Discontinued · road · Tempo / Race day · $160
A firm carbon-plated tempo shoe from before super trainers were a category.
Built for tempo, race day, at a target pace of 6:00–8:00 /mi on road.
This model is no longer in production. The closest shoe you can buy today is Nike Zoom Fly 6.
Nike tuned this midsole balanced (3/5 on our cushioning scale). Energy return is moderate — comfortable and predictable rather than bouncy. 33 mm of heel stack is the modern daily-trainer sweet spot — enough foam for long miles without losing contact with the road. Combined, the ride reads as snappy at 4/5 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 8 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 300 miles from the outsole, about $0.53 per mile at $160.
For the foams and plates Nike uses across its line, read the Nike brand guide.
Measured against the 542 currently-available shoes in the catalog. The bar shows where this shoe sits in that range.
Weight
250 g / 8.8 oz
25 g lighter than the catalog median of 275 g
Heel stack
33 mm
3 mm lower than the catalog median of 36 mm
Drop
8 mm
2 mm higher than the catalog median of 6 mm
Price
$160
Level with the catalog median of 160
Responsiveness
4 / 5
Catalog median 3 / 5
Cushioning
3 / 5
Catalog median 4 / 5
Energy return
3 / 5
Catalog median 3 / 5
Durability
~300 mi
Catalog median ~400 mi
Within the Nike line it is lighter than the brand's median (295 g / 10.4 oz) and sits lower than its median stack (36 mm).
Current shoes with the nearest combination of weight, stack, drop, foam feel and plate.
Brooks Launch GTS 12
255 g / 9.0 oz · 32 mm · 8 mm drop · — · $120
The budget-friendly Launch with GuideRails added for mild support.
Brooks Launch 12(2025)
249 g / 8.8 oz · 35 mm · 8 mm drop · — · $110
Firm, light, cheap — the honest budget uptempo trainer.
Adidas Adizero Boston 13(2024)
255 g / 9.0 oz · 36 mm · 6 mm drop · Carbon · $160
Rod-stiffened tempo trainer with a firm, purposeful ride.
Salomon Aero Blaze 3
245 g / 8.6 oz · 34 mm · 8 mm drop · — · $130
Firm, responsive road trainer at an approachable price.