text: These are a great design idea, with a couple of flaws. I put over 1,000 miles on a set of regular Freeriders (XC, DH, Enduro), so I was pretty excited to try these because of the new toe protection. Unfortunately they don't fit like regular Freeriders - the toe box is quite a bit wider, and as a result my feet never really felt planted on the pedals while wearing them. Unlike the FRs, I felt really disconnected from the pedals the entire time. On top of that, the reinforced toe cover/protection makes the bend/flex point feel a bit strange - they don't flex like a normal sneaker, it's further up towards the laces. Not really a problem per se, but it's worth mentioning.<br /><br />I unfortunately ended up returning them and going back to the regular Freerider. In addition to the toe box and odd disconnected feeling between my feet and my pedals, my feet literally fell asleep wearing these after an hour each time - I think it may be because the toe protection doesn't allow the area around the ball of your foot to flex/expand when you're moving around.<br /><br />If your feet fit in them (or perhaps you have big toes?) they're certainly a quality shoe with the usual awesome 510 stealth rubber. They just weren't for me, and if you're used to the feel of Freeriders (which fit like a normal running shoe) you may not like these.