Tested : Ben’s Adidas Five Ten Eco Riding Kit.

Adidas Five Ten’s latest MTB offerings come to you via recycled plastics from the World’s oceans to make up their Primeblue ranges.

Ben has been putting Adidas Five Ten’s new Primeblue range, made from recycled ocean plastic, of riding kit to the test to see how it stacks up.

Photos by Dave Price.

Over the past few years high street sportswear and fashion brand, Adidas has been making more regular appearances in the world of knobbly tyres, including a notable collaboration with Troy Lee Designs that included some very expensive race wear and some jazzy, yellow and blue shoes.

Five Ten, under the ownership of Adidas, has been branching out as well and now has its own range of MTB specific clothing, including these items that are billed as being more eco-friendly.

The jersey and shoes are both made with Adidas’ ‘Primeblue’ materials whilst the shorts are made with their, ‘Primegreen’ range of materials. Both materials use different recycled materials, with the goal of reducing the use of virgin plastics in the form of polyester, that is usually used to manufacture sports wear and shoes.

Primeblue utilises Parley Ocean Plastic which you can learn more about here. Basically it is plastic retrieved from our oceans and then processed so that it can be re-used, in this case for MTB clothing. Adidas’ range of Primegreen materials simply use a selection of recycled materials, reducing the use of new plastics in the manufacturing process.

Five Ten Brand Of The Brave Shorts.

Key features:

  • Regular fit
  • Front fly with snap closure
  • 90% recycled polyester, 10% elastane dobby
  • Four-way stretch fabric
  • Two side zip pockets
  • Drawcord-adjustable waist with belt loops
  • Brand of the Brave silicone print on inner waistband
  • £60.00 RRP

The interestingly named ‘Brand Of The Brave’ shorts are a modern, light weight trail short made with stretchy fabric. The cut is a bit on the sporty side, so if you have beefy thighs like me, then you might want to size up. Luckily the stretch of the fabric meant they still worked well, despite being a little tighter than my normal shorts. Fit can be adjusted at the waist and they feature a secure, double popper fastening.

The shorts feature the usual side pockets and an extra, zipped pocket on the left thigh that’s ideal for a gel or small bar. The styling is low key with a large, but subdued 5.10 logo on one side. The only other logo was a small red tab on the hem that I found rubbed my leg and became annoying after about 45 minutes riding.

Overall, the Five Ten Brand of The Brave Short is a great option at a competitive price.

Five Ten Bike TrailX T-Shirt.

Key features:

  • Regular fit
  • Crewneck
  • 100% recycled polyester interlock
  • Droptail hem
  • Primeblue
  • £34.99

Whilst it is a perfectly decent jersey, I just couldn’t get my head around the football shirt styling and shiny colour scheme. I am sure some people will love it, but I felt like I had an old Brazil shirt on from Italia ’90.

Putting the colour aside, it is actually a nice, simple jersey at a great price of only £34.99, and currently discounted at a lot of online stores, so it’s a real bargain. The material is soft against your skin and I found the fit to be a bit more casual than the shorts reviewed above. It wicked away sweat as well as jerseys twice the price, helping to keep me dry and cool in the summer.

Five Ten Freerider Pro Primeblue shoes

Key features:

  • Regular fit
  • Lace closure
  • Textile upper
  • OrthoLite® sockliner
  • Moulded EVA midsole
  • Stealth® Dotty rubber outsole
  • Primeblue
  • £120.00 RRP

What is there to say about the Freerider Pro that hasn’t already been said a hundred times? As a committed flat pedal rider who has ridden most of the shoes on the market, this is my benchmark shoe. In terms of fit, comfort and pedal feel, it just can’t be beaten and while Specialized have come close with their 2FO shoes, the Stealth Rubber soles are the grippiest and best performing in the game. These Primeblue versions do all of the above, just with a warm feeling that they are a bit more eco-friendly, and the colour is pretty nice too.

What do we think?

There is no doubt that we are in the midst of a climate crisis, and as mountain bikers we all need to do more to reduce our impact. It is great to see large brands like Adidas/5.10 take steps towards reducing plastic use, and I hope that others follow suit. On that note, I was surprised and disappointed to find that the jersey and shorts both came in clear plastic bags just like every single bit of riding kit I get sent. Yes, they were recycled, but surely we can do better than this as an industry.

As consumers we need to put pressure on brands to be better, and choosing when and where to buy new kit is part of that process.

We Love:

  • Big brands making steps towards sustainability
  • Decent quality riding kit at good prices

Could do Better:

  • Ditch the plastic bags
  • Scratchy logo tab on shorts.

You can check out the Adidas Five Ten MTB offering on their website here.


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