Five Ten And Adidas Eye Up The Olympic Effect

Five Ten has been the name in flat pedal sticky shoes for so long that it’s easy to forget that it started out life as a climbing and outdoor brand. With some bright spark having the idea that sticky rubber could prove useful at gripping pedals as well as rocks, an extra market was spied and mountain bikers have been happily pinned to their pins ever since.

It’s now seven years since Five Ten was bought by Adidas, and between that and frustrations over availability and quality, grumblings that Five Ten ‘isn’t what it was’ have been heard among the mountain bike community. It’s worth remembering that while we might think we’re hugely important, the mountain bike market is small fry compared to the football, rugby, running and casual markets that Adidas plays in. At the same time, some bike brands have sought to get a toe in the door of the sticky rubber scene, with varying levels of success. Riders sick of waiting for their Five Tens to dry, or frustrated as their glue dried out and their shoes peeled apart, have in some instances been tempted elsewhere. Certainly, there is now a far greater choice of shoes on the market for those looking for something with a sticky sole, and recent trends towards big platform pedals with cleats have added another dimension to the shoe scene.

Where does all this leave fans of Five Ten? And what can mountain bikers eying up their next footwear purchase expect the brand to offer them? Let’s have a walk through some of the current range and try to give you a bit of a feel for how the Five Ten minnow is faring inside the Adidas ocean.

Things might start to make a lot of sense if we jump forward to the future. 2020 to be precise. This is the year that BMX and climbing will feature in the Olympics, and Adidas is wise to the potential for market growth here. Already a well-established name in the climbing scene, Adidas will be hoping that there’s an Olympic ripple effect that will bring a whole new swathe of people into the sport – each needing a pair of something sticky to keep their feet on the wall, and something casual to stop their feet getting frayed at the edges when they’re down the shops too.

Similarly, the introduction of BMX (by which we mean the freestyle tricking, jumping and all round street-cred cool BMX, rather than the existing BMX race that’s been in the Olympics for a few years now) into the 2020 Olympics will give Adidas the opportunity to take on the likes of Vans in reaching the fashion conscious street, park, skate and dirt scene. We’ve seen Five Ten release much more casual and street orientated shoes in the last couple of years – which in some instances have been met with howls of ‘but why do we still not have a proper waterproof winter flat option?’ from British mountain bikers. But with the prospect of a new market of urban dwelling shoe buyers, it all starts to make (financial) sense.

What does all this have to do with your mountain bike shoes? Well, not too much. Those who fear the arrival of three stripes down the side of their shoes can rest in peace, as Adidas is pursuing a branding strategy which should leave your favourite shoes unaffected by branding, but hopefully benefitting from some of the scale that a monster company like Adidas can bring to production.

Where Adidas is eying up the Olympic market, you’ll find some co-branding: both the Five Ten and Adidas logos will appear on shoes which you might expect to see on the feet of Olympians. This means that climbing shoes and the new top end Kestrel Pro Boa (which you might find in an XCO race) are adorned with both logos – though the Adidas branding is fairly subtle. The Adidas side of things becomes a little less subtle on the street/dirt end of things, where the cool-kids-on-the-street are definitely being targeted. And no wonder – there’s a big slice of skatepark pie to be had there (if you have kids that skateboard or BMX, you’ll no doubt appreciate the potential turnover/attrition rate there is to be cashed in on). We’re told that no more than 20% of the Five Ten range will be subject to the Adidas co-branding, so there will be plenty of options for those that want the ‘pure’ Five Ten look.

Away from the Olympics, the two Adidas sub-brands that are going to be of interest to mountain bikers are Five Ten, and Terrex. This second name is attached to the ‘outdoor’ kit – a range that covers niche activities like canyoneering, right through to a gentle stroll in the woods, and are a much more widely known brand in Europe. They’re not new to the range, but the Terrex Trail Cross SL – with a relatively flat Stealth rubber sole, but with enough of a tread pattern to give you grip on a walk – is likely to be spotted in many a trail centre shop, where buyers who have forgotten their shoes also want to play on the tree top trail with their kids. For the occasional rider who wants an all-round pair of outdoor shoes, or perhaps the rider that spends a fair amount of time carrying their bike up a hill, these will be of interest.

On then to the meat and potatoes of mountain biking: the Five Tens. You could be forgiven for looking at the shoes online and thinking that not much has happened since you bought a pair five years ago, but there have been subtle changes in construction, glues and foams that should result in wearers finding that their shoes last longer, dry quicker, and have an improved fit. As well as bringing its technology power to the shoes, Adidas has been working to improve the supply chain of Five Ten, so you should see improved availability of shoes when you go to your local retailer. They’re also in the process of switching distribution centres, so from 2019 you should find that your retailer is better able to get hold of your size if they don’t have it in stock.

It’s heartening to hear that the focus has been on improving stock availability for existing sales outlets, with Five Ten keen to support the local retailers. They don’t want to see people trying shoes on in the high street and buying them online – and the new supply and distribution structures should help support this.

For next year, Five Ten continues its line up with simply a new range of colours across most lines. The Freerider DLX (DLX=Deluxe) is just a rebadged ‘Elements’ shoe, arguably the closest thing there is to a winter offering from Five Ten. There is, however, a new shoe in the form of the Impact Pro W – this is a women’s fit version of the gravity/freeride/burly but flexible shoe which was previously launched without its women’s counterpart. Nice to see that hard riding women are a recognised market…can we have a show of hands for those interested in the hi-top version? While we’re at it, can anyone explain why the Impact High Tops aren’t more popular in the UK? Apparently, these soft options with ankle protection are mostly sold in the USA – do UK riders not value their ankles?

Interestingly, the women’s lasts (the correct term for a show mould) for the shoes retain the same sizing across the toe box, but are narrower at the heel and generally drop lower around the ankle bone. So for those men out there that quite fancy this purple camo colour scheme, you might get lucky if you have fairly dainty ankles.

Another small but important change across the ranges is in sizing. Whereas previously women’s sizing ran from UK sizes 4-8.5, this has been extended to 3.5-10. Men expand from 5.5-12 with the addition of a 13.5 and 14.5, while the children’s velcro shoe moves from the fairly narrow range of children’s 3 to adult 3 to now go right up to an adult 6.5. Good news for any smaller footed adults that don’t get on with laces.

A final piece of branding comes in the form of the Five Tennies – an anniversary edition harking back to the earliest shoes made under the Five Ten name. Made as a general purpose shoe (and don’t forget, it was general outdoor use and climbing where Five Ten first got going) these come in a ‘sensible’ and ‘brave’ option for both men and women, with the wild option sporting the original Five Ten logo.

For the time being then, don’t expect to see a Five Ten shell suit, or those ‘popper pant’ trackie bottoms you could rip off (but only up to the waist – what was that about?). Instead, you should find that your old favourite sticky shoes are just as sticky as ever, easier to get hold of, and perhaps not on the radiator quite as often.

For more details of the new range of Five Ten shoes, take a look at our coverage from Eurobike 2018.