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Brooks Trance Equivalent Trail Shoe (Read 1313 times)

    I have been running in the Brooks Trance and love them for the road: however, I've been running mostly on trails for the past year or so and I am burning through the shoes.  Mostly I run easy trails that consist of gravel, dirt, mud or grass.  I'd like to know if Brooks has a trail shoe equivalent to the Trance or if there is another brand I should consider that is equivalent.  I've been to the Brooks website, but can't seem to find the answer.


    Bushrat Runner

      I haven't run in the Trance, so I just went to roadrunnersports to look them up. They say plush feel but stability plus. 

       

      I have the Brooks Trailblade and the Brooks Cascadia. The Trailblade is rated as stability plus, but it is a very firm shoe, definitely not plush. 

       

      The Cascadia feels like heaven, I love it, but it is rated as a regular stability. Depending on whether you like the extra stability or the cushiness, you might choose one over the other. I tried on the Cascadias and new immediately I would be buying them...and I'll be buying another pair as well...

        Brooks Cascadia for me as well.  also have the Brooks Adrenelene ASR (old so dont use them much but really liked them when I did) & the Brooks Adrenelene GTX.  The GTX is for winter or for muddy sloggy days (we have lots of them even in June around Seattle)  as they are Gore Tex, heavier & bulkier, & warmer.  All are stability

        xor


          Hold on.

           

          Trance is a stability shoe. A very chunky shoe made for people with moderate-severe overpronation and geared toward the heavier runner.  Really, it is Brooks' competitor to the Asics Kayano and Mizuno Nirvana.  There is no matching trail shoe in the brooks line.

           

          Cascadias are not "stability" shoes... meaning, they have no structure to help deal with overpronation.  Brooks classifies them as a neutral shoe (click on the specs tab).

           

          Trailblades are also classified as neutral shoes.

           

          If you really want a Brooks shoe with structure for overpronation that also has some trail beefiness, the one to consider is the Adrenaline ASR.  The Adrenaline IS a stability shoe... it is a different shoe from Trance. It feels different than Trance too.  But it is the big seller for Brooks.  On the roads, I wear Adrenaline 50% of the time. The ASR version has chunky tread and water resistance.

           

          Neither the trailblade nor the adrenaline ASR have some of the bells and whistles of the Cascadia.  Not much protection from pokey stuff... probably no rock plate. They are really "hybrid" shoes that can go on road and off... but do neither one particularly well. THEORETICALLY.  In practice, if it works for you, then coool. 

           

          Here's the thing.  There's a big school of thought that says you don't WANT pronation control in trail shoes.  Because of the uneven nature of technical trails, stability technology just gets in the way and causes more trouble than it fixes.  So says the school of thought. 

           

          Me?  I overpronate some. I have Cascadias and Mizuno Cabrakans for the long stuff on gnarly trails.  Cabrakans have stability structure. As noted, Cascadias don't.  If I only had one shoe, it would be the Cabrakan.

           

          xor


            BTW, you mention that you run easy trails... Adrenaline ASR might be the shoe for you.  Or just get your Trances muddy.  Honestly, you don't *need* trail shoes just because you are off-pavement.

             


            Bushrat Runner

              srlopez, 

               

              Thanks for the info on the Brooks shoes. RRS has them listed the way I put them down, which is where I looked. I am a motion control runner but have been running in the two shoes mentioned without trouble. I did notice that they don't have medial posting, but they've worked well for me. I have wanted a pair of Cabrakans since they came out and have never managed to find a set of size 14...so I don't have any yet. Maybe I'll have to work harder at digging some up.

                BTW, you mention that you run easy trails... Adrenaline ASR might be the shoe for you.  Or just get your Trances muddy.  Honestly, you don't *need* trail shoes just because you are off-pavement.

                 

                 

                The reason I'm looking for a trail shoe isn't necessarily to help me with the trails.  The problem is that once i switched to running trails, I'm only  getting 100 miles out of a pair of Trance...and I even rotate multiple pairs.  I was hoping that a trail shoe would last longer. 

                xor


                  srlopez, 

                   

                  Thanks for the info on the Brooks shoes. RRS has them listed the way I put them down,

                   

                  You should consider writing them; they have it wrong :-).  That happens sometimes.

                   

                  I just checked running warehouse; they have them listed correctly as neutral shoes.

