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MAGAZINE August 2nd, 2021
Trail running: MICHELIN and SPEEDLAND together to innovate looking at sustainability.
Trail running innovation starting from a unique and revolutionary shoe that combines the most advanced technological solutions on the market. This is the goal of Speedland, the brand founded by Dave Dombrow and Kevin Fallon who, after two decades of experience in product design and in the roles as team leaders of the most important footwear brands worldwide, have decided to create a footwear line for an absolutely unique and innovative trail running: the SL: PDX. The shoes can be fully customized, starting from its sole, continuing with the presence of an easily removable carbon fiber plate.
In order to carry out such an ambitious project, the two founders chose MICHELIN as co-designer inspired by the experience built in the world of motorcycles, bikes and more technical soles. It all satrts from the belief that in the world of trail shoes the sole is not only the key element that gives traction and stability to the shoe, but it can also represent the function of a structural frame, connecting the different parts of the product to each other, to offer the runner a unique and unparalleled racing experience.
The result is a sole never seen before, developed exclusively by MICHELIN and which uses for the first time the cuttable blocks technology, a technology that allows the runner to customize the sole at its first usage in order to obtain the best in terms of performance, safety and comfort. The sole has been designed with a special multidirectional tessellation that can be customized through a very simple operation of "cutting" the individual blocks to adapt them to the real needs of the individual runner.
SL: PDX stands out for its low weight too, thanks to the use of Michelin's fiberlite technology. The sole is made through the fusion of fibers and rubber in a hot compression process that gives strength and stability to the sole, while ensuring maximum flexibility and enhancing lightness. The innovative design with stitched sole drastically reduces the usage of glue. Furthermore, at the end of its life cycle the shoe can be easily disassembled which can then be disposed respecting the environment. In addition, some shoe components can be replaced to further extend its life.
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