Forums >Gears and Wears>Here's how to make Adidas Boston-11 usable
I have to share this in hopes it will help other people.
Ross Dress For Less has Adidas Adizero Boston-11 for $35.
Lightstrike Pro, carbon plate, energy rods, 39.5 stack; what could be bad?
Well, they are hard as a 2x4 for at least 50-75 miles and then "break in" (I suspect your feet "break in" to the shoes, not the other way around...).
An inspection of the shoe revealed why they are so hard despite the Lightstrike Pro. The small carbon plate at the heel is directly on TOP of the midsole foam, not a bit of cushioning in-between; it's right under the thin insole. I don't know the reason Adidas designed them this way, it seems to serve no function, and makes the shoe awful. Probably marketing, so they can say "carbon plate!" and this was the cheapest, easiest way to throw it in there.
Well, here's how to correct Adidas' mistake:
Remove the insole
Using a razor knife or scalpel, cut the fabric about 6-8mm away from the side stitching all the way around the visible plate.
Remove the fabric using pliers to expose the plate.
Pry up an edge of the plate with screwdriver or appropriate tool
using pliers, remove the plate
(you will need to coax off the glued fabric along the edges as you pull using a blunt edged tool)
Replace insole
You're done!
Optional: glue the edges of the fabric back down to the midsole using small amount of shoe goo or rubber cement
Now you have a ride similar to the Prime-X, without the wobbly height.
Note: the "hole" of the removed plate is not as deep as the pictures make it appear, the fabric is pulled up. You cannot feel the "hole" through the insole. The plate is 1-1.5mm thick.
60-64 age group - University of Oregon alumni - Irreverent and Annoying
rectumdamnnearkilledem
I loathe plated shoes. Perfectly wonderful shoes have been ruined by this "technology" (looking at you, Skechers). I really hope it's a trend that runs its course. Or at least that manufacturers will stop feeling obligated to put plates in EVERY damned shoe in their lineup.
Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to
remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.
~ Sarah Kay
Yeah, the MaxRoad 4+ was/is a great shoe (other than the 200M outsole). I haven't tried the 5, but I suspect the unnecessary addition of a plate ruined it. And the 6 is now 2oz heavier. I think I'm moving on, like I did when Hoka started making their shoes heavier and harder after the first couple years.
I originally thought the "plates" were simply a propulsion device, requiring a lot of foam in order to get maximum "spring", and maybe they were. Nike had a triple-plate shoe in the works before World Athletics stepped in and revamped their shoe rules for competition (limiting to a single plate or embedded device).
Recent studies and articles have shown the primary purpose of the plates is to direct and augment the action of the foam; the foam is doing all the propulsion. Having a huge slab of foam means it can squish in every direction, unless guided by something like an embedded plate. Without millions of $ of CAD/CAM and testing equipment at my disposal, I think that a split plate, directing the motion of the foam along the lateral and medial edges of the midsole, would be more ideal than a solid plate in the whole midsole. The Skechers "winglet" plate kind of does this, and there are companies with a split plate in the forefoot to allow more natural motion. The WA "one device" rule negates two separate narrow plates to run down either side of the shoe. I guess they could make a one piece U shaped device to get around this. I don't know how Adidas gets away with their Energy Rods, as they are multiple devices. I still cannot grok why Adidas put the heel plate directly under the foot, maybe to more evenly disperse impact to the foam?
This is from the old AdiPro, but is the same as the Boston-11 that I modified by removing the heel plate. The rods are clearly individual devices, bringing the total to 6, not 1.
I totally agree that "carbon plate" is now a big marketing feature, not necessarily a performance feature. The exact same performance characteristics can be made with fiberglass, kevlar, nylon, etc. as a plate made with carbon fiber or "carbon infused". The only advantage of carbon is that it can be 15-25% lighter. For such a small thing, that only amounts to a few grams per shoe. Those few grams can be justified in a top end racing shoe, but not for a trainer or budget racing shoe. Except as a sales feature.
Keep in mind people were running 2:05 marathons in 20mm or less stack shoes without plates 20 years ago. Nike didn't have the 4% on people's feet until 2016 or 2017. Shoe tech is greta, but it's a minor part of the performance equation.
Yeah, the MaxRoad 4+ was/is a great shoe (other than the 200M outsole). I haven't tried the 5, but I suspect the unnecessary addition of a plate ruined it.
Yep. I have the 5...and I tried to like it. The plate is 2 separate, relatively small plates, but they still provide far too much forefoot stiffness. What I liked about Skechers Max Road and Razor models (which now also have plates thrown in) was that they were super flexible. I don't do well with any degree of stiffness in a shoe. Nike Frees were great shoes for me.
