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My 4 year old Pro’s have been held together with gaffer tape and shoe goo for the last 6 months. I understand the Adidas versions aren’t as good.
Any alternatives worth looking at? Sub £100.
I think the Pro's have always been under Adidas ownership? Mine were from the Adidas store and are great. Don't believe everything you read in the internet.
Edit: Adidas bought them in 2011, I think that's enough time for all Pros to be considered Adidas ones!
Hasn’t the sizing changed recently?
I've just bought some Ride Concepts Livewires...£75 on sale in Pedalabikeaway and similar prices online.
Grippy and far more comfortable than my adidas-era Freeriders.
I have the current Freerider pros, the Primeblue versions, and they've been the best 5:10s I've owned. Fit well (though I always have go up one size with 5:10s), the grip you'd expect without excess signs of wear, stiff enough to pedal all day in and still comfortable to walk in. They also clean up really well with just a quick hose off after a muddy ride and don't take long to dry off either.
Still in the old Freeriders, they're not perfect but they work and they seem unchanged under Adidas
Specialzed 2FO Roost would be my recommendation. Had mine a good while now and still very impressed. Cheapest I've seen them is Cyclestore doing them for £90 at the moment, availability depending on size (and wanting the green ones) though. You'll find them for a bit more on the likes of Tredz
https://www.cyclestore.co.uk/specialized_2fo_roost_flat_mountain_bike_shoes_2021-ID_81399
Just got a pair of Pros, really impressed after riding normal Freeriders for years.
Would buy again.
Good to know. I've got a couple of pairs of freerider pros, same fit as a few pairs of dirtbags before them. Bought a pair of Sleuths with adiddas branding last year and they're too long and also too narrow.
If Freerider Pros are still as they were, that's another shoe that can stay on the list for bargain hunting.
Freerider Pro has always been Adidas era.
Have been my go to shoe for years, until recently. Bought some of the new Prime Blue ones, as that's all I could get, and found them really not very grippy, to the point where I was losing feet of pedals, which is unheard of for me & FiveTen's.
Did a bit of searching & it appears they have put the less grippy version of the stealth sole on them, which I queries with them directly & after a bit of a run around they confirmed that was the case.
I have since switched to Specialized. I have set of the 2FO roosts, the DH version and the Rime version. The levels of grip on the sole genuinely are as good as a FiveTen & they are considerably better made up top. I am a convert.
Finally after all these years, someone has made a shoe as grippy. Literally one job when it comes to flat shoes.
liking the look of the new Spesh Rimes as well.
I got the freerider primeblue ones - i had to go a size up from previous 5.10's. They handle water better - shrug more off and dry out quicker. The sole doesn't seem as sticky as previous ones, though I've not had a major foot yet slip on vaults (I had a few on burgtec pins though).
Spesh rimes next for me.
I’ve moved over to the Spesh 2fo dh’s, better made than my free rider’s and also comfier.
grip is as good if not better
Size 11 Freerider pros in the classifieds right now…
Size 8’s required. I’ll have a look at the Specialized ones. I’ve always got on well with their kit.
Always used Fivetens, apart from a brief stint with the OWN FR01 which convinced me to go back to Fivetens...
Am waiting on a pair of the Specialized 2FO Roosts to be delivered, hoping the Slipnot ST rubber can match Fiveten stickiness!
Am waiting on a pair of the Specialized 2FO Roosts to be delivered, hoping the Slipnot ST rubber can match Fiveten stickiness!
I’ve still got a pair of Impacts beside my Roosts - haven’t bothered with them since the Specializeds arrived. I really rate them, and the rubber compound especially
When Adidas bought fiveten they didn't interfere at the beginning, then the Adidas label appeared inside the tongue and now its worked its way to the outside of the shoe and I do think my older ones that didn't bear the Adidas name were grippier, freerider and impacts.
Dogbone - I've got a pair of 42/UK8 that I've never used (still got labels attached) in case you're interested? Bought them a while back (along with some others) when I dabbled with flats to see if it alleviated knee pain from a meniscus tear, but never used them and have moved back to SPDs.
Has anyone tried the O'Neal Pinned flats? Quite a bit cheaper, wondering if they're cheap for a reason...
Have a look at the Ride Concepts Hellion and Hellion Elite.
I have been using mine since April and have no complaints at all.
The O'Neal got a pretty bad review in MBR recently...
I have the RC Hellion Elites. I prefer the uppers, lighter and more breathable and stiffness of the sole compared to the 5/10's, but the sole (even the 4.0) isn't quite as grippy as the Stealth rubber. Close though.