In stifling conditions on Friday at Mantova Shift sweated their way through a comprehensive presentation of their 2017 gear and some radical re-working for the coming year with the new ‘3lack’ and ‘whit3’ ranges replacing the previous Faction, Assault, and Strike offerings. Jeff Emig was on the mic and was accompanied by Chad Reed and Ben Townley for some decent insight into how Shift have re-evaluated their offerings and how the Mainline pant in particular represents a forward step for the company.
Reed is one of Shift’s icons and part of their ‘Syndicate’ of athletes as the firm have gone heavy on the marketing concepts for 2017 with a ‘We are Wolves’ group ethos; lacquering on the alternative edge of the brand. The Australian is now into his sixth year with Shift and since it began as an off-shoot from Fox to become a forceful presence on the shelves and hangers in its own right. “I have been a big part of the whole Shift scene and the current design and chassis of the new pant shows how far we have come,” the Yamaha rider said. “It looks cool but it performs well and plays more of a role in what we do.”
There seems to have been advancement through simplification at Shift and the high-end 3lack gear is a reflection of that. The buzzwords are ‘facet function’ and nothing is there without purpose. “You are going to see a lot more simplicity from Shift in the future,” claims Emig. “3lack has been about stripping things back and using new materials like stretch fabric and moving away from previous incarnations that were too overbuilt and featured too much structure,” he says. The Mainline pant came in for glowing praise as the three explained how modern riding kit needs to do much more than merely look and wash well. With the physicality and flexibility of athletes on the motorcycle in the current age of racing then gear also need to be functional and complimentary. “It is incredible to see the evolution of the pant,” said Townley. “You feel more ‘at one’ with the clothing and you don’t feel so restricted any more.”
“We have big old knee braces to fit in and it is bad enough to then feel extra restriction but that’s not the case,” backs-up Reed. “We have worked enough in the last few years to get the pant where it currently is.”
The Mainline is formed from 600D Poly that provides what Shift call “the best compromise”. It is form-fitting, features a double layer knee construction for top abrasion resistance and four-way stretch panelling (the Fox link coming in handy there) “The guys are taking incredible positions on the bike and they need the gear to perform,” commented Shift Brand Manager Philippe Casadesus who then said the single model comes in four colourways, and thanks to a well-thought symbiosis the liveries can be mixed and matched with all the other garments in the 3lack or Whit3 range not to mention the baggy Recon attire.
So what about ‘Whit3’ then? This used to be the ‘Assault’ entry-level ware and Emig was unequivocal about how well-received this aspect of Shift’s catalogue has actually been. “We had incredible feedback from the dealers and customers over the durability of the product,” said the former champion and one of Shift’s original representatives from 1997. “We really want to support the entry level guys and those perhaps discovering the sport for the first time.” Shift gear was made in ’97 and so is coming into the twentieth anniversary and the price point of whit3 definitely gives it a bit of a shine.”
“At the entry level point you usually have to give up some quality but we constantly hear that our gear performs; the seams don’t come apart and everything just lasts longer and we take a lot of pride in that,” Fro added.
The three-line Tarmac design caught our eye and a closer look at the 3lack Mainline Pant did reveal something where some serious thought and mileage has gone into the final product wrapped around the mannequin. Casadesus then quickly explained the work done in gloves (single palm layer construction and even a scaled back ‘slip on’ glove without a fastener), casualwear (Tees, hoodies and hats following the colourways for cool synchronisation) and the Tarmac helmet that means Shift are slowly moving more towards being a head-to-toe brand.
In what was a slightly different and revelatory exposition the final piece of information concerned the release date with the 3lack and Whit3 shipping from July 1st.
For more have a look at the website: www.shiftmx.com
Photos by Ray Archer
