PeteFree.comFive Ten Freerider — flat pedal all mountain bike shoe — a short review
© 2016 Peter Free
09 September 2016
Problems with mine
My pair of the Freeriders came directly from Five Ten via Amazon. The following defects made it through manufacturing, quality control and Five Ten's mail order service.
Both heel counters slant medially (inward). The left is worse. These defects are noticeable walking.
The shoes are more flexible than I expected in a cycling shoe. I can feel the pins on my Chromag Scarab flat pedals through the Freerider soles. This is especially noticeable going up steep hills.
My usual ride is 90 to 120 minutes. After just 60 minutes, both feet have hotspots and at least one foot is numb.
Also annoying is the lack of a closure strap to keep the overly long laces from getting caught in the crankset. Even when tucked into different places inside the shoe, the laces sometimes work themselves back out. Tucking them under the laced portion of the shoe seems to work best.
The shoes are hotter than I expected, even on mid-70s Fahrenheit days.
On the positive side, the flat soles did better pushing the bike up unrideable slopes than some online reviews indicated they would. I have no complaints. Of course, I would not choose the Freeriders for boulder scrambling, especially on wet rock.
The take away? — Disappointed
I will not buy another pair of Five Tens without testing them first. My Freeriders are the least pleasant cycling shoes that I have owned.