NB just threw a plate in their newest version of the Propel. If they do that with the Rebel...I don't know what I'll wear. I don't love the current Tempo or Saucony Kinvara, but at least they haven't thrown a plate in those (yet).
So never tried th Adidas, but I am a long time Mizuno Wave Rider wearer. They seem to have gone in the opposite direction and despite the nylon plate, have been getting mushier over time. Making some notes of other shoes to try from this discussion.....
continuing with the plate discussion;
I have Rebel-2 and they're fine but could use more cush for longer runs. Soft and flexible. No plate that I know of, but V1 had a nylon plate in the forefoot.
I now put most of my miles in Saucony EndoSpeed2, and more and more in the 3. Both are "plated" but still flexible. I prefer the 2.
I use the plated NB SC trainers for long runs, but I'm not tickled with them like I was with MaxRoad4; too stiff, and not as cushioned as they should be. And heavy. The V2 coming out drops a couple ounces and is lower stack with softer foam, we'll see how that goes.
For race shoes, which seems to be everyone's focus even though they are used for less than 10% of our miles, I have NB RC Elite V2 and Skechers Speed Freek. The NB are really comfortable even for long runs, not too stiff, especially compared to other "supershoes". I'd use them as uptempo workout trainers in a heartbeat. I've run track races in Skechers GoMeb Speed6 (legal stack for track), they're plateless and greta. Put a 4-pin spike plate in them and you'd have a superspike rivaling the Dragonfly for 5-10k. I acquired a pair of AlphaFly2 last week but have only run a couple miles in them. I only got them because they were less than $100 at the Nike clearance store; I wouldn't pay $250+ for shoes. Once these atmospheric rivers stop, I'll put them through their paces and see how they do. But, really soft and kinda stiff.
I have determined that I like a lightweight, semi-flexible, highly cushioned (about an 8 out of 10) shoe for training. The MaxRoad4-4+ met all these criteria, but had a frail outsole material. If I can get the 4+ on clearance for less than $50 I'll get a few pairs. I can't justify more than $50 for a 200 mile shoe. The MaxRoad 6 is an awful direction; it's 2oz heavier and has a stiffening plate. Their new Speed Beast looks like it would be a decent trainer; if it didn't have that inflexible winglet plate. Make that without any plate and I'd love it. I have a pair of Speed Freek, and that plate is ridiculously rigid. And they shoved really dense, hard Hyperburst in the forefoot under the plate. It is not a pleasant shoe to run in, and if my watch data is correct, they aren't very physically economical, either. The plates ruined what makes Hyperburst material one of the best midsole foams out there.
but had a frail outsole material.
Oh, yeah, plates aside...Skechers outsoles are so not durable. They're nearly as bad as shoes with exposed midsole foam.
Mother of Cats
Yep. I have the 5...and I tried to like it. The plate is 2 separate, relatively small plates, but they still provide far too much forefoot stiffness. What I liked about Skechers Max Road and Razor models (which now also have plates thrown in) was that they were super flexible. I don't do well with any degree of stiffness in a shoe. Nike Frees were great shoes for me. NB just threw a plate in their newest version of the Propel. If they do that with the Rebel...I don't know what I'll wear. I don't love the current Tempo or Saucony Kinvara, but at least they haven't thrown a plate in those (yet).
Have you tried the Puma Liberate? I used to be a big fan of the Nike Frees, and the Puma Liberate is the closest to that shoe in terms of flexibility, though the toebox is a bit smaller.
Everyone's gotta running blog; I'm the only one with a POOL-RUNNING blog.
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I haven’t tried them, but might have to. The trick is finding a men’s 7. Running Warehouse starts at 8. I’m certain the women’s 8.5 would be too narrow. Amazon has them, so I may have to give them a try when I’m ready to throw something new into rotation.
Here's the thing about men's vs women's running shoes:
Women's have narrower heel and wider forefoot. For some men, this may be a better fit. As long as you're ok with pretty lady colors.
https://www.livestrong.com/article/269999-what-is-the-difference-between-womens-mens-running-shoes/
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Yeah, I wear a women’s 8.5D/wide, which means I end up wearing men’s 7 in anything non-NB and men’s 40 in cycling shoes. Not everyone carries men’s running shoes smaller than size 8, though.
Puma seems to prefer to sell its shoes directly. They have a men's 7 on their website. Liberate NITRO Men's Running Shoes | PUMA
That's probably the route I'd go. Time to start watching for a sale.
I can confirm removal of the plate makes the Boston-11 a perfectly fine shoe.
I did an easy-interval workout today, 10x400 w/400 jog recovery.
No more harsh landing that made my feet hurt at slower pace, and I could really feel the Lightstrike-Pro bounce at my 5-10k pace.
Outsole is very grippy, and the profile has a nice roll to it. It was a $35 gamble that paid off.