The unexpected mash-up between Specialized and Allen Edmonds was pure serendipity – a project that came together at the right time, with the right people. I’m Chris Riekert, and from 2009 to 2019, I led brand marketing for the road business at Specialized Bicycles.
At the time, we had just launched the S-Works 6 road shoes. They landed with mixed reviews – some riders loved the locked-in secure fit, while others found them almost unrideable for the exact same reason. It left us scrambling to win back customers who had come to expect the best from our footwear.
On top of that, we were losing ground to smaller, more agile brands that were leaning harder into fashion-forward designs. Giro’s Empire lace-ups, for example – offered in multiple colours, super lightweight, and at a fraction of the price – were making waves. We needed a way to bring some fresh energy and positive attention back to the line.
That’s when I thought of Allen Edmonds.
The shoes used the S-Works “Powerline” carbon sole (Image credit: Chris Riekert)
I’d been wearing a pair of their classic tan leather shoes for years – decorative cap toe, timeless style. I pitched the idea of a collaboration: combine our cutting-edge S-Works “Powerline” carbon sole with the refined leather craftsmanship of Allen Edmonds uppers. Nick Gosseen, who led Specialized’s footwear team, gave me the green light to chase it down.
And that’s when the luck kicked in.
The Specialized x Allen Edmonds would unfortunately never hit the shelves (Image credit: Chris Riekert)
I reached out to a contact at Allen Edmonds – who, as it turned out, was a cyclist. Not just a casual rider, either – he was a former pro who had raced Paris-Roubaix back in the ’80s.
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Allen Edmonds opened up their design library to us and offered to send whatever we needed to test the concept. We selected half a dozen styles, and Marco Tores, a footwear designer at Specialized, worked with our factory to prototype the mash-up. It wasn’t without challenges – our lasts had more volume than Allen Edmonds’ traditional shapes, which led to several torn uppers as we tried to stretch and mould them to fit. But eventually, we figured it out.
(Image credit: Chris Riekert)
What came back were stunning – carbon fibre soles fused with rich leather lace-ups, detailed with the signature Allen Edmonds craftsmanship. They were unlike anything else on the market.
But then reality hit. The cost of production was astronomical, and the path to market was murky. Dropping them in bike shops wouldn’t do them justice, and we couldn’t afford to pull attention away from the core S-Works line. In the end, we made the tough call to shelve the project.
Still, somewhere out there, about a dozen pairs of these shoes exist – totally unique, and born out of a moment of pure creative luck. A little legend of what could have been. Who knows – maybe one day we’ll bring them back on Kickstarter.
