Nike Zoom Vaporfly Elite 2017

[rfx45]

skechers has no issue blatantly ripping off nikes but it looks like they put some work in their speed elites and the way to save weight on the cf plate is a good approach though i am curious how the segmented piece plate feels

 

[datrippeleffect]

i hated how firm the razor 3 were so i was told to avoid these also by someone who owns a pair.

 

[getz_racer]

i hated how firm the razor 3 were so i was told to avoid these also by someone who owns a pair.

There’s another vid of Connor and Thomas from Believe in the Run where Thomas hints at that same point as well. He said he hadn’t run in the final version but did have access to some of the prototypes and that they were too firm for his liking. Watching the vids of Connor waking and running in them, the midsole doesn’t seem to give much, which to me would indicate that yes, they are in fact very firm.

I’m planning on sticking with my NEXT%s until the dust settles from all this pre-Olympics CF plated madness and we’ll see if there’s some consensus about which shoes can compete with the VFs.

 

[rfx45]

ive been looking at a lot of these cf plated running shoes and despite all these new rubber compounds each brands supposedly "created" it seems like there's just not match to the softness + bounciness of zoomx

the cf plate is easy to copy and probably has no patent on them but the zoomx is probably guarded by nikes army of lawyers and thats where most are behind

whats even crazier is i think i read somewhere that the brooks hyperion elites cost ~$250 as well but has a midsole life of 50-100 miles and i am baffled, that is literally 4 marathons and its done, hell if you run in it before the actual race then it cuts the life significantly, at least the VFs can make it to ~300 miles

 

[vento]

Good read on Alpha/Vaporflys and the Olympic Marathon trials this weekend.

Most interesting point are two runners from the Bowerman Track Club indicating they prefer the Next% over the Alphafly due to noticeable weight gain with the Alphafly.

Turning Down a Contract to Race in the Vaporflys? Vaporfly > Alphafly? How Shoes Will Affect the US Olympic Marathon Trials

By Jonathan Gault February 25, 2020 Seriously, we have to read another article about the shoes? Yeah. Sorry. But look, you're the one who clicked this

www.letsrun.com

Has anyone been able to get a weight for the AlphaFly to compare to the Next%? I don't recall seeing it posted anywhere. That could be a deal breaker for some - I'm hoping to score a pair of the AlphaFlys on the 29th to possibly wear in LA on 3/8, but if they weigh enough to make it seem like I'm wearing my Pegasus instead of the Next%, I'll pass on them.

 

[rfx45]

no official weight at the moment but it seems like the pods add enough weight for some to prefer the VFN% over the AF for the trials

 

[illustrayt]

Has anyone been able to get a weight for the AlphaFly to compare to the Next%? I don't recall seeing it posted anywhere. That could be a deal breaker for some - I'm hoping to score a pair of the AlphaFlys on the 29th to possibly wear in LA on 3/8, but if they weigh enough to make it seem like I'm wearing my Pegasus instead of the Next%, I'll pass on them.

I’m looking forward to know their weight too... With all the added tech, the AFs will definitely be ‘heavier’, but I’d like to know the weight difference between the VFNs.

 

[Blecghhrunner]

Good read on Alpha/Vaporflys and the Olympic Marathon trials this weekend.

Most interesting point are two runners from the Bowerman Track Club indicating they prefer the Next% over the Alphafly due to noticeable weight gain with the Alphafly.

Turning Down a Contract to Race in the Vaporflys? Vaporfly > Alphafly? How Shoes Will Affect the US Olympic Marathon Trials

By Jonathan Gault February 25, 2020 Seriously, we have to read another article about the shoes? Yeah. Sorry. But look, you're the one who clicked this

www.letsrun.com

Interesting to see that some of the elites felt the same way I felt when I just first saw the shoes. Specifically this:

“[The Alphafly], in the transition, it does not feel quite as good as the Vaporfly,” Bumbalough says. “Though it’s still a pretty incredible shoe.”

I'm guessing this is because the alphafly has a decoupled midsole. I'm guessing if the shoe had covered the middle with zoomx it would feel a lot smoother in transition.

