Review: FiveTen Freerider VXi

The VXi is the first lovechild between FiveTen and the Adidas engineers, and its definitely an interesting shoe. The VXi has been delayed for an entire year, but earlier this year I finally got a pair, and can conclude my review based on 8 months of intense use. Read on.

The VXi has an incorporated hard toe cap, even harder than the "old" Freerider Pro. This is a welcome upgrade. The ankle support has gotten stiffer as well, adding support and protection. The outer material is more tough, but has a bit less ventilation. The material is way more easy to clean as well.

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The bottom of the outsole is where the VXi really differs from everything else we have seen from FiveTen. There is no pattern in the middle of the shoe, making every foot position equal in grip. The sole itself is stiffer as well, compared to the classic Freerider. So if you are into stiff soles (I am), then this is probably a welcome improvement.

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Weight:

Original Freerider is 960g

Freerider PRO is 880g

Freerider VXi is 855g

The Freerider series has been on a continued diet, and added more and more protection along the way, a winning formula?

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Initially not as comfortable as the Freerider or Freerider Pro. But after a few weeks of use, they get as comfortable as any other FiveTen shoe. The grip is nothing short of amazing, but be aware that they take a considerable time to bed-in; the stealth rubber needs to get a bit "chewed up" before giving that legendary grip.

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This is after 5 months of intense use. These shoes are holding up just fine.

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The "i" in VXi stands for Innovation, and it definitely is. A lot of things are changed compared to the original  FiveTen freerider-shoe, and pretty much everything is a change to the better. If you are in the market for some new shoes for your platform pedals, then consider adding the VXi on the top of the list:

The Good:

-Stiffer sole.

-Great grip.

-Surprisingly durable.

-Easy to clean due to new material
-More protection.

The Bad:

-Sole takes some time to bed in. Don't expect to be amazed at first.

-Shoe itself takes some time to bed in as well, longer than what you'd normally expect.

-The shoe laces.. man I'm tired of shoe laces..
-Extremely slippery in wet conditions when you walk around.
-Wearing these in snowy conditions will be downright suicidal.

Score: 5/6

Sunday Session Part 2/2

Part 2 of our Sunday session.

Got my bike up and running again after my catastrophic derailleur and cassette failure. I fixed it temporarily with an old and twisted derailleur I had lying around. Its not perfect, but it allows me to ride.

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Morten has a long BMX background, and that definitely showed. Here he is in the middle of the trail-gap.

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Spitfire in flight.

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Welcome to the tree-gap-club Mr.Madsen, you are hereby member number 3.

It took a while tho'.. didn't it? ; )

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Sunday Session Part 1/2

7 guys going at it for 4 hours in the November sun. Drops, jumps, crashes, slick lines, and more than a few manned up and pushed some boundaries. Good times indeed. 

I wasn't the only one shooting pics this day; Christian and Mr.Madsen are to be credited as well for their fine contribution.

No whining, no crying, no bull-shit, this is the yes-team : )

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Kevin on his Commencal (SX or AM?)

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Christian manualing a turn before going into a jump. He is actually on a new bike here; the revised Banshee Spitfire, note the BOS Deville up front!

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Mr. Madsen stepped it up this day, but ill get back to that in part 2..

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So, is this bad?

...arrrrrr *facepalm*

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Derailleur and cassette is dead.

Random, very random..

Seriously random this time. From an Audi, to a spider - beat that!

New cam in action.

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The testing of the Diddie Schneider 5.10 shoes continues. They had more than a single shower already, and its all good. Expect a review in a few months time.

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Dreas new Specialized Status. Boxxer Keronite up front, the new Vivid Air out back, Saint brakes, and obviously Deemax hoops. You would be surprised how lightweight this rig feels - and that's with heavy DH tires.

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Close-up

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I officially surrender to POC products. This is my forth POC gear, and like the rest, it performs beyond the rest, and above my initial expectation. The Index DH glove is very comfortable, has relief pads, protection pads and is so far durable.

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On our way back home from the bike-park trip, on the German autobahn. 

"Hay....whats that in the back of that Audi".....ged it? ; )

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By the way..

..we had the opportunity to hit the stepdown at the Churchline as well. And shot some footage of the "new" hip-jump, its tiny, but none the less fun to hit. Anyway, check these two features out:

35sec, simple edit, with sound.

Tree-gap session

As mentioned a few months ago, the tree gap got hit with success. Its big, and its fun. But its been very quiet around it ever since, no one dares to hit it. NO-ONE. 

That actually makes me wonder; is the limit for feature-size reached among the local riders? Is the tree-gap too big?

I would say NO, and here are my two reasons; first of, bigger stuff fuels progression, secondly, its all about taming the mind-fuck, de-wirering the neurons is "all" it takes.

Its not THAT big. Just be sure to pass the tree. 3,6m(11ft) to clear the tree, then an additional 2,4m (7ft) to hit the transition. I bet alot of the readers of this blog hit stuff that are way bigger.

So no one dares to hit this feature, well, that was until Drea joined up for a day of trail ripping:

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Good times : )