# Five Ten Freeriders vs Ride Concepts Livewire



## 93EXCivic (Mar 12, 2018)

So my Five Ten Freeriders are about dead. I am trying to decide whether to get another set or go for some Livewires. Anyone tried both? Which do you prefer? What are the differences? 

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## diamondback1x9 (Dec 21, 2020)

Review: Ride Concepts' Livewire Shoes are an Impressive Debut - Pinkbike there are some details about the freerider in this article...
ps do you use grm?


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## Mick-e (Apr 23, 2017)

93EXCivic said:


> So my Five Ten Freeriders are about dead. I am trying to decide whether to get another set or go for some Livewires. Anyone tried both? Which do you prefer? What are the differences?
> 
> Sent from my LM-G820 using Tapatalk


I do own both.
Differences:
510 has the softer, "stickier" but wears out faster rubber. One of the things people like about 510 is that "glued to" feeling. RC Livewire's do not have as soft or penetrable rubber so the pins do not adhere to the shoes as well.
This is good, and bad depending on what you want from your shoes.
I've really like my Livewire's for 90% of the riding I do.
The shank, not the rubber itself, is stiffer, and the shoe flexes less under power which means more of you power is pushing into the pedal.
That's great for climbing, and big power moves.
The rubber itself is also stiffer and again for most of the riding I do it's great, but occasionally I've been bounced off the pedal in fast chunky terrain.
Part of that could be how they are wearing, and that ties into overall value.
I think I got 9n months of hard riding out my first set of Freeriders?
I'm well over a year on the Livewire's.
When the 510s started to wear out they literally wore a hole in them. Like I could push a wire through a hole to the inside.
Whereas the RC Livewire's have worn a notch where my pins make contact, and there isn't any material there anymore, but there's not gaping hole trying to stab my foot.
For everyday riding you can't beat the RC Livewire's, but if you're going really aggressive chunky monkey all day all the time, they might not be the right shoe, but then neither are Freeriders.
I've ridden all over the western US in some technical, rough, and rowdy terrain, with these shoes and been very happy with them.

A word on sizing.
In my everyday shoe world I wear a 10.5. Merrels, Redwings, vans. 10.5
In the MTB shoes they're all 10s. 510, Unparalleled, and Ride Concepts
EXCEPT
Since I liked the RC Livewire so much I wanted to try their more burly Powerline which is supposed to have a stickier sole, and more protection.
Silly me I bought a size 10. You know, like my Livewire's. Toe-crushingly small. Ride Concept was nice enough to allow me to send them back, even though I had ridden in them, and exchanged them for a 10.5.
And you know what? THERE STILL TOO SMALL

With that said I really liked the Livewire, the Powerline is not starting off very strong.


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## Mick-e (Apr 23, 2017)

Oh and style points for the user name


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## 93EXCivic (Mar 12, 2018)

diamondback1x9 said:


> Review: Ride Concepts' Livewire Shoes are an Impressive Debut - Pinkbike there are some details about the freerider in this article...
> ps do you use grm?


Yup.

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## 93EXCivic (Mar 12, 2018)

It sounds like the Freerider is more up my alley then. My Freeriders have lasted about 1.5 years.

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## natas1321 (Nov 4, 2017)

have both and prefer the freeriders just because that is what i usually use or freerider contacts which I actually like better, and I'm happy if I can get a pair to last 6-8 months. The freeriders feel more comfortable and feel to have more grip than the livewires which tend to slip off of the pedals time to time but I only use them as a backup pair of shoes so I have less time with them.


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## Bikesaredumb (Dec 31, 2020)

Just switched from a 510 freerider to the RC TNT (got them on clearance, not sure if they make those anymore) Like someone had already said, my freeriders had developed a few holes straight through the sole. My first impressions of the RC were they were stiffer, more supportive and more comfortable, I really like the "power strap" for keeping the laces tucked. however, even with the softest RC rubber, they weren't as grippy as the 510's on my Kona wah-wah composite pedals. I rode them for a few rides and was kinda bummed, I was slipping pedals more than I used to on the 510's. Long story long, my foot position was the answer. With the 510's I would aim for landing the ball of my foot in the opening of the pedal, just ahead of the axle. If I could land both of my feet there, I was golden and not going anywhere. With the same foot position on the RC's, I was slipping pedals. I figured out after a few rides, that if I just slide my foot a bit forward, to the pedal axle is closer to mid foot, these shoes stick like glue. Because they weren't as stiff I really needed to nail my foot placement with the 510's or I felt like they weren't gonna hold on. If I needed to readjust with the 510's I would need to actually pick my foot all the way off the pedal and reposition, rinse and repeat until I felt like they were in the sweet spot. With the RC's if I don't land a foot perfectly for whatever reason, the shoes are stiff enough that I don't feel like I'm in danger of coming off, and if I need to reposition it's easier to scrooch my foot around a little for better purchase. I'm at the point now, that I prefer the RC's over the 510's, I feel like the added stiffness in the soles makes everything more comfortable, climbing as well as descending, they're just so much more supportive and I can definitely tell the difference on the hardtail. I think when these wear out I'll tray a set of the RC powerlines, they've got the same rubber as the TNT and look like they've got a bunch of the same features I like. 

