Friday, December 07, 2018

Reebok 2019 Previews: New Forever Floatride Energy! Updates: Float Ride Run 2.0, Grasse Road 2 ST, Harmony Road 3

Article by Sam Winebaum with Peter Stuart and Shannon Payne

Update:
Harmony Road 3 multi tester review
Floatride Forever Energy multi tester review 


Reebok was one of the big surprises at last year The Running Event, essentially relaunching the brand in the run game with a decent  trainer the Floatride Run and two spectacular up tempo and race shoes the Fast and Fast Pro.

Reebok is leaving great alone with the Fast and Fast Pro unchanged but for new colors, tunes up the Run, launches a light midsole foam Floatride Energy in a new shoe the Forever Floatride Energy and uses it to update their trainers Grasse Road (now a much more stability oriented model) and Harmony Road  (neutral).

Floatride Energy is an expanded pellet TPU (think Boost) foam that it said to be more responsive and springy and lighter than traditional EVA foams. The foam here is clearly not Boost (Reebok is owned by adidas but does its own thing from everything we can tell)  as the pellet grains seem much smaller and it appears lighter. It is also allows Reebok to offer "super foam" based shoes at a great price as Energy comes in at $100, Grasse Road at $120, and Harmony at $120.
Reebok presents 2019 in our YouTube below


Forever Floatride Energy ($100)
Men's: 8.7 oz / 253 g  Women's 7 oz /202 g
Offset:10mm
Available February 2019
Update: Floatride Forever Energy multi tester review 

The new Energy joins the class of simple lower weight running shoes with few frills which promise a lively ride and versatility. Here we also get a new contender in the "super foam" category with Floatride Energy Foam, a lower priced alternative to Reebok's own Floatride Foam, Nike React, and adidas Boost.

The ride is called out as a blend of cushion, response, and flexibility and we can't wait to test them to see how they compare to other contenders such as Fresh Foam Beacon, ASICS Roadhawk, Nike Epic React, Hoka Cavu, Brooks Launch, Skechers Hyper Burst foam based shoes such as the Ride 8, adidas Aerobounce and Boston Boost and others.
The Floatride Energy features a simple engineered mesh upper reminding in its overlays design of the Floatride Run Fast but of somewhat more substantial material.
It has a full coverage carbon outsole. We hope it is not to extensive and firm,


Harmony Road 3.0 ($120)
Weight: M 9.5 oz, W 7.7 oz
Offset::10mm
Available June 2019
Update: Harmony Road 3 multi tester review
The Harmony Road is Reebok's traditional neutral daily trainer is now updated with TPU Floatride Energy Foam replacing the more traditional EVA blend.

The Harmony gets Floatride Energy Foam (white layer above) to lighten the shoe and give it response, a Flexweave mid foot adaptive support and a very sharp breathable mesh upper.

It retains its softer EVA heel clip (blue above) and is shod with a burly high abrasion carbon decoupled  outsole.

At 9.5 oz the Harmony is a lot of shoe for the weight, losing over an ounce from its predecessor. It should provide a well cushioned dynamic ride given the Energy Foam and light weight.

Grasse Road 2 ST ($120)
Weight: M 10.2 oz, W 8.2 oz
Offset:10 mm
Available June 2019

The Grasse Road 2 sees big changes from its predecessor which relied on a medial bulge for light stability, had a 6mm drop and used a Koosh Ride heel insert to soften the ride. Grasse Road 2 becomes much more stability oriented in the traditional sense and gains more than half an ounce in weight,

The Grasse Road gets Floatride Energy Foam (white layer above), a  Flexweave mid foot adaptive support in a burlier make up than the Harmony's,  and medial posting via the dark EVA clip below.

The outsole has PwrZone forefoot geometry (medial side) to promote efficiency. We found this approach a bit overly supportive in the prior Grasse Road (RTR review) but great in the more flexible Sweet Road 2 (RTR review) as it provided a stable platform for toe off.


Floatride Run 2.0 ($150)

Weight: Men's 8.9 oz / 253 g  Women's 7 oz / 202 g
Offset:10mm
Available July 2019

Last year's run ULTK launched Floatride Foam, a very light responsive PEBA based midsole material. We tested the ULTK (RTR review) and while it had promise there was some work to do. The TPU cage which secured the knit upper was quite stiff and while it caused no issues didn't really provide a very satisfying fit.

For 2019 Reebok considerably softened the TPU material in the cage and added memory foam to the heel area. A fourth lace eyelet was added as was a lace lock and the cage geometry modified.  The knit upper looked softer and less thick than version 1. These changes should increase comfort and foot lockdown.
Underfoot we see big changes as the EVA layer sitting above the Floatride Foam is eliminated (see 2018 Floatride Run below). We get more magic Floatride Foam cushion and the overall footprint on the ground at mid foot is widened to maintain stability as the EVA stabilizing layer is removed.
2018 Floatride Run ULTK

The Run also gets a modified outsole. At 8.7 oz the Run 2.0 should lose about 0.5 oz compared to the ULTK. We expect the ride to be livelier and more responsive.

The Floatride Run Fast (RTR Review)  gets a new color with no other changes noted.


The incredible 4 oz Fast Pro (RTR review) also gets a new upper color with no other changes noted.


Comments Questions Welcome Below!
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11 comments:

Anonymous said...

My only problem with the Run Fast was the upper was too complicated. I loved how thin it was, but the tongue and it's fixation was way too complicated and often bunched up on me. I would have loved to see them simplify the upper and leave the midsole and outsole unchanged.

Anonymous said...

Hi,
Are you going to review the Reebok floatride energy soon. Cheers Steve :)

Sam Winebaum said...

Hi Steve,
Absolutely! We will be testing Energy. We should have them in about a week.
Sam, Editor

Anonymous said...

Fantastic, runnersworlds raved about them - said probably one of the best $100 running shoes. Looking forward to your reviews. I hope you compare it with other daily trainers. cheers Steve :)

Anonymous said...

Hi,
I was wondering have you received the Floatride energy yet and any initial impressions, and when a review may come out - Thanks

SPR said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
SPR said...

Do you have a release date for the new colour Fast Pro in the UK? Old style pretty much sold out everywhere. New style doesn't look to be out anywhere. Thanks.

Gregory Davis said...

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Women's Running Shoes

Tangki Fiber said...

Hello ...

what is the best reebok shoes for outbound activities?

regards

Anonymous said...

I have the new line from reebox called Floatride fuel, they are samples.. shoes are Fire!!

Cameron said...

Interesting. What are they? Also, how are the Floatride Run 2.0s?