Five Ten Freeride VXi

[HaydenWilson]

www.mountainmailorder.co.za has freeriders in stock at present. about the same price as diald.

[Thug]

www.mountainmailorder.co.za has freeriders in stock at present. about the same price as diald.

 

I see that they don't have 1/2 sizes.

[BikeBailing]

the CRC prices are also quite tempting right now

 

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/BrandCategory.aspx?BrandID=247&CategoryID=337&SortBy=Price

[Stuart Corbishley]

I got a pair of the grey Freeriders, flippin love them. Been though mud and streams in them. Bit 'o clean green and some fresh water, and they good as new.

[braailegend]

and grip wise... can you tell why people who ride Five Tens can never go back to skate shoes?

 

massive difference, five tens have a customer for life

[HaydenWilson]

I am so bleak that mine got stolen. they were called freerider scribbles and were actually more like the barons. nice stiff leather upper with extra toe protection. needless to say if anyone see's someone walking around in a white pair of freeriders around diepsloot please drive over them and return me my shoes!

[ZION]

Five Ten Freerider VXi Shoes - Tested

Jun 19, 2013

by Mike Kazimer

 

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http://ep1.pinkbike.org/p4pb9716322/p4pb9716322.jpg

Five Ten Freerider VXi Shoes - Tested

 

Think about mountain bike shoes intended for flat pedals and it's likely Five Ten is one of the first brands that comes to mind, and for good reason. The company's Stealth rubber, which was originally developed in 1985 for use on climbing shoes, is renowned for being ultra-sticky, providing loads of grip between shoe and pedal. In fact, this amount of traction can sometimes make changing foot position difficult, leading many riders to remove some of their pedal's traction pins to customize the amount of grip. For 2013, Five Ten introduced the Freerider VXi shoe with their Contact outsole, a smooth portion under the ball of the foot designed to make repositioning easier. This smooth portion is still made from Stealth rubber, but the raised dots found on the rest of the sole have been removed. The shoe's uppers are made from a mix of double stitched leather and breathable mesh, and have metal reinforced lace rivets. There is also an asymmetrical welt (the part of the shoe between the upper and the sole) for protection from crankarm rub. We took these shoes on nearly every type of ride imaginable, everything from long cross country rides to lift-served laps in the bike park, to see how they held up.

 

 

 

Details

• Stealth Contact outsole

• Breathable, abrasion resistant upper

• Asymmetrical welt

• Sizes US 3-12, 13, 14

• Color: charcoal/grey, red/black, pumice/black

• Weight: 900g (pair, size 10.5)

• Price: $120 USD

 

http://ep1.pinkbike.org/p4pb9716330/p4pb9716330.jpg

Well thought out features, like metal lace eyelets and a reinforced toe cap are designed to make the Freerider VXi as durable as possible. The asymmetrical welt (bottom left) helps prevent premature wear from crankarm rub.

 

On the Trail

From the moment we put them on, the Freerider VXi felt less boxy and more form fitting than other Five Ten shoes we've used, a welcome improvement. The fit seemed closer to what you would expect from a running shoe, holding the foot securely in place without any unwanted movement inside the shoe. As far as sole stiffness goes, compared to the rest of the company's flat pedal shoe lineup it seems to fall somewhere in the middle; not quite as stiff as the Impact shoe, but slightly stiffer than the standard Freerider.

 

The Contact sole does make it slightly easier to reposition your feet when sitting in the saddle, as there is less weight on the pedals, but this isn't when we typically want to change foot position. Standing up out of the saddle on a descent seems to be when the need to change foot position usually arises, whether it's to get situated for an upcoming jump or to realign ourselves on the bike after getting jarred off line by an errant rock or root. When standing out of the saddle, the Freerider VXi seemed just as grippy as the traditional dotted Stealth sole - it grabbed tenaciously to the pedal's pins, and we can't recall slipping a pedal at any point during the duration of the test. This tenacious grip did mean that it was still necessary to perform the 'lift and turn' technique that we've become accustomed to using with other Five Ten shoes to reposition our feet. This isn't necessarily a bad thing – after years of wearing sticky-soled shoes it's a maneuver that has become second nature, and we would rather have shoes with a little extra grip instead of not enough, but the Contact sole didn't seem make moving our feet as easy as we would have expected.

 

 

http://ep1.pinkbike.org/p4pb9716326/p4pb9716326.jpg

Five Ten's Contact outsole does away with the dots under the ball of the foot, a design intended to make it easier to move your foot on the pedals, but one that we found to have downsides when not on the bike.

