I run in spikeless racing shoes and enjoy them. I agree about not wanting experimental shoes for 1% gain at 3x the cost and risk of injury when I'm not making a living off of races.
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.
Haven’t had experience running in foot condoms so can’t comment on that comparison but yes light as hell lol
Still got a pair of New Balance RC5000. 3 oz, I believe.
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.
Haven’t had experience running in foot condoms so can’t comment on that comparison but yes light as hell lol
Still got a pair of New Balance RC5000. 3 oz, I believe.
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.
Haven’t had experience running in foot condoms so can’t comment on that comparison but yes light as hell lol
Still got a pair of New Balance RC5000. 3 oz, I believe.
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.
Haven’t had experience running in foot condoms so can’t comment on that comparison but yes light as hell lol
Still got a pair of New Balance RC5000. 3 oz, I believe.
As the Saucony A9 is no longer being made and remaining inventory on it starts to wane, I went on the minimalist racing flat search. I do this every few years when they discontinue the brand/iteration I have been using. I want low stack height (max 20mm heel) , light (max 6.5 ounces), and no carbon plate (purist here). This is my daily running shoe. It was NB 1600v2/v3 for about 6 years, then Saucony A8/A9 for the last 6 or 7 years.
It now looks like we’re nearing the end of the road.
Sad days folks. Not much being made anymore that fits the bill. Anyone else sad?
There are some clouds passing over shortly that we can yell at. Anyone want to join me?
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.
Not quite right. In the early and mid 2010s New Balance’s racing flat lineup consisted of the very minimal RC5000, the long distance RC1400, and the RC1600. It was a great shoe and to this day I regret that I only bought one pair.
I’ve got a soft spot for classical racing flats as well. I enjoyed the NB RC1600 quite a lot back in the days (based on the specs you mentioned I assume it was really the 1600 you meant and not the 1400 as someone else assumed).
I can’t comment on a suitable modern replacement for the 1600 as I still have a couple of pairs of NB 1400/1500, Nike Streak LT and Adidas Takumi Sen 7 lying around, however, I am sure that the Nike Streakfly is not the solution. Even leaving aside that the specs don’t match your requirements (though that will be difficult with any modern shoe), the Streakfly simply is not racing flat. To make matters worse, it’s not a good shoe. It’s lightweight but that’s about it. The upper is baggy, the midsole lacks pop and bottoms out easily at the same time, the outsole is bad, and the midfoot shank is one of the worst implementations of its kind I’ve ever seen. It doesn’t add any pop to the shoe but can be very noticeable in a disturbing way at the wrong paces or with the wrong gait.
Honestly, if you could live with the basic specs of the Streakfly as 1600/A9 replacement, I would much more recommend the Puma Liberate Nitro instead of the Streakfly. It’s a touch heavier but is a so much better shoe.
My take on the Streakfly is that Nike deliberately released a mediocre shoe in order not to cannibalise Vaporfly sales.
This post was edited 39 seconds after it was posted.
I’ve got a soft spot for classical racing flats as well. I enjoyed the NB RC1600 quite a lot back in the days (based on the specs you mentioned I assume it was really the 1600 you meant and not the 1400 as someone else assumed).
I can’t comment on a suitable modern replacement for the 1600 as I still have a couple of pairs of NB 1400/1500, Nike Streak LT and Adidas Takumi Sen 7 lying around, however, I am sure that the Nike Streakfly is not the solution. Even leaving aside that the specs don’t match your requirements (though that will be difficult with any modern shoe), the Streakfly simply is not racing flat. To make matters worse, it’s not a good shoe. It’s lightweight but that’s about it. The upper is baggy, the midsole lacks pop and bottoms out easily at the same time, the outsole is bad, and the midfoot shank is one of the worst implementations of its kind I’ve ever seen. It doesn’t add any pop to the shoe but can be very noticeable in a disturbing way at the wrong paces or with the wrong gait.
Honestly, if you could live with the basic specs of the Streakfly as 1600/A9 replacement, I would much more recommend the Puma Liberate Nitro instead of the Streakfly. It’s a touch heavier but is a so much better shoe.
My take on the Streakfly is that Nike deliberately released a mediocre shoe in order not to cannibalise Vaporfly sales.
As the Saucony A9 is no longer being made and remaining inventory on it starts to wane, I went on the minimalist racing flat search. I do this every few years when they discontinue the brand/iteration I have been using. I want low stack height (max 20mm heel) , light (max 6.5 ounces), and no carbon plate (purist here). This is my daily running shoe. It was NB 1600v2/v3 for about 6 years, then Saucony A8/A9 for the last 6 or 7 years.
It now looks like we’re nearing the end of the road.
Sad days folks. Not much being made anymore that fits the bill. Anyone else sad?
There are some clouds passing over shortly that we can yell at. Anyone want to join me?
Have you tried the Reebok Floatride Run Fast's? They're admittedly squishy like most road super shoes but in terms of stack height they definitely feel minimalist to me, perfect for road miles, 5ks, and halfs.
I’ve got a soft spot for classical racing flats as well. I enjoyed the NB RC1600 quite a lot back in the days (based on the specs you mentioned I assume it was really the 1600 you meant and not the 1400 as someone else assumed).
I can’t comment on a suitable modern replacement for the 1600 as I still have a couple of pairs of NB 1400/1500, Nike Streak LT and Adidas Takumi Sen 7 lying around, however, I am sure that the Nike Streakfly is not the solution. Even leaving aside that the specs don’t match your requirements (though that will be difficult with any modern shoe), the Streakfly simply is not racing flat. To make matters worse, it’s not a good shoe. It’s lightweight but that’s about it. The upper is baggy, the midsole lacks pop and bottoms out easily at the same time, the outsole is bad, and the midfoot shank is one of the worst implementations of its kind I’ve ever seen. It doesn’t add any pop to the shoe but can be very noticeable in a disturbing way at the wrong paces or with the wrong gait.
Honestly, if you could live with the basic specs of the Streakfly as 1600/A9 replacement, I would much more recommend the Puma Liberate Nitro instead of the Streakfly. It’s a touch heavier but is a so much better shoe.
My take on the Streakfly is that Nike deliberately released a mediocre shoe in order not to cannibalise Vaporfly sales.
I also can't find a supeshoe that works for me and really like the old school flats anyways. I also really enjoyed the NB RC1600s, they were great. I also liked the Asics Piranhas (SP5 was last version).
If you can find a pair the Reebok Float Ride Pros (3mm drop, 4 oz at my size US men 11.5) they were amazing. They were made with the Pebax type foam. Really wish this foam would have been used in traditional flats as a really thin layer is actually really "protective" and makes the shoe incredibly light. I'd like to see a remake of the NB RC1600 with the only change the new foam.
The Saucony Sinister is ok, but more material than I'd like for a traditional flat. These will probably be shoe of choice for me now. As someone mentioned, they are narrow, ok for me if I size up 1/2 size and deal with being a bit too long. Narrow in the same way Saucony used to make the Kilkenny xc spike - really hard curve at forefoot so it would fit great if you didn't have 4th and 5th toes...