ADIDAS TERREX AGRAVIC ULTRA: TRAIL SHOES WITH CARBON PLATE FOR ALL RUNNERS. Our TRAIL SHOES section brings today the new shoe of the Germans for the long mountain races, with Ekaterina Mityaeva as the base athlete in its development.
It arrives with a price of €160 for a weight of 299 grams, a gournd high of 19mm in front and 27mm behind, for a drop of 8mm. The midsole uses the new Lightstrike developments of the Boost and the rubber sole remains faithful to Continental, with 2.5mm lugs. We start with technical analysis, by Mayayo.
ADIDAS TERREX AGRAVIC ULTRA (160€/299GR/DROP8)
TECHNICAL ANALISIS BY MAYAYO
The ADIDAS AGRAVIC TERREX ULTRA is already in stores, after two years of development, by the hand of the British ultrero Tom Evans, The British, remember, was bronze in that Ultra 80km World Championship of 20018 where Luis added his third gold of the modality. An unforgettable day, with that Spanish double at the top of the podium, for all of us who were fortunate enough to be able to be direct witnesses.
ADIDAS TERREX AGRAVIC ULTRA: ULTRA TRAIL COMPETITION SHOES.
It is launched with a price of € 160 for a weight of 299 grams, with drop of 8mm as a result of a height to the ground of 26mm in front (7mm more than the speed ultra) and 27mm behind. (7mm more too) The sole is the usual Continental, now with 2.5mm studs (1.5mm more than the Speed) and the cushioning brings an entirely new development, with the carbon plate.
ADIDAS TERREX AGRAVIC ULTRA: DATA SHEET.
- Price: 160€. A very affordable price to carry carbon plate. Even more so if, as everything seems to indicate, it will have a durability much higher than the first generations of carbon. The closest with a similar philosophy would be the snowy HOKA TECTON X but we are talking about € 50 more. The TNf ENDURIS VECTIV is at € 140 but we see it more of running / walking than pure ultra.
- Weight: 299 grams. Heavy perhaps to compete in elite, but very valid for the popular. Its sister Speed Ultra weighs 240gr. The bet of this Agravic Ultra is to fit elites in technical and alpine races, such as the TDS of Chamonix that ran with them Ekaterina, finishing fourth
- Drop 8mm: A good equlibrio to run long in ultras. A common midpoint in the category. It is up to 4mm more than its flying sister for short and medium distances Adidas Terrex Speed Pro, to cushion us more if fatigue forces us to lose technique and heel.
- Height: 26mm front and 34mm rear. In the line of the dominant maximalist shoes today in the elite ultrera, which from Hoka to Salomon or the brand new Saucony Endorphin trail also bet dimensions of 26mm onwards for the forefoot and more than 33mm in heel. To go closer to the ground, there are already its Speed Ultra sisters,
- Three-layer cushioning, with carbon: Key novelty that we see in detail later.
- Classic cover and lazing.
- Continental sole, 4mm lugs A Rubber uses the same compound for the entire Terrex range.
In this case, the brand highlights that the drawing has been developed from Continental wheels for gravel cycling . Picturesque… In any case, it is a reliable rubber and well-tested grip on a variety of different surfaces. The 4mm lugs are quite versatile, although perhaps more at home treading firm ground. - Colors: It comes in 4 colors for men and for women, to choose. Below we leave them to you.
ADIDAS TERREX AGRAVIC ULTRA.
THREE DIFFERENTIAL POINTS.
The Adidas Terrex Ultra debut in a very competitive market, also dominated by maximalist shoes. Below we detail three alternatives of Salomon, Hoka and Saucony, to which we can add the Asics Trabuco Max.
This debutant 2021 brings outstanding technical changes in itself, we can point out some highlights in its development:
- CARBON PLATE DAMPING: A lot of thought has been done by the Germans this midsole of the adidas Terrex Agravic Ultra. And it shows. It has a height of 26 mm in the forefoot, 34 mm in the heel and, consequently, a drop of 8 mm. As usual in Adidas, we have it written on the midsole, an elegant detail.Basically, we have three parts that are on top of each other, as you can see in the scheme presented by adidas itself.
