What happened to the minimal, no-nonsense racing flat?

Yeah they're definitely on the decline. I hope Nike continues producing the Streak LT because they're great.

I train in the streak lt. It seems minimal racing flats are on the way out :( Besides those you've listed, there are some japanese only racing flats.

My issue is I need something with a 2 to 2.5 cm stack height and no more than 5-6 mm drop, while having it contour to my foot, ie without my foot sliding around in the shoe or having too much room in the toebox.

I've tried all those shoes you listed except the altras and run fast pro. I ended up using go meb speeds, type a's, and fastwitchs as b run shoes - shorter runs of the day, slow runs, etc.

My favorite shoes of all time were the brooks t3-t5 (after that they went to a higher drop and stack height I think) and adizero rocket.

I'm hoping a company decides to branch out instead of shoot for number 3 or 4 behind adidas, nike, and whoever else and make more than just spring loaded maximal flats. Brooks knew they'd never get their shoes on top kenyans and ethiopians, so they invented the anatomically correct t racer, which sold well for them. It stopped selling well when they tried to copy adidas by making it bulkier.

We'll see what happens I guess. I wish I'd stocked up on adizero rockets and brooks t5's, nike streak lt 2's, and nike streak xc 1's, but I was a young runner then and I just kept thinking there would always be a new good shoe on the market. I saw minimalism as the future of fast racing. Would I have known how wrong I would be.

x days without injury wrote:

Yeah they're definitely on the decline. I hope Nike continues producing the Streak LT because they're great.

The Streak LT is basically in a class of its own now. I'm allergic to Nike so I avoid them if at all possible, but I'm very tempted to make the Streak LT my next pair. I have a pair of the Mizuno Wave Ekiden and they are brilliant for a road miles or even a 5k in the right conditions. Wish there were more shoes like it.

The Japanese flats pop up every now and then, but they seem to be all but gone now. Wasn't the Adidas Takumi Sen back on offer recently for a short while? Not too long ago there was the Takumi Sen, NB Hanzo, Mizuno Wave Ekiden, some Asics model, etc.

I'm in the same boat with your stack height and drop, I like some cushion and a mid-level drop but with a minimal build and snug fit. I'm leaning towards the Skechers GoMeb Speed 6. Seem light and minimal enough for a 5k along with potentially enough cushion for up to a 10 mile or half marathon race.

Seems like there is a dearth in the racing flat market right now for a company to step in with a minimal but cushioned racing flat (with all the new foams) that doesn't get too complicated or heavy. Although as I understand it, racing flats are not a big market for shoe companies and these marathon super shoes probably have more profit potential than a traditional $100 racing flat.

But I'll admit, if marathons ever come back, I wouldn't mind a pair of the super shoes.

Adizero Sub2 was a super comfy 5.5oz flat that you could still get for $50-60 several months ago. Seems the inventory was finally sold off though...

erm, i love the fasttwitch to death.

i run all my marathons in it.

6 choices isn’t enough for you?

I have the Reebok Floatride Run Fast Pro and a pair of Nike LT streak 4. I only got the Reebok bc they were 40or50% off last year. The pro are about half the weight of Next % (in 10.5), so I think they will be my go to on 5k, but anything longer the Next% win out for me. I like fast and light, but the big bouncy shoes have won me over.

I think it's not that the remaining 6 choices aren't good, they are, but the writing seems to be on the wall for these kind of shoes. The Streak LT and A9 are great, for example, but they haven't been updated in a couple of years now. Adidas doesn't make a proper racing flat anymore, neither does New Balance, it's not hard to see the other manufacturers following suite at some point.

As a coach of sprinters and jumpers I mourn the loss of lower running shoes and flats, many modern running shoes are worthless for almost anything but marathon training. I've been recommending racing flats and/or cross country flats for my sprinters for years, for something to wear when they aren't spiked up. Every time I have a kid show up to track practice wearing some of these new running shoes with a giant block of foam glued to the bottom, I cringe. Are they going to roll an ankle doing our warmup drills or plyometrics? Can they sprint on the curve in them without hurting themselves? I really hope the industry comes back to the middle a bit, not everyone wants or needs 3 cm of foam strapped to the bottom of their feet.

The Takumi Sen is on the adidas US website sporadically. I saw it a couple weeks ago. Good point on the sprinters and jumpers.

Here is the deal...

The racing flat market is minuscule. It always has been. In fact, there was probably a minor heyday during the minimalist phase. Now we have nearly 100% of the market for racing flats buying carbon shoes. So why would the shoe companies put any money into racing flats?

Having run in the endorphin pro, I’m kind of with them. Those shoes are awesome, even for 5k. And I’m thinking the meta racer might be even better for short races. I actually want to buy the Reebok run fast and run fast pro, but I’m not really sure when I’d wear them.

So if you want true flats, you have a great list (I agree with the poster that said “are those options not enough?”)

If cost doesn’t matter... run fast pro

If cost does matter... Skechers horizon vanish

I have the same problem as the OP.

I had never heard of the Skechers Horizon Vanish so I checked them out.

You guys call that a racing flat? The sole is huge!

The best ones I've owned were the Skechers GoRun 4 but the very few available pairs are far too expensive now.

SuicidePace wrote:

The pro are about half the weight of Next % (in 10.5), so I think they will be my go to on 5k, but anything longer the Next% win out for me.

You are one of many that refers to Next%, when in reality, Next% covers at least two very different shoes: either the Vaporfly Next% or the AlphaFly Next%. The confusion arises because of the stupid naming system chosen by Nike.

20/16 isn’t exactly huge

Type a is 17/13

Streak Lt 4 is 22/18

zdf wrote:

Adizero Sub2 was a super comfy 5.5oz flat that you could still get for $50-60 several months ago. Seems the inventory was finally sold off though...

I tried them. Worst flat I've ever bought. They were so loose in the hell that they slipped up and down on my feet as I ran. I could take them off while tied tight without much pressure because of how loose the heel was.

I think every shoe you mentioned is off the market now except for "some Japanese models" which basically comes down to the Sortie Magic which you can find if you really, really, look. I have a friend who's a big guy at New Balance who tells me that the Hanzo is still available and will show me where. But he hasn't and I can't find it. I've been seeing ads for Xero shoes and they might have some promise but I've never seen a pair. The Nike Streak may be all that's left that's easily attainable though you might try some cross country flats.

Springfield Nuclear Power Plant wrote:

The Takumi Sen is on the adidas US website sporadically. I saw it a couple weeks ago. Good point on the sprinters and jumpers.

Looks like you can sign up to get notified when more come into stock:

Might have misread that - maybe that notification wouldn't be specific to the Takumi Sen. Anyway, I doubt it's gone for good.