Ride Concepts Introduces the Andreu Lacondeguy Signature Vice Mid – Video

If you go to your local dirt jumps or pump track, take a look at the shoes everyone is wearing. I mean, don’t be creepy about it. There’s probably kids around. But check out how many riders are in Vans or Etnies or DC. The space between the traditional, trail-ready Five Ten flat-pedal shoe and the humble skate shoe is a little sparse with options. Especially for riders who still want some support and protection, but don’t want to sacrifice the intimate connection between foot and pedal that has so many riders still keeping it street.

That’s why Ride Concepts developed the Vice Mid. The nod to the Vans Sk8-Hi and Half Cab is less than subtle, which is fitting. Those shoes set the standard for allowing skaters and, later, bmxers to feel what they’re standing on. Maybe even wrap their feet around it a little. The original Ride Concepts Vice was released last year to check that box. But those classic high-tops also offered a little ankle support and protection. The Vice Mid matches their approach to uppers with Ride Concepts’ approach to lowers.

Identical to the Vice, the Vice Mid outsole uses Ride Concepts’ DST 6.0 rubber, the mid-level-stickyness option in the brand’s lineup, shaped in an also Vans-inspired waffle pattern that gets tighter at the pedal contact point. There’s also three millimeters of EVA foam to help soften the load. Above the outsole is the Ride Concepts signature D30-reinforced insole. The “non-newtonian” material often used in body armor is soft under gentile or slow-speed force but hardens up in intense, high-speed impact. It is a good fit for a shoe that doesn’t have much outsole to absorb impact.

Above the outsole, the toe gets a beefy but discrete TPU armor, aiding in both protection and durability. But of course, the main difference in the Vice Mid is the ankle protection. There’s no proprietary or branded material embedded in the ankle coverage, but it is generously padded. The idea was to make a shoe for the dirt-jump crowd that can handle some stuff a little burlier than the dirt jumps. Feature trails and slopestyle courses. It’s why Ride Concepts used this platform to offer steeze icon Andreu Lacondaguy a chance to make a signature colorway. The best part is, whenever an athlete gets a signature colorway, all of us get a two-minute shred edit. Enjoy.

The Vice Mids go for $120 US, $180 CAD, €130 SRP Europe, or £110 RRP UK.

You can find them at rideconcepts.com/vice-mid