Yes, I knew the foams were the key and that Pabax plastic had been used in track spikes for years as the hard plate unless carbon fiber was the plate as was becoming the newer trend at the time for some of the very top of the line models, just before super track shoes came out, even then some use carbon fiber as the spike plate extending into the super foam as a thinner material. Nike needed the carbon for the shoes becuse of how high and unstable the foam was. Before this the best I had seen was the lighter Lunarlon foams with a thin EVA foam under or a thin wall on the sides were able to have shoes so runners could have a racing shoe as cushioned as a normal running shoe but as light as a racing shoe of 7 oz or 198 grams and was the best in its time. with Lunarlon I was surprised the old hard used since the 1980's to 1990's Pabax plastic was not a thin full plate as thin as a 2--3 mm plate for the Lunarlon foam in running shoes.
James & GTN team: nice job on the research and presentation of it; well done. Please consider a follow-on series on the topic, but only if you want to break the internet, and here’s why: like many, I run in a nasty-warm climate (south Florida, U.S.) where heat is a constant. I’ve regularly suspected durability is reduced by heat with respect to foam, foam recovery and annoyingly - the rubber soles which tend to wear frustratingly faster than in cooler times of year. As info, I’m a Cloudflyer guy. Cringe comment: I judiciously have a shoe cobbler replace 1 portion of the sole for low-mileage wear, but how valuable it’d be to have useful data which inform runners of trade offs you touched on ("and, and, and, and..") among the different technologies we all consider. Again, nice job on this one.
Need to add aliphatic TPU as that is starting to spread- Puma's latest Nitro Elite, Saucony HG? I've never been quite sure what Lightstrike Pro foam is, but it has much greater durability than the other (IMO as a 95kg runner)
as someone who's had to buy stability running shoes for every day life, and especially walking long distances, the recent trend of super thick foam has been a little frustrating to find good shoes that won't hurt my feet or knees when im walking for awhile
They seem to focus a lot on youtubers (and maybe other social media), which is smart, as they probably don't cost as much as Kipchoge, Djokovic, etc. :)
I'll start caring about that when people start cracking down about Elon Musk and Taylor Swift taking private jets down the road. Until then, nothing any of us normal folk do will make any difference whatsoever, so I won't be changing my behaviour
2026 Giant Springs on the bottom. Marathon in 1hour. (I personally think the pros are getting too much help from the carbon plates and huge foam. Not sure why they are not banned like the shark swimming suits)
Did you already know this about supershoes? 👟
Yes, I knew the foams were the key and that Pabax plastic had been used in track spikes for years as the hard plate unless carbon fiber was the plate as was becoming the newer trend at the time for some of the very top of the line models, just before super track shoes came out, even then some use carbon fiber as the spike plate extending into the super foam as a thinner material. Nike needed the carbon for the shoes becuse of how high and unstable the foam was. Before this the best I had seen was the lighter Lunarlon foams with a thin EVA foam under or a thin wall on the sides were able to have shoes so runners could have a racing shoe as cushioned as a normal running shoe but as light as a racing shoe of 7 oz or 198 grams and was the best in its time. with Lunarlon I was surprised the old hard used since the 1980's to 1990's Pabax plastic was not a thin full plate as thin as a 2--3 mm plate for the Lunarlon foam in running shoes.
I've been watching a RUclips channel called doctors of running and they are super informative about all this stuff. Highly recommend!
James & GTN team: nice job on the research and presentation of it; well done. Please consider a follow-on series on the topic, but only if you want to break the internet, and here’s why: like many, I run in a nasty-warm climate (south Florida, U.S.) where heat is a constant. I’ve regularly suspected durability is reduced by heat with respect to foam, foam recovery and annoyingly - the rubber soles which tend to wear frustratingly faster than in cooler times of year. As info, I’m a Cloudflyer guy. Cringe comment: I judiciously have a shoe cobbler replace 1 portion of the sole for low-mileage wear, but how valuable it’d be to have useful data which inform runners of trade offs you touched on ("and, and, and, and..") among the different technologies we all consider. Again, nice job on this one.
Could you expand on what you have a cobbler do to the outsole?
Need to add aliphatic TPU as that is starting to spread- Puma's latest Nitro Elite, Saucony HG? I've never been quite sure what Lightstrike Pro foam is, but it has much greater durability than the other (IMO as a 95kg runner)
Lightstrike Pro foam is TPEE foam
Thanks James for going into how super shoes actually work, beyond just the marketing hype.
Useful info, thanks!
as someone who's had to buy stability running shoes for every day life, and especially walking long distances, the recent trend of super thick foam has been a little frustrating to find good shoes that won't hurt my feet or knees when im walking for awhile
ON must have a huge marketing budget because they get the most coverage with the worst product
They seem to focus a lot on youtubers (and maybe other social media), which is smart, as they probably don't cost as much as Kipchoge, Djokovic, etc. :)
Their track spikes are good
On shoes look like hi tech... would be the last brand i would ever buy, tough.
I can vouch for their all day wear shoes but their running shoes don't seem to be all that, yeah
@@cai0 even retired, I suspect Federer’s name is worth more to selling trainers the Djokavic’s (like Jordan’s vs Lebrons)
These are the thoughts that led me to the Nike Vomero 17s
If you look at the ban, they mention the thickness of the foam in the ruling not the carbon plate.
Super helpful
There are shoes that have ZoomX without a plate, though.
They’re not entirely ZoomX - the chassis often has a stiffer EVA foam that helps control the zoomX
@@kngofdestinysometimes they are like the invincible run. They just use a more rubberised version of zoom x for more durability
I was more interested in watching the camera man in his goggles 😅😅
Did you find any Easter eggs?
I would have to look more closely
Carbon plates being in shoes is like 40 years old. My basketball shoes from my youth have carbon plates in them for stability and rigidity.
Everyone who has way more running shoes than necessary, already knows where it's at! Lightstrike Pro is my favourite foam at the moment.
Superblast is technological leap, while others need a plate to stabilize a super foam, Superblast have 2 foam in which the other foam act as a chassis
Technically an illegal stack at 45mm,but they are good and have a pair
That's pretty common
You Need More Than just Foam to run faster
😂
Not all superfoams are made from PEBA. PEBA is just one kind of TPE that most superfoams stem from. Main focus should be on TPE and not PEBA
extremely environmentally bad if it degrades so fast.
Yeah but… fast times
I'll start caring about that when people start cracking down about Elon Musk and Taylor Swift taking private jets down the road. Until then, nothing any of us normal folk do will make any difference whatsoever, so I won't be changing my behaviour
2026 Giant Springs on the bottom. Marathon in 1hour. (I personally think the pros are getting too much help from the carbon plates and huge foam. Not sure why they are not banned like the shark swimming suits)
It's a big dollar industry 😄
You must not be a runner
@@Therealestrunnerluda It's cheating, that's why the World Athletics banned sole thickness over 40mm.
Just stop, vast majority of superfoam actually affected by temperature a lot less than EVA