Discontinued · road · Race day / Tempo · $230
Track-to-road carbon speed shoe in the Cloudboom family.
Built for race day, tempo, at a target pace of 5:30–7:15 /mi on road.
This model is no longer in production. The closest shoe you can buy today is On Cloudboom Strike.
On tuned this midsole balanced (3/5 on our cushioning scale). Energy return is above average: the midsole rebounds well without feeling unstable. 30 mm of heel stack keeps you low and connected, with more ground feel than most current trainers. Combined, the ride reads as explosive at 5/5 responsiveness.
A full-length carbon plate stiffens the forefoot and works with the foam as a lever: it smooths the transition off the toes and cuts the effort of holding fast paces. It also asks for speed — at easy paces a carbon plate feels stiff and does little for you, and it is the main reason super-shoes wear out sooner than trainers.
A 6 mm drop is the mainstream middle — familiar to almost anyone coming from a standard trainer. The rocker is moderate — enough curve to smooth the roll-through without dictating your footstrike. 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 narrow and performance-oriented; wide-footed runners should try before buying. It runs small; most runners size up a half. Expect roughly 200 miles from the outsole, about $1.15 per mile at $230.
For the foams and plates On uses across its line, read the On brand guide.
Measured against the 542 currently-available shoes in the catalog. The bar shows where this shoe sits in that range.
Weight
205 g / 7.2 oz
70 g lighter than the catalog median of 275 g
Heel stack
30 mm
6 mm lower than the catalog median of 36 mm
Drop
6 mm
Level with the catalog median of 6 mm
Price
$230
70 pricier than the catalog median of 160
Responsiveness
5 / 5
Catalog median 3 / 5
Cushioning
3 / 5
Catalog median 4 / 5
Energy return
4 / 5
Catalog median 3 / 5
Durability
~200 mi
Catalog median ~400 mi
Within the On line it is lighter than the brand's median (270 g / 9.5 oz) and sits lower than its median stack (34 mm).
Current shoes with the nearest combination of weight, stack, drop, foam feel and plate.
New Balance FuelCell Rebel v4(2024)
218 g / 7.7 oz · 30 mm · 6 mm drop · — · $140
Featherweight, plateless and playful — an uptempo trainer that never feels heavy.
New Balance FuelCell SuperComp Pacer v3
190 g / 6.7 oz · 32 mm · 6 mm drop · Carbon · $180
Short-course carbon racer for 5K to half marathon.
Adidas Adizero Takumi Sen 10(2024)
196 g / 6.9 oz · 33 mm · 6 mm drop · Carbon · $180
Firm, brutal 5K–10K racer. All snap, no lounging.
Asics Hyper Speed 4
210 g / 7.4 oz · 32 mm · 7 mm drop · — · $100
Budget racer: light, simple and fast enough for 5Ks on a dime.