Gucci wrote:
Honestly I'm a bit miffed about this. the 890v6 was a great daily trainer. Fairly lightweight, firm, mild support lower heel-toe drop,, and responsive. Everything I look for in a trainer.
With the update, I don't think it will work as a trainer anymore. Too light, and too much exposed foam. I have a minor sponsorship from New Balance, so I get free shoes intermittently. Not sure what trainers to transition to, now. Zante's didn't work for me (too soft and unsupportive), and I don't like the 10mm drop found on all their other trainers. Vongo might be ok, but heavier than I like.
I switched from the 880 series (had v7 and v8) to the 890v6 recently and have to agree with your sentiments. I still may give the 890v7 a try but I get the sense that it will be a much shorter lived experiment than I'd like. I was getting ~800 miles on a pair of 880s and have ~300 on my 890s now with only mild wear, expecting at least 600 miles out of them. My Beacon's with 1/3 of the mileage look worse than the 890s. I can't see how that would change much given the design of the 890v7.
The 1080v9 (8mm drop) has potential but it is heavy. I tried these on and they felt somewhere in between the 890v6 and Beacon in terms of cushioning and firmness. The FuelCell Impulse and FuelCore Sonic v2 are, also, options for me (both 6mm drop). I had the prior version Sonic and enjoyed running in it, but they wore out a little quicker than I'd prefer (400 miles). The 890v6 feels quite similar to the Sonic, just in a more durable package.