A brand new modular flat pedal shoe

OWN are a new brand to the biking world and have a single goal – to create a flat pedal based shoe that addressed the real life requirements of mountain bikers in all conditions.

The result is a three piece, modular design made up of a single outer shoe and two differing liners that are suited to cold and wet, or warm weather. This brand new shoe is called the Only What’s Necessary FR01, and it is a whole new approach to riding shoes.

The modular design of the OWN FR01 is a brilliant system that suits mountain biking well.

Foot wear vets

With over 20 years of experience in the performance outdoor footwear industry, Dan Hutchinson and Warren Bosomworth set out to design and deliver an innovative and unique new MTB specific shoe, that employs the highest standards of workmanship, durability and technical performance.

‘We wanted to develop a shoe focused around what we believe are the only things necessary – durability, protection, comfort and modular design’.

The FR-01, which took 3 years of development; prototyping; testing and redesigning to get it where they intended. Along the way they even had to change the production factory twice to get the results they wanted – and remortgage to make it happen.

The FR01 complete with inner boot means business.

The Inner boot

The FR-01 is packed with ingenious features including two different types of super-light inner ‘booties’ to choose from, depending on the weather conditions at the time. You can imagine which one we approve of!

This is the UK spec waterproof inner boot – such a great idea. And whilst the outer is covered in cack you can drive home in the inner boot to get cleaned up

One is constructed from a highly ventilated air mesh, ideal for warmer times where the other is of a more weatherproof variety. This is made from a waterproof soft shell and a 4 way stretch DWR-coated ankle collar with a fleece lining for good climate control and is finished with taped seams.

This is the lighter boot made from a wicking material designed to keep you comfortable in warmer conditions

Both booties have two ideally placed pull loops for fitting as well as elasticated collars to ensure a close fit and preventing dirt and debris from entering the bootie.

The inner boot has twin loops for pulling them on easily

The considered innovations don’t stop there, impressively, as each bootie has an anatomically contoured EVA footbed combined with a D30 DeCell foam that mirrors the outer’s Vibram pedal platform.

The d30 sole not only adds comfort, but the impact resistance will reduce fatigue transmitted through the sole.

This is designed to dissipate impacts and vibrations that often find their way through the pedals that can tire feet, as well as aiding hiking off the bike. The bootie design is focused on a sock like fit for comfort, with a strong emphasis on cupping the heel for support and coziness.

One of the really functional features of having a separate inner bootie is that at the end of a mucky ride when your shoe is disguised as a cow pat, the outer can be removed for cleaning whilst you remain in your choice of quick drying inner boot, or even drive home wearing them – ingenious!

‘All materials used were chosen for their durability, high abrasion resistance, lightness and water repellency. The FR-01 upper was created to be a virtually indestructible protective shell’.

All three components that make up the OWN FR01 shoe

Outer boot tech

Once you’ve chosen your technical inner bootie, you then slip your foot into the outer shell. The entire outer is secured with only two lines of stitching, one for the tongue attachment and one to join the single piece construction.

It is composed of a laminated film and reinforced Kevlar impact foam, with super strong TPU heel cup that is then bonded together under extreme heat and pressure and finally sprayed with an effective hydrophobic repellant.

The heel cup holds your foot in place securely and offers protection against knocks

When you then add the exclusively designed Vibram rubber outsole using the Mega Grip compound with a large pedal platform and neat toe and heel lugs for hiking off the bike, you quickly realise that this is a product that wouldn’t look out of place on a NASA mission to Mars.

The specially designed sole features Vibram Mega Grip compound and a lugged design at both the toe and heel of the shoe

The details

Ok, how much is it going to cost? Well, with an expected retail price of approximately €200 it’s not cheap – but then you’d expect that from a product with such a huge list of technical features. When you consider many of its competitors are nearly two thirds of the cost with less than half the features, we feel it’s fairly priced.

Approximate weight for the existing sample size 9 with the heavier of the two inner booties, is only 430 grams. We see a lot of cool products here at Factory Jackson, but it’s not often that something that has been designed from the ground up as a winner appears. The Only What’s Necessary FR-01 is certainly that product – and true testament to what can actually be created with the passion and tenacity that Dan and Warren clearly hold.

Chapeau gentlemen, chapeau!

Expected release date is spring/summer 2016 and all information can be found at onlywhatsnecessary.com

What do you think of the OWN FR-01?

Let us know in the comments below!

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