 

[rfx45]

i think they lost some of the smooth transition because the plate goes above the pods now while before the plates are on the bottom and majority of the foams is on top

the plate is pretty much rocking straight up to the ground and then propels you

now the AF has pods between the ground and the plate, so while it might provide more spring back, the rocker movement isnt going to be as smooth

 

[illustrayt]

The AF tech is essentially in the Jordan Zoom Tenacity (of course, sans ZOOMX and a CF plate), it features Flight Speed plate that compresses onto a Zoom Air Unit.

I haven’t seen a dissected pair of the Zoom Tenacity’s, but here’s a link to Jordan Flight Speed plate tech featured in some of their basketball shoes, which is the same idea for the Tenacity’s tech.

https://m.nike.com/hk/en_gb/c/jordan/innovation?ref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F

 

[rfx45]

free AF to athletes, no obligations to run in em

 

[rfx45]

The AF tech is essentially in the Jordan Zoom Tenacity (of course, sans ZOOMX and a CF plate), it features a plate that compresses onto a Zoom Air Unit.

I haven’t seen a dissected pair of the Zoom Tenacity’s, but here’s a link to Jordan Flight Speed plate tech featured in some of their basketball shoes.

https://m.nike.com/hk/en_gb/c/jordan/innovation?ref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F

shoe is very underrated, if it were lighter (by using flyknit upper instead) it could easily be my 5k/10k shoes

 

[Mugen_EP]

shoe is very underrated, if it were lighter (by using flyknit upper instead) it could easily be my 5k/10k shoes

What shoe are you referring to?

 

[illustrayt]

shoe is very underrated, if it were lighter (by using flyknit upper instead) it could easily be my 5k/10k shoes

I haven’t worn mine in a long time, and that was casually. I think I logged about 20mi total in a pair. I scooped up several donor soles on the low though for future swaps. I want to run in my current pairs (I think I have maybe eight of them). However, after running in the ZF and VF series, I don’t want to wear anything else for performance even recovery lol

 

[illustrayt]

What shoe are you referring to?

Jordan Zoom Tenacity / 88.

 

[rfx45]

i have to take a break from running with plated shoes, i just cant do it everyday

thats when i rotate with vomero, joyride dual, turbo and react havoc... and speaking of react havoc, that one could use a flyknit upper too, react + zoom air is such a great combo

my tenacitys been my got to disney parks shoes, i have the blk cement cw and i always gets asked if it was some limited pair, some jeters that came out i guess I am not really sure

 

[illustrayt]

i have to take a break from running with plated shoes, i just cant do it everyday

thats when i rotate with vomero, joyride dual, turbo and react havoc... and speaking of react havoc, that one could use a flyknit upper too, react + zoom air is such a great combo

my tenacitys been my got to disney parks shoes, i have the blk cement cw and i always gets asked if it was some limited pair, some jeters that came out i guess I am not really sure

I haven’t had any problems/injuries from wearing only played shoes in my rotation. Along with Hypervolting and somewhat healthy nutrition (hella blueberries lol), my legs have felt good.

 

[rfx45]

after about 3 days straight of plated (mostly zf) my knees starts to feel it so i have to go with more cushed runner thats why i want to try the hoka rincons, its like a faster cushed running shoes

i am curious why nike hasnt gotten to a max cushed market yet, i cant imagine them thinking its oversaturated because they will likely be very competitive in the market if they ever come up with one, max cushed rocker shoes will take some business out of hoka for sure, i see a lot of people wear those for walking

i dont really consider vomero max cushed

 

[ZoomXRunner]

after about 3 days straight of plated (mostly zf) my knees starts to feel it so i have to go with more cushed runner thats why i want to try the hoka rincons, its like a faster cushed running shoes

i am curious why nike hasnt gotten to a max cushed market yet, i cant imagine them thinking its oversaturated because they will likely be very competitive in the market if they ever come up with one, max cushed rocker shoes will take some business out of hoka for sure, i see a lot of people wear those for walking

i dont really consider vomero max cushed

React Infinity Run are well cushioned with a rocker sole. I really like my pair and they’re pretty versatile.

Also, I think I read in one of these threads that the Vomero 15 will feature ZoomX. That could make it a true cushioned trainer depending how much ZoomX and what they combine it with.