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- The top layer is made of the well-known Boost material, which is quite soft, comfortable and sensitive. Nothing revolutionary there.
- The bottom layer consists of lightstrike material from adidas. And its purpose is, first and foremost, to provide stability. Therefore, it is quite rigid and the side walls rise to the left and right from the area from the middle foot to the hindfoot to give more orientation to the foot.
- Between these two layers is the star: Unq carbon fiber composite plate made of bio-based TPE, consisting of 90% renewable carbon. The plate extends along the midsole and, in this way, provides even more stability and helps the shooting with a last in light rocker.
- In the photos you can see some cuts along the front of the plate to help with lateral stability. And on the heel of the plate is another star-shaped cut that helps make the shoe more tolerant in prolonged downhill runs. It also allows the runner to load the plate more easily by sinking into the midsole heel area.
- With this data and the weight, we think that carbon fiber plate is not made to gain seconds to chrome, as do the asphalt running shoes Rather, it gives the feeling that, as in the TNF ENDURIS is there to help and guide you when your legs are tired after many hours or even days of walking / running.
- UPPER: The top of the adidas Terrex Agravic Ultra consists of a very resistant single-layer mesh. It is made of Primegreen, with recycled materials. Thanks to its rigidity, the mesh can use a pattern of very open pores. Therefore, it is very breathable, does not retain water, and also dries very quickly.The tongue is slightly padded, enough to remove pressure from the cord. It has no bellows, but is held in place by threaded laces.
It offers exterior and interior overlaps that bring more structure to the roof. Talbien a very protective toe cap that wraps around the entire contour of the edges of the forefoot. The three adidas stripes are even thicker than the toe. (,!) In this way, they also reinforce the side of the midfoot.
- SIZE AND FITTING: In our case, the size does not vary from the usual. When you put them on, you will notice more layers to provide support in the middle part, with internal reinforcements on the side of the outer stripes.Perhaps the most delicate thing in the fit is the buttress of the heel. A very resistant piece that seeks to provide a lot of stability in that area. The collar is very high, which makes the blockage even safer, but it could cause chafing in the Achilles tendon area. Try them quietly in store to see if it affects you, in your specific case.
- CONTINENTAL SOLE: The Continental sole offers healthy adhesion on both dry and wet surfaces. It is a safe and proven value. Now then… knowing that Adidas also owns the spectacular Stealth rubber, which it uses in some top-of-the-range products for mountaineering or canyoning, perhaps it would be good if in one of its shoes they try it already at last.In this model, the 2.5mm lugs help in the firm, but they are a limitation for soft ground, where 6-8mm studs are necessary. Adidas usually solves it, like Salomon, by alternating base versions and SG versions of its models.
ADIDAS TERREX AGRAVIC ULTRA: CONCLUSION
The adidas Agravic Terrex Ultra is an interesting trail running shoe, for those looking to finish ultras hard at medium rates without suffering excessively It allows a certain agility and speed in the most technical terrains, by giving us confidence. It brings together elements tested and tested by the German brand, together with innovative solutions.
A prirori, it seems logical to trust that the actual performance will meet the expectations of our technical analysis. Fingers crossed, while we wait for an item for in-depth testing.
At this elite level, the fight for every gram is basic. Every ultra trail shoe that goes down today from 300 grams in the channel has a lot of cattle, with 250 grams as the maximum logical reference, if we do not want to penalize durability too much. But not everything is losing weight, of course.
In return, when the terrain becomes complicated and technical, we need rubber under the feet that protects us and grips us at the same time. The popular may find it a safe bet to tie the goal protecting legs.
There is no doubt that the joint work of Lightstrike and Continental rubber are solid, but unfortunately we cannot say yet that they are the best on the market. Neither the midsole is the one that provides the best weight / mattress ratio (Hoka still commands there, we think) Nor does the Continental rubber reach even rivals such as the Sportiva, Inov 8 G-grip, Scarpa Presta or Salomon Contagrip. It would be, of course, in the fight for a worthy top5.
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