advice on mid-d vs distance spikes

spikes 101 wrote:

What is the main difference between mid-d spikes like the Adidas Arriba and distance spikes like the Adidas Cadence?

Is there any reason you couldn't do 5,000 or even 10,000 in mid-d spikes?

Cadence almost feels like a road shoe with spikes. I could never use someting like Arriba for anything longer than the 1500. My calves would be completely shot.

my advice: skip the arriba all together. its an entry level shoe, and there are better options. if you want adidas, 400-1500 wear the adizero md, 1500-5k wear the avanti, 5k-10k wear the cadence.

Thanks for the thoughts so far...

What are the main differences between the MD and Avanti that relate to the distance you'd use them for?

And what does it mean that the Arriba is entry level?

Bumping my own question. I really know nothing about spikes and what makes one work for shorter vs longer races.

MD is more aggressive (aka keeps you on your toes) than the avanti. Both are very underrated spikes in my opinion though, and I feel as if they are significantly more comfortable than the Nike counterparts (victory/matumbo). The Arriba has a lot of unnecessary overlays and in general does not fit as well as the MD/Avanti. It's a cheaper alternative, so if money is an issue, that's not a terrible choice, but if you don't mind paying $100 for spikes (and you can almost always get a discount code to drop that price a bit) then it's worth it to get the better spikes. Of the three spikes I've mentioned, the Avanti is the most versatile, so if you're gonna get just one, that would be the way to go.

Thanks again! Of the Adidas line, I think that I will go with the Avanti. (I will be training for and racing 1500-5000, although might get into some 800s - sounds like Avanti will be best to cover all of these possibilities. No chance of me racing a 400!)

I like Adidas flats and trainers far more than Nikes, so just on that basis I thought I'd go Adidas for my first spike.

Do any of these (or other Adidas spikes) have the drainage for a steeple? Obviously there must be some given that they sponsor plenty of steeplers, but I'm not finding much on this with my own searches...

Ah, here we go: http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=3873517

I have the Allegra spikes and use them for the occasional 200/400 or even 800m indoors, but nothing longer. The spike plate in the Allegra is pretty stiff so it's a great shoe for 400 and even 800 but not the 1500m. I also have the Cadence and it's a great shoe for 1500m-5000m if you are a slowpoke Masters runner like me. I would say the Avanti is your best bet if you are speedy and will get you from 400m to 5000m.

Thanks for breaking it down, posters.

Really cool that this thread has been just positive and useful. Letsrun!

avantis have good steeple drainage. not as great at the nike mamba, but still good.

OK, now on to pins.

5mm? 7mm? 9mm?

What do I need to think of here?

I don't know about mm, but quarter inch is pretty standard.

Gotcha! That's where I'll start...