Welcome, QUOC! Stylish, High-Performance Cycling Shoes
Today, we’re pumped to welcome the QUOC brand to Contender–a stylish, high-performance collection of cycling shoes, designed for road, gravel, and mountain biking. For a breakdown on QUOC, including the brand’s backstory and why Contender is adding it to our lineup, please read on.
Best Foot Forward: Quoc Backstory & Why Contender Chose This Brand
In the late 2000s, Quoc Pham–a Vietnamese born, fashion school graduate–was working as a menswear designer in London, when he noticed that his footwear was getting trashed by his daily bike commute, while also being entirely inadequate. This insight–and the desire to create something more functional, and more stylish–led Pham on a journey of research and design, culminating in the founding of his own eponymous brand in 2009, a cue that he took from his time in the fashion world (think Versace, Tom Ford, or Armani). Going door to door to London bike shops, he sold 120 pairs his first year, and from there, the milestones have steadily followed–including the creation of the industry’s first gravel specific shoe (2016), best gravel shoes award from by Bicycling magazine (2022), expansion to the US (2023), and in recent years, a bevy of pro racers wearing QUOC, including Welshman Geraint Thomas (INEOS Grenadiers).
QUOC brands itself as an intuitive, distraction-free cycling shoe, and in part, this is exactly what we love about their product. By delivering so firmly on our checklist of what we look for in a cycling shoe–from excellent fit to breathability to the right balance between stiffness and comfort–we can focus on what matters most when we saddle up: the ride itself. That, and the cool confidence that comes with wearing such a clean, classic looking shoe.
What’s New? Key Features of QUOC Cycling Shoes
Contender is offering the road and offroad iteration of QUOC’s ‘Escape’ shoe, designed to bring function and form to the masses. Some of the key features are as follows:
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Escape Road ($199.95): gleaming white, with a single dial closure for a snug fit, and a striking stitch pattern for the laces, the Escape Road shoe features a carbon composite sole, featuring excellent power transfer while offering long-distance comfort. Ventilation holes keep your dogs from barking, while all-weather materials easily wipe clean.
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Escape Offroad ($199.95): sandstone colored and featuring a similar aesthetic to the road shoe, the Escape Offroad makes a beeline towards dirt with a rugged toe guard for rock strikes, reinforced nylon sole for all-day stiffness and comfort, and grippy tread and spike slots, providing great traction on and off the bike. Ideal for gravel riding, mountain biking, or backcountry bikepacking, the Escape Offroad features the very same single dial closure for precise fit, while a reflective lace guide adds higher visibility in low light conditions.
High Performance Cycling Shoes: What Else is Out There?
For those interested in exploring high performance cycling shoes, Contender also offers the road and offroad shoes below, at comparable price points:
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Road Shoes:
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Specialized Torch 3.0 ($250)
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Giro Cadet ($165)
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Offroad Shoes:
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Specialized Recon ADV Shoe ($225)
Learn More
Interested in learning more about QUOC, or other high performance cycling shoes? We’d love to help out. Feel free to drop by the shop, send us a message, or give us a call at (801) 364-0344.