TLDR; I like the RC better than the 510 Freeriders.


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## b rock (Jan 5, 2017)

Bikesaredumb said:


> Just switched from a 510 freerider to the RC TNT (got them on clearance, not sure if they make those anymore) Like someone had already said, my freeriders had developed a few holes straight through the sole. My first impressions of the RC were they were stiffer, more supportive and more comfortable, I really like the "power strap" for keeping the laces tucked. however, even with the softest RC rubber, they weren't as grippy as the 510's on my Kona wah-wah composite pedals. I rode them for a few rides and was kinda bummed, I was slipping pedals more than I used to on the 510's. Long story long, my foot position was the answer. With the 510's I would aim for landing the ball of my foot in the opening of the pedal, just ahead of the axle. If I could land both of my feet there, I was golden and not going anywhere. With the same foot position on the RC's, I was slipping pedals. I figured out after a few rides, that if I just slide my foot a bit forward, to the pedal axle is closer to mid foot, these shoes stick like glue. Because they weren't as stiff I really needed to nail my foot placement with the 510's or I felt like they weren't gonna hold on. If I needed to readjust with the 510's I would need to actually pick my foot all the way off the pedal and reposition, rinse and repeat until I felt like they were in the sweet spot. With the RC's if I don't land a foot perfectly for whatever reason, the shoes are stiff enough that I don't feel like I'm in danger of coming off, and if I need to reposition it's easier to scrooch my foot around a little for better purchase. I'm at the point now, that I prefer the RC's over the 510's, I feel like the added stiffness in the soles makes everything more comfortable, climbing as well as descending, they're just so much more supportive and I can definitely tell the difference on the hardtail. I think when these wear out I'll tray a set of the RC powerlines, they've got the same rubber as the TNT and look like they've got a bunch of the same features I like.
> 
> TLDR; I like the RC better than the 510 Freeriders.


So the rubber on the TNT and Powerlines is grippier than the Livewires, and the Freerider rubber is grippier than all these RC shoes?

I've been wearing Freerider Pros with Kona Wah Wah 2 Composite pedals for a while, and the only thing I don't like is how hard it is to quickly reposition my foot angle. I was looking forward to the stiffer shank in the RC shoes for my next pair, but if people are finding foot slippage unless they put their arches over the axle, I might just go for Freerider Contacts next time.


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## CraterMaker (Feb 10, 2004)

Never ridden with them, but I have tried both of them on. If you have a wide foot (I'm a 2E), the 510's will be much more comfortable. I could barely squeeze my foot in the LW's even after sizing up (YMMV...)



93EXCivic said:


> So my Five Ten Freeriders are about dead. I am trying to decide whether to get another set or go for some Livewires. Anyone tried both? Which do you prefer? What are the differences?
> 
> Sent from my LM-G820 using Tapatalk


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## Bikesaredumb (Dec 31, 2020)

b rock said:


> So the rubber on the TNT and Powerlines is grippier than the Livewires, and the Freerider rubber is grippier than all these RC shoes?
> 
> I've been wearing Freerider Pros with Kona Wah Wah 2 Composite pedals for a while, and the only thing I don't like is how hard it is to quickly reposition my foot angle. I was looking forward to the stiffer shank in the RC shoes for my next pair, but if people are finding foot slippage unless they put their arches over the axle, I might just go for Freerider Contacts next time.


From my (limited) experience, yes. 510's just seem to have the grippiest rubber, hands down. That being said, I still prefer the RC's in every other way. I didn't feel that my freeriders were especially flexy until I got the RC's, the difference was literally night and day. I also dislike how hard it was to reposition my feet, now, because the RC's have so much more support if I can land a foot _anywhere_ on the pedal, I can ride out those "oh $hit" moments without worrying about falling off, and it's easier to reposition once the danger has passed.

Also, I'm pretty new to this whole deal and I'm not sure if my experience qualifies as "people finding foot slippage" I could also probably make that clearer, the foot slippage I experienced was almost exclusively while climbing because I was placing my foot in the same location that I _had to _ when wearing the 510's to feel like my foot was supported. I honestly probably moved my foot forward all of about 1/4" not only does the shoe stick better but it feels better climbing in that position. I have had zero foot off situations while descending since I switched, not one. I would occasionally slip off a pedal with the 510's and I think it was because they shoes were less supportive in the sole. With the RC's if I can weight the pedals, my feet are staying put. I ride a hardtail and could immediately feel a huge difference in comfort on the descents too.

Again, just my personal experience. Your mileage may vary, void where prohibited.


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## will.mac (Sep 26, 2020)

I’ve got a pair of power lines. I’ll echo the above sentiments. I find 5-10’s too soft and I also don’t like to have to sit down to reposition my foot. I think a lot of the “more grip” discussion is based on this type of feel where you can shift a ride concepts shoe while still standing. Once you drop your heels with the power lines, they are solid. No better or no worse traction wise than 5-10. The benefit to me is that the stiffer shank takes the brunt of the force, not my foot contorting around a pedal. On nukeproof horizon Sam Hill pedals btw and wear size 44.5


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