Mirror, Mirror, who's the fastest of them all?

Flashback to my review on the Adidas Megabounce. When I was leisurely ambling around in the ultra cushioned marvel, I somehow missed the fast and the furious nature of a racing flat, and wished I was wearing one. At the same time, I eagerly wanted to roadtest a pair of the latest lightweight Adizero ever since Adidas had launched a full blown line of racing flats last year and had the much touted "Zero Gravity" hype going. The sad part was very few Adidas stores had salesmen who even knew what running was all about, leave alone racing flats. When I asked them questions on the shoe, all they could say was "Sir, it's a zero gravity shoe." Any questions on topics like pronation, high arch, low arch would only result in a blank stare.

Sad. One of the major reasons I started solereview in the first place is let people have a fair idea of how good or bad a shoe actually is, and not based on the hype created by brands which we so easily get trapped in. Sometimes a Rs.10000 ($250) shoe might not be any better or worse than a shoe which costs half that price and there was no resource in India which told you that. Anyway, back to my review.

Need for speed: Liberal use of single layer mesh and minimalistic overlays makes this shoe a nimble lightweight marvel and easily the breeziest (sic) shoe out of the whole bunch. By Golly, even the sandwiched foamy material in the tongue has perforated holes!

At a mere 248 gms for a size 9,the Adizero CS is one of the lightest running shoes available in the market today. Compare this to a regular high end shoe, which will weigh around 360 grams or so. Like all racing flats, the shoe is relatively spartan - most of the upper is made of a very well ventilated single layer mesh; the midsole shaves off a few millimeters here and there to reduce weight and improve responsive footstrike; and the outsole combines blown rubber pieces and injected rubber lugs on a fabric base to cut down on the extra flab. These shoes are not meant for kicking around on a market street - these are pure performance running shoes with just one sole mission: Combine speed and ventilation in a lightweight package at the cost of everything else, durability included.

Adizero, lightweight is thy name: Blown rubber (yellow portion) and injected rubber lugs on fabric (blue area) combined with the open midsole area (white) allows the outsole to shave precious ounces of weight.

Chill factor: The shoes uses durable "Adiwear" rubber on the outer edge of the shoe, which is the area of the heelstrike while landing. The transparent "Torsion" shank comes in handy as it provides great midfoot support. Notice the vents in the midfoot area - this shoe is all about ventilation and these vents are directly beneath the sockliner which is porous, and has vent holes and a climacool fabric layer on the top to wick sweat away. Phew!

Sun is fun in these shoes: Vents in the midfoot - see the triangular shape inside the shoe is directly beneath the perforated holes in the red sockliner so forget about sweaty underfoot anymore. An additional piece of heel foam is fitted in the heel area for some extra squish.

Last but not the least: The sockliner has a layer of "Climacool" fabric which is meant to take sweat away. It does.

My 5k run in the Adizero's went as expected - fast and quick while I managed to keep consistent pace. I chose early noon as the time to run, just to see how the well ventilated Adizero performs in the warm Indian sun. By the end of the 5K run, I was sweating, panting and red in the face, but I got to know what I wanted to. The shoe was perfect, except for a small blemish on otherwise a perfect racing flat. The Adizero CS I bought was a wide 2E version instead of the regular one because I wanted to try something with a bit more room in the front, though I have a regular width. Sure, there's plenty of room in the front, but what Adidas has probably done is that they took an upper built on a 2E last and stuck it on a regular width midsole/outsole, so your forefoot tends to slip off a bit towards the inside while running, and there is a very faint sensation of the edge of the midsole pressing into your forefoot. Though I did not experience any sore areas as a result of that, it would be much better if Adidas matched a wide upper with a wide midsole so that the shoe wraps the foot like a glove. But all in all, a great racing flat for the serious runner who's looking for some really fast equipment.

Finishing touch: Flat cotton laces with silver bands do a great job of keeping your foot secure, printed "adizero" aglets (yes, that's what they are called) are nice touches of detail.

The Lowdown:

Shoe name: Adidas adizero CS Wide (2E width)

Color reviewed: Neo White/Metallic Silver

Retail price (India): INR 5699

Estimated US retail: $ 80

Available at: Major Adidas outlets and select multibrand stores.

Weight: 248 grams for a half pair of size UK 10 / US 10.5

Recommended for: Serious runners who need a pair of good racing flats to shave off time off their run, be it mid-distance or a Marathon. For regular arch types.

Not recommended for: Casual shoe buyers who are looking to buy a shoe to look cool. The adizero CS is not as durable as regular running shoes; it is not meant to be.

Verdict: One of the best racing flats in the market. Only buy it if you know your running stuff.