Has the dragonfly been overtaken as the premier distance spike available??

no

3.7 Oz is insane

It's hoka, don't try and argue that they're the best or even close to being the best when it comes to making spikes

Idk man, it seems like they might’ve found the formula here

Have to admit I saw them and was interested albeit I was then turned off by the price. The weight probably comes as a result of more stack. Looks like there is a fair slab of foam in that midsole.

Stacked foam spikes pricing though is a joke. In Australia I picked up a pair of dragonfly’s on sale for $150. These Cielo XD 2 LD’s are $270 and the ASICS metawhatever spikes are $400!

This is clearly a shill for Hoka. But to answer the question the rumors are that the New Balance ldx and the On spikes are as good as the dragonfly.

My daughter just tried the cielo x 2 ld and loved them! No soreness after first track race of the season.

ON spike on the lead

What makes the ON spikes any better?? I'm not disagreeing with you, I'm just not familiar with them.

I think an underrated aspect of the Dragonflys is that they have 6 spike pins and a full forefoot plate. I just checked a lot of the competitor spikes and noticed that Adidas Avanti has 6 spikes as well but most others only have 4 spikes. I think one of the big benefits of having a soft, light, and responsive foam is that it allows for a more aggressive spike plate without compromising on the comfort for longer distances. The old Matumbo used to use a 4 pin horseshoe plate basically out of necessity because the EVA just couldn't outcushion a full plate. However, the Dragonfly basically has the same 6 pin plate as the old Victory yet is still more cushioned and comfortable than the Matumbo. I think a lot of these other companies haven't gotten that foam blend just right yet because they're still using older spike plate layouts. This is probably a minor thing but I think it illustrates that the likes of Hoka, Brooks, and New Balance are still playing catchup. Adidas, however seems like the best bet if you're averse to the swoosh.

Just had a look at these. Honestly, pretty impressed at what I see here (other than the colors, haha) - Rebecca Broe and the team have done a great job.

First thing I notice is the last shape - very Nike footscape-esque which is a good thing. Upper is nicely done, nice clean engineered mesh with a little bit of interest with that eyestay pattern reading "flexibility".

Obviously though everything of performance value in track spikes sits in the midsole/plate. The MD is really well done with the little midfoot window there which definitely adds some intuitive attraction there with respect to a spring (even though it's not), but the overall silhouette is nice - especially in the heel. I would guess that that little "carbon fiber" piece you see is just a midfoot shank to stop that window collapsing and it won't go into the forefoot because of WA rules which say you can't have two plates on top of each other and there is no room for it anyway.

LD is a little different but again nicely done - your carbon fiber piece there I would guess just splits out and runs under the spike receptacles because really there is no need for it to be a full plate under the entire forefoot - it would be way too rigid for a distance spike anyways. They had to save a few $$$ by going with a pebax spike plate (because it's a bit soft and dense) but it's pretty stock standard in the industry.

I don't know what foam they have but by now almost all companies have access to some kind of pebax/TPE based foam which is about the same in terms of weight, compression set and resiliency. I'm sure no different on these spikes.

As for number of pins etc - want to know the truth? Don't even need them - yes, even in the wet. Between the friction of the track surface and any secondary element (molded) grip on the plate there is more than enough traction. They just add unnecessary weight. Why have them then - convention and perception - almost impossible impossible to sell a track "spike" that doesn't have "spikes". Maybe one day.

Overall I think these look really nice. They look clean and fast, have some unique details and I would doubt the performance of these let erode any of those attributes. Good to see another brand investing in track running product (because many don't as they make no money for brands) - it will help raise the investment and level of product across the board.

Needless to say you have to better, WAY better to overcome the Nike cache. The label plays into this. I came back in the last 3 weeks from an elite NCAA D1 meet and a very very large HS indoor meet. I was astonished at the penetrance of dragonflys. If I saw 200 NCAA runners, 2 of them didnt have dragons or nike sprinter spikes. HS races are a SEA of traffic cone orange, Hi Vis green.

what kind of chatter is there on zoom victory vs dragonfly?

i know of the guys like Jakob have been in the victory since last summer

I would agree with this. Nike will always have the basic desire and trust advantage over everyone because to be quite honest, they have cared the most and hence done the best product over the last 25 years (maybe even more if you start with the Jasari which is still the best distance running spike ever made). So to your point, you can't just have something "as good" because that is not enough of a lever to break that hook Nike has with (as you just pointed out) NCAA/High school athletes as a whole. Not easy for anyone else in what is a really small and niche sector of running - especially because track spikes are and have to be fundamentally simple to begin with, and you are talking about a really evolved and mature market. In all honesty I think Nike would have to go 5-6 years of absolutely awful product both performance wise and visually and another brand would have to have some value proposition on a really high level performance wise to make any legit inroads.

Is it, because flats weighing 3.2 oz were released years ago.

Exactly. Weight hasn't been king for a while. Think Mizuno Wave Universe's got under 3 oz in early 2010s but even if you threw a spike plate on those, Dragonflys would still be king.

Hoka is still the best on the market in their original niche, highly cushioned yet relatively lightweight daily trainers. However, I simply can't take their competition shoes seriously, especially not track spikes.

I don't think anyone's caught up to the Dragonfly for 5k/10k, but I prefer a more aggressive spike for 3k and down. The NB MDX is what I'm using currently, and people seem to really like the On spikes.

The adidas Ambition & Avanti can't be slept on.

Ask Katelyn Tuohy or the eight UW runners.

Yeah I asked that question on another thread- so that's what the Washington guys were using...Adidas ? Some Ambition" and some "Avanti? " split evenly?