Biggest Running Shoe technology flubs of all time

fisky wrote:

The worst shoes I remember owning were the wide heeled Nikes, the early Nikes with the visible air bag in the heel that were so unstable (leading to the term Nike Knee), and the Nike model that was a sock on top with plasic straps that came over the sides with eyelets to be laced. Those things seriously bruised the tops of my feet.

OTOH, the ON Cloudsurfer is a pretty good shoe. I obtained three demo pairs for a shoe store and everyone who wore them loved them. They do require a couple of miles to get used to the different feel, plus they felt squishy when just jogging in the store, but at faster than a jog... say sub 8 min/mile... they're pretty good down to 6 min/mile. After that, they start to feel too heavy.

The story behind the "ON" shoes creation/creator was interesting...

Reebok All Terrain!

Nike LDV or LD 1000 or whatever it is!

Anything made by Spira!

I love Turntec shoes and wish they would come back. They were the most comfortable shoes.

ashley madison wrote:

Nike LDV 1000

Nike waffle racers (I know, started the craze, but the little waffle nubs fell-off/didn't last).

Nike Cortez (Made hamburger out of the big toe).

Addias SL 72s and SL 76s (rock hard).

You youngsters don't know truly bad shoes . . .

This guy knows what he's talking about. Youngsters, even your 30 dollar J.C. Penney versions of Nike, Saucony, Reebok, etc., are much better than the shoes that we ran with when I was in high school. But of course, they did start it all and lead to what we have today.

whirledpeas wrote:

these reebok dmx were the worst running shoes i've used.

gum-rubber sole wore out in 2 weeks. air pillow mid-sole was highly unstable.

http://img.scoop.it/hyXqbx_kNUOBWJ5NQ-M1oDl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBVaiQDB_Rd1H6kmuBWtceBJ

Totally agree -- a disaster from start to finish.

I had a DMX runnning shoe a long time ago and threw it away because it just wasn't comfortable to run in.

But I STILL (maybe 10 years old) have one of their DMX walking shoes. Softest shoe I've ever had, and I still use it for squats and any time I have a minor injury.

I don't think the technology was the problem. They just do a lousy job of designing running shoes. Their market really was fitness/workout/training, not running training.

Not sure if it's been mentioned before but the Nike Cesium was terrible. It felt like half my foot was on the esge of a curb the entire time.

I know a runner who actually liked Nike Cesium, he was aware that he was in a very small minority, he was even given a pair by another runner who saw him in them at the start of a race.

They have been mentioned in the thread but I liked the Nike Lunarglide 1 and 2, had about 10 pairs in total as I kept finding old stock online. When I had to give in and buy a pair of Lunarglide 4 I managed 2 miles the one time I used them as they were like running with a golf ball in my heel.

Finally! Adidas Springblade was the most asinine idea in the history of running shoes.

The completely orange Nike Universe spike of the late-70s was stiff as plywood after it got wet, and the outsole would crack as soon as it dried out. This was odd, for a cross country spike.

The Etonic Streetfighter with the entire toebox a blue suede that stained your socks and feet the same color. The outsole was about 3mm thick, so it wore out instantly. This was in the late 70s.

Early Tiger GT II had a tongue that was about as thick as an encyclopedia, and it nearly wore the skin off me during a 30 minute run. I cut the tongue off that shoe after a few days, and have scars to this day.

Though the original Nike Mariah was excellent, the other untuned air shoes of the time always injured my knees. Someone mentioned Tailwind, and this was only the start of these awful shoes (I wear full Nike Air now).

I had a New Balance racing flat in the early 80s where the eyelets tore out the very first time I put them on. I sewed them back together with fishing line over the course of about a week and raced in them. They were black, white and red, I don't recall the name.

Did anyone have the Pro Keds with the removable lugs in the sole?