Yes... another Vaporfly thread

Do at least a 20 in them! You need to check they work for your feet brah.

Just remember that every single mile is going to degrade the carbon fiber rigidity at the pivot point hence the limited shelf life. But I wouldn't think a half is going to kill them before your big race.

Good luck!

Is it that bad? Then I am glad I am not an overweight runner. Then they will not survive one full marathon...

I don't think it's that bad. Plus it's only my own opinion based on hearing repeated comments on here re the shelf life and having seen pictures of the plate.

Whether you are a heel striker and your weight would also I'd image contribute to how quickly the degradation occurs. But I'm sure you'll be fine for at least a half and a marathon or two in them - I think people say ~ 80 /100 miles before they're shot.

Vaporfly Asterisk wrote:

I don't think it's that bad. Plus it's only my own opinion based on hearing repeated comments on here re the shelf life and having seen pictures of the plate.

Whether you are a heel striker and your weight would also I'd image contribute to how quickly the degradation occurs. But I'm sure you'll be fine for at least a half and a marathon or two in them - I think people say ~ 80 /100 miles before they're shot.

They will last a lot longer than 80-100 miles so long as you don’t pronate or under pronate (me) to the extreme. The rubber on the bottom the shoes does not go all the way to the edge, therefore on mine the outside edge is pretty tore up after 40 miles. However, friends who have them with a more neutral foot strike have got several marathons and training runs out of them - closer to 200 or more miles before they felt they lost their pop. I don’t think the carbon plate wears out as much as the soft foam eventually compresses. I’ve put over 300 miles on ZF flyknits, same plate different foam without them losing their rigidity.

I have one full and one half in my Vaporfly + a couple of test runs and they're still good. I don't notice any difference to my new pair yet, the bottoms are just a bit worn out but it's all visual. I think people are a bit paranoid with the durability.

You should do at least a Half Marathon in them to make sure there are no problems and they're going to work for you. You could race the Half and then also do a 2 hour long run at some point just to be safe. This would put something like 30-35 miles on the shoes before your race - still new essentially....

If you heel strike like a banshee as I do, the outer foam will tear up but it's just visual. I put 100mi on mine and the foam is tore up but they work great. A little shoe goo will help but the rubber will eventually take over. I seem to do this (outer edge heal wear) on every shoe I wear but it's just cosmetic.

I figure I'll get 150-200 miles for peak race performance and then use them as my long run shoe for another 150 miles. I am just a 259 marathon guy so 3% is fine.

I have yet to find a nice high drop cushion but fast long run shoe that compares and doesn't leave you beat up. I just suck it up and pay. I do prefer the zoom fly fly lknits as my shorter tempo shoe... A little firmer and faster for me.

Thanks everyone!

I ordered them yesterday so no going back now...

My half marathon is sunday march 10th so that will be the big test!

Can't wait to try them out

Tell us how you faired!

And also, just a question to the public, would you wear them in rainy conditions?

Well... I think I can tell you the answer after my test half marathon according to the forecast... https://www.weeronline.nl/Europa/Nederland/Den%20Haag/4057864

People really underestimate the durability of the VF4%.

I have two pairs. The first pair I raced 4 HM, 2 multi-stage relays (19 miles total and 21 miles total), 2 10ks, even some 5k's and all associated WU's/CD's. And a track session when I first got them. Then I switched to the 2nd pair.

However, I kept hold of the first pair and started wearing them for tempo workouts, long runs with faster miles mixed in etc etc. They're now up to roughly 350-380 miles and still absolutely fine. The plate has lost a little bit of spring compared to my 'race' pair but I'd still take them over any other model of shoe, hands down. Still get way less fatigue in the legs the day after a hard session.

Don't worry about durability. Sure there's cosmetic wear on the sole but it's just that, cosmetic.

HHH Runner wrote:

People really underestimate the durability of the VF4%.

I have two pairs. The first pair I raced 4 HM, 2 multi-stage relays (19 miles total and 21 miles total), 2 10ks, even some 5k's and all associated WU's/CD's. And a track session when I first got them. Then I switched to the 2nd pair.

However, I kept hold of the first pair and started wearing them for tempo workouts, long runs with faster miles mixed in etc etc. They're now up to roughly 350-380 miles and still absolutely fine. The plate has lost a little bit of spring compared to my 'race' pair but I'd still take them over any other model of shoe, hands down. Still get way less fatigue in the legs the day after a hard session.

Don't worry about durability. Sure there's cosmetic wear on the sole but it's just that, cosmetic.

I've done something similar - put about 200 miles on them last year, including 3 halves and 3 fulls. My final two races in them were my best and fastest two races of the year.

After that, they did feel a bit flatter - not bouncy and almost like they've lowered in stack height. They also feel more nimble and better for turning. So I've given that pair a second life as a 10K and under racer, where they seem to be doing well. If I get another 200 out of them that way, the $250 will have been a pretty good value (I've had many a racing flat that seemed dead after 150 miles).

SprintTriathlon wrote:

Tell us how you faired!

And also, just a question to the public, would you wear them in rainy conditions?

They are fine in the rain. I wore them at Boston 2018, was worried, but didn't feel any loss of traction.

Vaporfly Asterisk wrote:

Just remember that every single mile is going to degrade the carbon fiber rigidity at the pivot point hence the limited shelf life. But I wouldn't think a half is going to kill them before your big race.

Good luck!

Yes, this is the exact same reason why cyclists discard their bikes after a few rides.

Raysharp001 wrote:

SprintTriathlon wrote:

Tell us how you faired!

And also, just a question to the public, would you wear them in rainy conditions?

They are fine in the rain. I wore them at Boston 2018, was worried, but didn't feel any loss of traction.

Makes a old man feel young.

Raysharp001 wrote:

SprintTriathlon wrote:

Tell us how you faired!

And also, just a question to the public, would you wear them in rainy conditions?

They are fine in the rain. I wore them at Boston 2018, was worried, but didn't feel any loss of traction.

I've had a different result - I feel like my pair (the original light blue non-flyknits) have poor traction on wet pavement. I've heard the same from others, but then there's also quite a few who claim that they are fine in the rain. I'm not sure if this comes down to gait, or if there are subtle differences in different iterations of the 4%. Someone had told me that the very first ones were lousy on wet pavement, but later ones (like the obsidian or the red or the flyknit) were improved. I haven't found much solid evidence to support that, though.

I did a long run in a drizzly rain because I was worried about traction and a potentially rainy race, and I didn't have any issues at all. I do find the traction to be way better than the Zoom Fly.

I work in a specialty store that sells them and we always recommend doing one run to kinda "break them in" one longer speed intensive workout (tempo) to test them out and make sure they work for them and maybe a second one just to get used to them more and then race in them