                   

                  But like I mentioned, there are lots of folks who would say you don't want structure in a trail shoe anyway.  If they work for you, that's goodness.

                   

                  xor


                    The reason I'm looking for a trail shoe isn't necessarily to help me with the trails.  The problem is that once i switched to running trails, I'm only  getting 100 miles out of a pair of Trance...and I even rotate multiple pairs.  I was hoping that a trail shoe would last longer. 

                     

                    Holy smokes.  Yeah, Trance is kind of spendy for 100 miles.  That is weird... unless the trails are gnarly, usually shoes last me a lot longer on them than roads (I wear out the soles/treads on roads).  What specifically is breaking down on the trances?

                     

                      Holy smokes.  Yeah, Trance is kind of spendy for 100 miles.  That is weird... unless the trails are gnarly, usually shoes last me a lot longer on them than roads (I wear out the soles/treads on roads).  What specifically is breaking down on the trances?

                       

                      The soles/treads. I have the opposite issue, the shoes last me a lot longer on the road.  In researching the issue, I found a couple of other runners that had the same issue with the Trance on trails.  Unfortunately, they didn't have a solution.

                      xor


                        Consider Adrenaline ASRs or Cascadias (which are nothing like Trances, but are built for trails).

                         

                        You can get last year's model of Cascadia at a good discount right now from runningwarehouse.com.  Adrenaline ASRs occasionally show up in the liquidation area, but not often.

                         

                          Consider Adrenaline ASRs or Cascadias (which are nothing like Trances, but are built for trails).

                           

                          You can get last year's model of Cascadia at a good discount right now from runningwarehouse.com.  Adrenaline ASRs occasionally show up in the liquidation area, but not often.

                           

                           

                          Thanks for the feedback.  I'll give them a shot and see what happens.

                           

                          That being said, I'd like to explore something you said  previously.  Some folks think that stability might not be good for trail shoes.  I made an assumption that I should find a version of what works for me on the road.  I ended up in the Trance and custom orthotics after I tore through part of my plantar fascia a couple of years ago.  My sports podiatrist (a life long marathoner and tri-athlete) said I had a hole where the plantar fascia should be (long story involving running through pain because the schedule said so....still feel like a dumbass about it).  I'm fully healed now, so no issues there, but you have wondering if I'm making an inappropriate assumption about what I need in a trail shoe.  Could you expand on the stability issue, please?

                          xor


                            Stability shoes like Trance have built-in mechanisms (usually involving a post, but sometimes other stuff) to help control over-pronation.  What this means is that they have a thingy (technical term) which prevents your arch from flattening and your foot/ankle from moving too much in a particular direction.  When the surface is consistent... aka a flat surface..., this kind of makes sense.

                             

                            However, trail surfaces are not consistent.  On the one hand, the stability mechanism still prevents your foot from moving a particular direction and over-pronating.  But this implies you are on that flat surface.  On the other hand... if you hit a rock, root, or just something uneven, it isn't a flat, consistent surface.  That mechanism can become a bit like "stiff arming" someone... your foot does not cushion the blow and compensate in the natural way that it should.  If this is severe and repetitive, this can be bad.  Abstracting from that, some runners just don't like the lack of response/feedback they get from the trail... every landing on the uneven surface feels like they are whacking it hard.

                             

                            So while the shoe may be protecting you from over-pronating when you don't want your foot to do that, it may be causing you NOT to cushion and react to stuff you kind of need to.

                             

                            So says the school of thought.

                             

                            I still find my stability trail shoes (the Cabrakans) to be more comfortable over long distances.

                             

                            All that said, I only wear them for the technical stuff.  Dirt and grass?  I'm in my road shoes usually.  I honestly don't know what to say about your issue with the Trance breaking down like that.

                             

                              My last 2 runs were in  Adrenaline ASR.  At ~200 miles they show no signs of any problem.  They are basically the same as the Brooks road version Adreneline with a bit more grip and toe protection and maybe a bit better at keeping out wetness from mud.  They seem fine.  Maybe not my favorite shoe but they get the job done.  

                               

                              And yes, Senior Lopez has good advice here.  I don't know if the stability helps or hurts my chances of ankle rolls, which seem to be my main trail issue besides "toe-butting" tree roots on the last 2 miles of a long run. 

                               

                               

                               

                               

                                Thanks again for the feedback.  You've given me lots of food for thought.

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