Five Ten Freerider VXI - Stiffness

[Honzo15]

I ride with these shoes and while I like the grip of them I think the sole is just a bit too stiff for my taste. I dont really get a feel for the pedals if you know what I mean. I've heard they take a long while to break in and am hoping that the sole will smoothen up a bit but whats your experience with these shoes? Is the sole of the regular Freeriders less stiff then the one of the VXIs? I grew up riding with Reebok Classics and kind of miss the direct feeling these shoes gave me.

 

[silverback]

My first shoes with flats was a pair of vans skate shoes and they were comfortable to start with then I started getting sore feet. Got the free ride vxi and the stiffness was some what like a plank of wood but the grip...amazing. they do settle a bit but not much you just get used to them really.

 

[DJR]

I think if you're used to feeling the pedals and having flexy soles no five ten shoe is going to feel like that, they all have stiff lasts ( sole supports) as far as I know.

Skate shoes may be a little less stuff but aren't going to be the same as joggers.

Not sure if the free riders got stiffer between the old and new versions, I have impact 2 and impact vxi and they feel about the same

 

[bikesarefun]

I ride with these shoes and while I like the grip of them I think the sole is just a bit too stiff for my taste. I dont really get a feel for the pedals if you know what I mean. I've heard they take a long while to break in and am hoping that the sole will smoothen up a bit but whats your experience with these shoes? Is the sole of the regular Freeriders less stiff then the one of the VXIs? I grew up riding with Reebok Classics and kind of miss the direct feeling these shoes gave me.

A couple of days on a shovel will do the trick.

 

[Beej1]

I think if you're used to feeling the pedals and having flexy soles no five ten shoe is going to feel like that, they all have stiff lasts ( sole supports) as far as I know.

See ... I read different to this before deciding on the freerider vxi's. I read that 5.10s DH shoes (impact) are quite compliant soles, as a DH race is only minutes long. The freeriders (I have these) are also compliant, but less so than the impacts. The freerider vxi's though are apparently stiffer to accommodate longer Enduro style races.

However I don't know if vxi equates to stiffer sole ... as the new DH shoe is an impact vxi.

 

[DJR]

See ... I read different to this before deciding on the freerider vxi's. I read that 5.10s DH shoes (impact) are quite compliant soles, as a DH race is only minutes long. The freeriders (I have these) are also compliant, but less so than the impacts. The freerider vxi's though are apparently stiffer to accommodate longer Enduro style races.

However I don't know if vxi equates to stiffer sole ... as the new DH shoe is an impact vxi.

Yep that's my understanding as well but five ten riding shoes ( and pretty much any MTB specific shoes) are going to have stiff soles for power transfer, and will always be stiffer than joggers which are designed for running

 

[Minlak]

I was using asics flat sole court shoes and both my 5.10 and tevas are far stiffer than the joggers. You can feel the pedals better with the jogger but riding feels better with the bike specific shoes.

 

[Zac Hinton]

I have 5:10 spitfires. I consider them to have only slightly less flex than skate shoes (vans, dc etc). My clipless shoes are old school 90s vans and they are rigid as hell by comparison. Stiffer the better I think.