 

Issues

While there was plenty of on-bike traction, walking with the Freerider VXi was another matter altogether. On dry, hardpacked terrain they were fine, sticking to rocks with ease and offering enough flexibility to make them comfortable for extended hike-a-bike sections. However, sprinkle a little moisture onto the dirt and rocks and the tables quickly turn. Any previous traction disappeared, replaced by the feeling of wearing tap shoes on a frozen pond. One of our local rides ends with a short, steep hike out of a creek bed. Trying to find purchase on the muddy walls of the creek bed was difficult to say the least – it was necessary to weight the very front of the shoe (where the dots are), and gingerly tiptoe back to level ground. The same scenario happened on wet rock faces – forget to step carefully and you may find yourself splayed out flat on your back making mud angels.

 

 

Pinkbike's take:

http://es.pinkbike.org/233/sprt/i/bigquotes.png We were impressed by the fit of the Freerider VXi, and for rides without any off-bike excursions this is a fine shoe. Durability seems excellent as well, with less visible wear than we'd expect given the number of rides these shoes have been on. That being said, the Contact sole severely limits the shoe's capabilities in wet weather - the negatives of the smooth sole seem to outweigh the positives, at least in our part of the world. Riders in drier climates, or that rarely step off the bike might not find this to be as much of an issue. Given that it seemed only marginally easier to reposition our feet on the pedals with the Contact sole, we'd rather have the traditional sole found on Five Ten's other flat pedal shoes. We'd love to see some of the features from this shoe, mainly the metal lace eyelets, light weight and revised fit, applied to Five Ten's Impact shoe, a shoe that's due for an update. If that dream ever came true, Five Ten would likely have a shoe that could rule the flat pedal world. - Mike Kazimer

www.fiveten.com

[ZION]

Issues

While there was plenty of on-bike traction, walking with the Freerider VXi was another matter altogether. On dry, hardpacked terrain they were fine, sticking to rocks with ease and offering enough flexibility to make them comfortable for extended hike-a-bike sections. However, sprinkle a little moisture onto the dirt and rocks and the tables quickly turn. Any previous traction disappeared, replaced by the feeling of wearing tap shoes on a frozen pond. One of our local rides ends with a short, steep hike out of a creek bed. Trying to find purchase on the muddy walls of the creek bed was difficult to say the least – it was necessary to weight the very front of the shoe (where the dots are), and gingerly tiptoe back to level ground. The same scenario happened on wet rock faces – forget to step carefully and you may find yourself splayed out flat on your back making mud angels.

[Capricorn]

i have to agree, but anyone could have seen that coming tbh. Stealth rubber still has to respect simple physics: smooth surface meets slick object = slip.

 

But other than that, it's pretty brilliant. The fit is better than the previous two versions of the freerider. Feels a bit lighter too.

[Beer4Recovery]

You pay import duties on shoes from CRC right?

[patches]

You pay import duties on shoes from CRC right?

 

Not if you're sneaky

 

There's a trick... I have 4 pairs of FiveTens... I only paid duty on the first ones

[r.hendrix]

how is this possible????

[Capricorn]

for some reason, my VXi's rolled through DHL/customs as a LVI.. low value item. No special request/shenanigans from myself or CRC. Just sailed right through. Came here in triple quick time, and 50% off what i expected to pay

 

i aint complaining.

[patches]

how is this possible????

 

MAGIC!!

 

(See Below)

 

for some reason, my VXi's rolled through DHL/customs as a LVI.. low value item. No special request/shenanigans from myself or CRC. Just sailed right through. Came here in triple quick time, and 50% off what i expected to pay

 

i aint complaining.

 

Did you have quite a few other items in the order?

 

The way I have done it is to make sure the shoes are the only dutyable item in the order. I put them midway in the shopping cart. and I make sure the cart is loaded up with all sorts of parts. (I even throw in cheap things like stickers, quick links, bar end caps, etc... just to "bulk up" the basket).

 

When customs then sees the waybill with all the parts, they don't bother spotting the one and only dutyable item.

 

As for DHL and the like, I have brought in 2 helmets from PBS (one being a D3 which I was stressing about).

 

When UPS phoned and asked for a general description of what is in the box, I simply said "bicycle stuff". My D3 came in duty free

[Capricorn]

i bought the shoes as a single item. in fact, when the lady told me no pro forma invoice was required because of the LVI classification, i was starting to worry if the size was right, and that they sent both shoes! One shoe of the wrong size would definitely qualify as a low value item!!!

 

but my fears were unfounded. But it does speak to the lighter weight of the VXis compared to Freeriders v1 and v2. VXi is essentially v3, and i'm loving it. Fearing the wet hike-a-bikes though.. mehness..

Edited June 20, 2013 by Capricorn