Five Ten Freerider Pro - durability?

Anyone else using these shoes and finding sole durability a bit lacking? I previously had the basic Freerider model which I bought in early 2014 and they lasted to early 2017, so 3 and a bit years which included a decent amount of bike park riding. They were haggard by the end but I was satisfied with their life especially for $130 or whatever they cost.

Bought new Freerider Pro's in March 2017 and just over a year later the soles are beat with some holes starting to appear. I've put 80ish days on them including 30ish bike park. Am I expecting too much for a pair of $200 flats to last two full seasons of two rides a week? Pedals are Race Face Atlas with standard pins. Grip is still fine but it's only a matter of time before soles wear through or rip open and let water in.

Bought em at MEC so thinking of going back and asking about warranty.

I suppose it depends on how much you weigh and how hard you ride, but I would tend to agree.  My experience the past several years is that I get about 3/4 of a season out of a pair of 5:10s.  I  find that I seem to be heavy enough and ride enough that the sole gets chewed through with basically nothing left.  I ride them till that happens and the outer sole starts to tear apart from the mid sole and then I have to discard them.  I am tired enough of the short life and expense that I am trying a pair of the new Shimano GR9 instead.

Given how much I ride I buy 3-4 pairs of Impact Vxi’s at the start of the season.

The reason I change them out is not so much they fall apart after a month (they kinda do), it’s because the smell is nearly as deadly as Novichok.

My five tens (ride Freerider or Freerider canvas with a thin sheet metal insole added and buy discounted last year models) last half a season. By then they are so soft that my feet get super tired on rough trails. The sole on the ones with black soles last longer for me. The ones with grey or colored soles wear even quicker.

I’ve tried other shoes for riding, but nothing comes close so far in performance. I was going to try the Freerider Pros next, because of the stiffer sole and better durability. But maybe not?

I’d try to warranty a 200$ pair!

Thanks guys... guess it's  not out of line wear n tear, I do weigh 215lbs and lots of bike parking on em. Still gonna hit up MEC and see if I can score a new pair though because MEC.

Znarf: The Pros are waaay better stiffness wise than the standard Freerider, my feet don't get tired like they did on my old shoes. Uppers durability is fine, just not impressed with the wear rate on the sole.

I am a bit pissed that the soles of my 5/10 Freeriders have holes & cracks in them already, but the uppers still look fairly good. For walking around I only wear them in the dry now. That being said, the soles are pretty soft & good for the flat pedals I ride. I guess they're not designed for lots of walking. Can't beat the amount of grip on flats, though.

Posted by: grambo

Thanks guys... guess it's  not out of line wear n tear, I do weigh 215lbs and lots of bike parking on em. Still gonna hit up MEC and see if I can score a new pair though because MEC.

Znarf: The Pros are waaay better stiffness wise than the standard Freerider, my feet don't get tired like they did on my old shoes. Uppers durability is fine, just not impressed with the wear rate on the sole.

Let us know how you get on. I got the same and they are showing quite a bit of wear after 2 months of trail riding.

Maybe there's something to the quality control as of late.

I have a pair of Impact VXi shoes from 2014 that will be done by the end of this season, but I am impressed they've lasted this long. I use this exclusively for the bike park.

I also have a pair of Freerider Contacts from 2017 that I use for trail riding. Both soles are already starting to delaminate. :/

Posted by: dmc

Maybe there's something to the quality control as of late.

I have a pair of Impact VXi shoes from 2014 that will be done by the end of this season, but I am impressed they've lasted this long. I use this exclusively for the bike park.

I also have a pair of Freerider Contacts from 2017 that I use for trail riding. Both soles are already starting to delaminate. :/

I went thru two pairs of impact vxi with the m16 rubber in two years. Worst lasting shoes ever for me. That was just trail riding too. Im all of a 150lbs dripping wet...

have you guys looked into trying out the impact pro's? I just got a pair and they've been holding up quite nice so far. They're definitely a beefier sole but they weight significantly more than the freeriders.

I got a pair several years old never wear them much nice uppers but man the sole is flimsy. Even with added insoles.

My Freerider Pros lasted around 10 months before the soles tore open and started delaminating. Luckily I had purchased them at MEC and they gave me a full warantee.   Sadly, I haven't found any other shoes that work as well as Five 10s.

Posted by: skooks

My Freerider Pros lasted around 10 months before the soles tore open and started delaminating. Luckily I had purchased them at MEC and they gave me a full warantee.   Sadly, I haven't found any other shoes that work as well as Five 10s.

Yah this is my issue too. There is just no competition for flat pedals. Maybe i should suck  it up and learn clips

I think its pretty clear that 5:10 soles are not particularly durable, esp for heavier riders, lots of bike park riding, etc.  

I mentioned above that I was going to try a pair of Shimano flat pedal shoes (GR9 model, but all their models have the same sole).  I have a couple of rides in now and initial impression is that they are very grippy.  Maybe not as soft and "sticky" as a 5:10 but the combo of the small interlocking tread pattern and rubber does seem to grip very well.  For reference, I have HT and Shimano Saint pedals on my various bikes and have been on flat pedals/shoes since forever.

Time will tell regarding durability but initial impressions on grip and performance are very positive.  So I'm thinking/hoping there is finally an option to 5:10 shoes