Discontinued · road · Tempo / Race day · $90
Earlier generation of the Asics Gel Hyper Speed line, kept for replacement lookups.
Built for tempo, race day, at a target pace of 5:45–7:45 /mi on road.
This model is no longer in production. The closest shoe you can buy today is Asics Hyper Speed 4.
Asics tuned this midsole balanced (3/5 on our cushioning scale). Energy return is moderate — comfortable and predictable rather than bouncy. 29 mm of heel stack keeps you low and connected, with more ground feel than most current trainers. Combined, the ride reads as lively at 3/5 responsiveness.
There is no plate here. The midsole does all the work, so the shoe flexes naturally and stays versatile across paces — easier on the feet day to day, but without the snap of a plated shoe when you want to roll.
A 7 mm drop is the mainstream middle — familiar to almost anyone coming from a standard trainer. The geometry is fairly traditional and flat, so the shoe follows your foot rather than steering it. The forefoot is stiff, so it rolls rather than bends — a lever, not a slipper. It is a neutral platform with no built-in correction.
The toe-box is standard width — comfortable for most feet without swimming. It fits true to size. Expect roughly 250 miles from the outsole, about $0.36 per mile at $90.
For the foams and plates Asics uses across its line, read the Asics brand guide.
Measured against the 542 currently-available shoes in the catalog. The bar shows where this shoe sits in that range.
Weight
218 g / 7.7 oz
57 g lighter than the catalog median of 275 g
Heel stack
29 mm
7 mm lower than the catalog median of 36 mm
Drop
7 mm
1 mm higher than the catalog median of 6 mm
Price
$90
70 cheaper than the catalog median of 160
Responsiveness
3 / 5
Catalog median 3 / 5
Cushioning
3 / 5
Catalog median 4 / 5
Energy return
3 / 5
Catalog median 3 / 5
Durability
~250 mi
Catalog median ~400 mi
Within the Asics line it is lighter than the brand's median (268 g / 9.5 oz) and sits lower than its median stack (38 mm).
Current shoes with the nearest combination of weight, stack, drop, foam feel and plate.
Hoka Solimar 2
227 g / 8.0 oz · 29 mm · 5 mm drop · — · $110
Simple, light and affordable — a lower-stack entry point to Hoka.
Brooks Launch 11(2024)
218 g / 7.7 oz · 36 mm · 8 mm drop · — · $110
Firm, cheap, flexible and quick — the no-nonsense budget trainer.
Adidas Adizero RC 5
210 g / 7.4 oz · 28 mm · 8 mm drop · — · $90
Lightweight, firm budget racer for track work and 5Ks.
Adidas Duramo Speed
263 g / 9.3 oz · 29 mm · 6 mm drop · — · $100
Lightstrike budget speed option — simple, firm and quick.