 

[rfx45]

does the infinity react have a rocker midsole? I do think react is too springy to be considered max cushed though

vomero 15 sounds like it has zoomx but i am not sure a zoom air is confirmed yet


also, you guys think anyone running for the trials will actually wear the new Alphaflys without training in them?


i am sure athletes will take it because why not? its a free ~$300 running shoe you can wear later while your sponsor arent looking but I am not sure id run in it for the very first time if my olympic dreams relying on it

 

[Varrick]

i am sure athletes will take it because why not? its a free ~$300 running shoe you can wear later while your sponsor arent looking but I am not sure id run in it for the very first time if my olympic dreams relying on it

There is an extremely small subset who have realistic olympic dreams. This isn't Japan's marathon grand championship, where the men's field was stacked and there were actually meaningful qualifying standards. Not sure how many will actually race, but of the 260 men that qualified I'd say maybe 10 or so (which is probably generous) have any chance at grabbing one of the slots. So if I was one of the others and wasn't bound by a contract (which I think most aren't) I would 100% be willing to run in them during the race after testing them out in a shakeout run or two. Now, to be fair, I'm not superstitious when it comes to what I'm wearing on race day & believe the whole idea of breaking in new shoes is total bs in today's day and age (what matters more is just getting the right size, which looks like it won't be an issue: https://instagram.com/stories/ryanmiller34/2252788359633969592?igshid=1gy5d6ghn3dh6 ). I'm also only a 2:30s marathoner, so nowhere near these guys' level. But if I was in that race it'd be more about just soaking up the experience and enjoying myself vs. chasing after something I know I won't get. And wearing a pair of the latest marathon racing shoes that I got for free from Nike would definitely improve my experience. I think a lot of folks feel the same way (that just making it there is the end goal/reward). So I won't be surprised if we see a handful come Saturday.

Oh, and fwiw, with a knit upper and black as the primary color... sure would be easy to black out those shoes if you didn't wanna rep nike

 

[rfx45]

you make a good point, if i am in the back half of those running then yeah, i might run in 'em too

but i think this is probably what nike is counting it, just a huge publicity marketing once the pic surfaces of majority of runners in AF

i am more curious if there are any elites that will defect


as for blacking it out, you might use up a couple of sharpies to remove all the green

 

[Vayporflie]

Confirmed that all OTQ athletes are receiving a free pair of AF if they want em.

Given that, it makes me think perhaps the release on 2/29 won't be as limited as the Next% release where virtually everyone took an L.

 

[chimpnamedenid]

Confirmed that all OTQ athletes are receiving a free pair of AF if they want em.

Given that, it makes me think perhaps the release on 2/29 won't be as limited as the Next% release where virtually everyone took an L.

I was thinking the exact same thing this morning. However, the other side of my mind is wondering if this marketing ploy is to generate even more demand for the full release down the road...Come Saturday, we'll know!

 

[Varrick]

I was thinking the exact same thing this morning. However, the other side of my mind is wondering if this marketing ploy is to generate even more demand for the full release down the road...Come Saturday, we'll know!

I'm more cynical -- Don't think this has anything to do with the type of supply we'll see on the initial drop or the wider release (assuming there's zero supply chain interruption from the virus). I think this is at best equal parts marketing and nike attempting to foster goodwill (people can claim to be objective, but there's a reason handouts are heavily monitored in my industry... it predisposes you to feel a certain way about a company/individual, even if you claim otherwise). But perhaps even more important is the governing bodies of the sport. Since part of the issue with these shoes was the limited access, what easier way to combat that than to say "hey, look! we literally offered every competitor a pair. Not our fault if non-nike athletes don't wear them!" Also squashes the prototype criticism too. And tbh, I'm leaning heavily towards the later... if primary goal was to be marketing, why not go the Vaporfly next% route and make it a color/design that is unmistakable from even a distance?

Does Nike have to go this route? Probably not, since they did get early access to what the rules would be to ensure their next shoe was legal... And Seb Coe is the head of the IAAF.... but it's a nice gesture that accomplishes a lot. Plus, who doesn't love conspiracy theories?