otherwise a simple straight forward cupsole. It would be nice to sample this sole in a foam/rubber hybrid compound to lessen the weight substantially, but I suspect that it would disintegrate when it hit some toothy pedals. 

This design was inspired by my friend Jacklyn. I wanted to design something that was feminine with a touch of grit. What I ended up with was a simple, functional women’s flat that could be used for kicking around the city while also standing up to serious biking. The basic ballet flat is fine for platform pedals, but is virtually useless for a serious rider with clips. 

The biggest challenge with this design was to design a vamp that could cover the all the areas of clip abrasion while maintaining the low-cut simplicity of a flat. I went through numerous sketches of vamp designs that varied in complexity. After several rounds of sketching it became obvious that the simple designs were the most successful. 

The final design is a basic two-piece textile upper with an injection molded rubber toe wrap and slip-on closure. The rear half of the shoe is virtually identical to a contemporary ballet flat with a contrasting binding on the collar. The vamp is cut in such a way that covers the top of the foot where pedal clip abrasion would occur, while leaving a low cut window where a normal ballet flat collar would begin.

The closure is designed to be a simple two-way stretch textile that maintains the lateral and medial stripe & logo consistency. In development the length and tension of these straps would be subject to fit testing to ensure comfortability and fit. The combination of the toecap and vamp would make this shoe incredibly durable to the wear and tear of a serious city biker.