Minimalist Racing Flats are no longer being made —— Sad Days

The Nike ZoomX Streakfly is still a bit of a relic from the past racing flat wise. No carbon plate and only 6 ounces. About the only one I’ve come across. Great shoe for 5-10km races.

I bought a pair of Asics gel tarthers directly from the Asics website this past spring. They have a couple versions. They’re still great. My arches like them (compared to super shoes) and they are more supportive than the Takumi sen.

Altra escalante racer is still being made and is a solid shoe. 22mm stack but other than that, it meets your criteria

Did you mean the NB 1400? The 1600 is a lifestyle shoe.

If the 1400's worked for you, then the Adios 7 or 8 should as well as they have a similar ride and stack height. Or try the Takumi Sens, moderate stack height and the light, agile feel of a traditional flat plus the benefit of modern superfoam. Or you could try those dumb Xero shoes. Personally, I like being able to run faster and I don't miss having my feet and legs beat to crap in road races.

Yes, I meant NB1400. It’s been a lot of years since I stopped using them, so mixed up the number. Good correction.

HOKA just recently released the Cielo Road -- non-plated racing flat, 3 mil drop, pretty light (though, true to HOKA form, not *that* light). Same price as the Streakfly ($160). Haven't had the chance to try it yet but I'm intrigued, though it'll take a lot to beat the Streakfly in my mind.

Asics Hyper Speed is almost there, but about 4mm too high and .2 ounces over your limit. The 2ns version is really affordable though, about $60 right now.

Agree. I have the Streakfly in my rotation right now and they are light as hell (6.0 oz). They have no plate and you can feel what's underneath you. I feel like if the they were any more "minimalist" I'd be running in nothing but foot condoms.

The Sinisters are almost perfect, but they're a little narrow. I appreciate that they've got full outsole coverage so you can take them offroad without shredding the foam, unlike the Streakfly.

Thanks everyone for your support. It’s a hard time, but your heartfelt responses and recommendations make a difference.

The Sinister is the only thing on the (US) market that could be called a racing flat, other than the zero stack shoes, and it barely qualifies. It has a kind of high stack height.

You can still get some Japanese flats like the Mizuno Wave Cruise and some from Asics if you pay like $200 to buy them from japanese sellers on ebay.

But to answer op, yes, this age of the maximal bounce shoes really makes me sad. I'm a negative responder to bounce shoes. No company has the balls to release a flat any more and risk it not selling. I race half marathon and down in streak lts I got off ebay. I'm actually thinking about going back to the track in my late 30s as I can't find a good road shoe any more and the streak lts on ebay are dwindling.

Brooks recently released the Hyperion and Hyperion GTS that reminds me a lot of an old school flat. I am in the same boat as you looking hard to find the old school traditional flat to run in.

Altra vanish r if you can find a pair on eBay, or the puma liberate nitro is kinda close. Other than that find some cheap shoes with a good upper and cut out the extra support/unnecessary cushion. That or just yell at the clouds till someone at a shoe company takes pity.

Asics Sortiemagic. I can still find RP6 in the EU pretty easy, may be tougher in the US. Sub 5oz, and an amazing flat as long as your foot isn't too wide.

If you don't want modern foam, how about a kilkenny xc spikeless flat? They are certainly on the narrow side, but definitely reminiscent of old school low profile road flats.

I second the hyper speeds as a minimalist flat even though it's over his preferred stats. Really enjoyed the original, and just started using the 2.

I can't tell if Asics still makes the Sortie Magic. They never sold it in the US but there are some that turn up at Amazon.

Yeah, love the A9 and am sorry to see them go, but have had good experience so far in the Sinisters. Of course, Saucony is charging 50% more for them...

I did not have good luck with the Streakfly's durability.

I keep hoping the pendulum will come back to more minimal shoes. I have to believe there are a lot of us.