168. Quoc Pham: Shoes, Geraint Thomas andFar East factories

This week, James is joined by Quoc Pham, founder and designer of the eponymous cycling shoe brand. Before cycling, Quoc worked in fashion, running his own label, but turned his attention to making shoes in that classic way people do when they turn inventor: he found himself commuting around London in shoes that just weren’t up to it, they were either functionally great but ugly, or nice looking but out of their depth in toeclips on a fixie – so he set about making his own. His first, a beautiful leather shoe with smooth, contoured sole called the Fixed, quickly developed a cult following in the Eroica scene, and fast forward 17 years Quoc has expanded into road and gravel, even sponsoring Geraint Thomas along the way.

In this episode we chat about how that deal came about thanks in part to a personal message from Quoc; the incredibly steep learning curve that was making a pair of shoes from scratch; and how the brand-factory partnership works and how that most crucial relationship affects what kit you wear and what bike you ride, just as much as any technology advance, design team, or economic fluctuation.

Chat begins at 7.52

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