check out New Balance's answer to the Vaporfly, a "Project 5280" road variant?

They look wicked! Probably better for shorter distances not the marathon.

They come out in September. Sketchers version is out in July. We’ll find out about Sauconys very soon.

September

Ehhhh idk man I’m pretty sure just your standard racing shoe is 4% faster than a racing shoe from the 1980s, part of it is just the evolution of shoe design. If we get into a situation like those swim suits where every record at every distance is being broken even by people who were not even close previously, then that’d be a problem.

The Bone Zone wrote:

They're one of the biggest companies in the running scene

Are they? For me it always was more like "why is such a small fry sponsoring the biggest marathon in the world?"

Outside of the US NB is mostly casual sneakers, not particularly known as a running shoe brand.

hj53 wrote:

The Bone Zone wrote:

They're one of the biggest companies in the running scene

Are they? For me it always was more like "why is such a small fry sponsoring the biggest marathon in the world?"

Outside of the US NB is mostly casual sneakers, not particularly known as a running shoe brand.

Outside of running coerces, most people would more heavily identify Nike with basketball shoes than running shoes. It’s all about perspective.

Meanwhile, I like the short distance road flat. Cool idea, but kind of a boutique shoe, as road miles are much tougher to find than 5Ks. Still, for somebody who is light and efficient, they might be an interesting alternative to the 1400s.

Ok, the first picture in the original post shows a thicker midsole, probably more marathon oriented. The other pictures show more of a converted track spike to road flat for road miles to 5k, I presume.

I have a pair of Adistar LD spikes that are maybe 15 years old. When I got them I thought they would not be comfortable due to the rigidity of the hard plastic running the length of the spikes. When I started racing in them, I realized they gave me a little extra force on toe off. I found I really liked them. My point is that this is not exactly new technology, but is being applied to road shoes in a way that was not done previously.

I take it that Emily Sisson's marathon time is much better than Jordan Hasay's given the facts that Jordan ran in Nike Vaporfly and Emily ran in normal running shoes?

How is it determined if the NB shoe compares or matches up to Nikes Vaporfly?

this is not the same type of shoe as the vaporfly. it is similar to the nike streak lt series, adidas takumi sen, and saucony endorphin racer. these shoes are designed for fast road races from 1500m to 10k or for track workouts where you want a little more protection than a spike

vaporfly is a cushioned race flat, designed for distances over 10k.

I apologize for the confusion over 5280 vs the distance variant but I assure you, New Balance is definitely working on a "long" road version, just no idea of if/when public availability, you'd think maybe fall/winter marathons but who knows with all the extra cost getting stuff from China now, etc.

very little known so far but it's definitely out there...

https://imgur.com/a/iyf9mre

Yes New Balance is the number 2 brand in run specialty stores in the US and they sponsor some of the best athletes in track. They’re only lacking in marathon runners.

Sweet picture loser.

Hey look! New Balance has people winning races in unreleased magic shoes too. Crazy!

Oh wait, it’s not crazy. It’s what every brand has been doing for decades.

joe schmo wrote:

I have tried these on. They are not like the 4%'s in that I think they are essentially intended for road miles only (hence 5280 name), whereas 4% are more for longer stuff.

And in the big road mile in London today, the IAAF world number one/Diamond League champion/multiple European Champion/3:55 athlete Laura Muir was beaten into third by two New Balance athletes.

Time to believe the hype? A second "magic shoe"?

much sooner than September, at least for pros

FuelCell Racer, vaporfly knockoff, lots of foam (high stack) but not pebax so maybe 2% at best

https://imgur.com/a/Utj3bHW

I still don't know what Fuelcell foam is. That "nitrogen injected" stuff is just marketing BS. I've heard it's TPU, so it would be similar to Boost, I guess? I guess since there's already Carbon + Pebax, and Carbon + EVA, I guess Carbon + TPU fills the next logical niche.

altered carbon wrote:

joe schmo wrote:

I have tried these on. They are not like the 4%'s in that I think they are essentially intended for road miles only (hence 5280 name), whereas 4% are more for longer stuff.

And in the big road mile in London today, the IAAF world number one/Diamond League champion/multiple European Champion/3:55 athlete Laura Muir was beaten into third by two New Balance athletes.

Time to believe the hype? A second "magic shoe"?

Muir had just returned from a long training camp the night before the race, and is scheduled to race on Thursday. Slow your roll. Awesome shoe, however.

zoomzoomzoom wrote:

much sooner than September, at least for pros

FuelCell Racer, vaporfly knockoff, lots of foam (high stack) but not pebax so maybe 2% at best

https://imgur.com/a/Utj3bHW

Hahahaha! "2% at best"...unles you're part of the shoe testing team, why throw out wild numbers?

"76% of internet statistics are made up on the spot."

-Abraham Lincoln