Article by Sam Winebaum
Diadora Nucleo 2 ($160)
Introduction
Iconic sports brand Diadora of Italy has emerged as a top run contender in recent years with beautifully styled and super fun to run trainers and a solid carbon racer.
Featuring their own in-house developed DD Anima foam which is light, energetic, moderately soft with a clearly felt and leg saving measured bounce, the Nucleo continues the progress.
Ir'an “inherent stability” trainer meaning its geometry provides light stability and without overdoing the platform width or adding firmer inserts or plastic inserts. It all also works brilliantly for me, a runner who definitely typically steers clear of stability and pronation control shoes! Please read on for the details.
Pros:
Versatile: just aboutany run daily trainer with a dash of stability, pleasant and fun ride at any pace.
The stability is real but never in the way. Could be the most unobtrusive, least noticed inherent “control” implementation in a run shoe yet for this almost always neutral shoe fan.
Not boring, lumbering or over soft DD Anima midsole does not lack for cushion or excitement while remaining stable and consistent in feel at any pace and with noticeable rebound
Great shock attenuation, among the best of any midsole, if not the best
No shortcuts taken with upper support front to back, yet comfortable.
Reasonable weight at about 9.8 oz / for all the substance here including big 38 mm heel / 33mm forefoot stack height
Cons:
“Neutral” and “Stability” focus in a single shoe’s marketing may be confusing yet both are true here.
Wish and think it should be $10-$20 less at checkout to sell yet better.
Stats
Approx Weight: men's 9.85 oz / 279g US9
Sample Weight: men’s 9.6 oz / 272g US8.5 , oz / g US
Stack Height: men’s 40 mm heel / 35 mm forefoot, 5mm drop
Platform Width: 90 mm heel / 73mm midfoot / 115 mm forefoot US8.5
Prior Platform Width 86mm heel / 70mm midfoot / 105mm forefoot
Most comparable shoes
Diadora Cellula
ASICS Nimbus 24 (not 25 or 26)
Nike Vomero 17
Nike Structure
Fresh Foam 880
Brooks Glycerin GTS
First Impressions, Fit and Upper
My test pair is a conservative looking black with white highlights. Classy and understated, other more colorful versions are available.
The upper is highlighted by a rigid very substantial heel counter with the upper mesh a thin if dense engineered mesh. The tongue is moderately padded and has a gusset.
The heel hold is rock solid yet comfortable with very decent deep collar padding. The midfoot area is relatively low volume assuring (with the heel construction) a very solid lockdown to the platform. I think the low volume feels comes from the raised stabilizing side walls keeping the foot well centered,
The toe box is on the narrower side with a soft toe bumper with the mesh soft and thin. While very broad feet may struggle, all other foot shapes should be fine. I would note the upper stretched and the multi foam (arch slightly firmer with an additional heel bad) sockliner likely packed down helping customize the fit to my foot.
The fit is true to size for my narrower to medium feet and totally secure but overall the upperis lower volume as most Diadora have been for me.
Bottom line: A no nonsense comfortable fit that enhances the overall stability of the ride.
Midsole & Platform
According to Diadora the DD Anima midsole foam “offers 30% more midsole responsiveness and reduces weight by 20%, for a total rebound of 65%”, we can assume compared to standard EVA but few shoes today are content with old school EVA these days. 65% rebound is decent but not super shoe class which the Nucleo isn't yet there is a very pleasant well noticed forgiving rebound here.
I have now tested several Diadora, including the entirely Made in Italy Equipe Atomo and the very similar to Nucleo with lower stack, Cellula (RTR Review) all with DD Anima foam. Each has had a delightful measured rebound while at the same time the midsole is densely protective with among the lowest perceived shock transmitted of any foam I can recall, so ideal for daily training at a variety of paces and distances.
And that is the case with the Nucleo as well. Be it slow recovery paces (10:30-11:00 minute miles) or moderate daily training paces (9:20 minute or slightly faster for me) the midsole is pleasant and fun, never mushy, soft or harsh. Just right! Along with the TPE foam in the 361 Eleos my favorite training shoe foams of the last year and I have tested them all!
DD Anima is relatively light for a non supercritical foam shoe as even with its substantial upper and quite broad platform we are under 10 oz / 283g for a US9.
Diadora discusses in great detail the many subtle changes in geometry to the Nucleo which previously was a full on neutral shoe and now is positioned as an inherently stable one. I did not run v1 as the platform is now focused, gently and effectively in my view, towards gentle pronation control and stability from a more neutral focus.
The platform increased in width, always a solid approach to more stability, increasing in width by 9mm heel / 13mm midfoot / 5 mm forefoot to a moderately broad but never in my way 86mm heel / 70mm midfoot / 105mm forefoot. I note the narrow midfoot platform which is plenty stable given the raised sidewalls and contributes to very easy, and pace transitions off mid foot here.
The most prominent support elements are the black raised midsole sidewalls of the same foam as the rest of the midsole. They lock the foot in line at midfoot and are not sensed as separate from the rest of the midsole with, unlike some, an easy transition that doesn’t block or hang up as you stride forward.
This may be due to the fact that unlike the usual vertical medial side walls they are scalloped out below for some give down and forward without a sense of over collapse medially. While I have fairly high arches, unlike most stability shoes, there is no arch push up pressure or a sensation of firm stiff sidewalls at the midfoot.
Diadora lab results show that “the shoe's overall inherent stability has nearly doubled. Additionally, tests indicate a reduction of 12 degrees in over-pronation compared to the previous Nucleo model.”
Do not worry if you typically run in neutral shoes, as I most often do. No plastic gimmicks, no over broad heel or midfoot, no vertical sides walls midfoot getting in the way. For example, the similar category Nimbus 26 from ASICS (RTR Review) which has a heel 18mm wider, a midfoot 18mm wider and a forefoot 15mm wider) or overdone medial firm upper side walls (Brooks GTS for example).
Compared to Diadora’s excellent similar Cellula (RTR Review), previously one of my 2024 favorite rides, you will find the same foam on a higher narrower platform here, so more cushion, the stability features and a more agile feel at about the same weight.
The bottom line is that Diadora has crafted an elegant approach to adding some light stability to the Nucleo that any “type” of runner strike type can actually enjoy. Will it suit those with massive pronation control needs, in my view a very small minority of those “prescribed” stability shoes, maybe not. But for just about every other runner we get an enjoyable happy medium here, reliable support that is never in the way of actual running and a great foam.
Outsole
The outsole is Diadora’s customary very durable D5000 rubber in a well segmented pattern that plays well with the ride.
I see increased heel and front of the midfoot rubber coverage and no triple cavities there as shown in the photo above as well as more carved out heel to midfoot cavity angled towards the lateral side to the front to enable a smooth transition to toe off. The design underfoot says to me..smoother off the heels transitions and more forefoot stability and that is what I felt.
After a run or two, the Nucleo developed moderate long flex from toe to midfoot with the forefoot somewhat stiffer for a bit of rocker effect.
Ride, Conclusions and Recommendations
The ride is steady and reliable for any run except maybe your fast ones with some energetic fun from the deeply cushioned, very shock absorbing and quite energetic in a “safe” way DD Anima midsole foam and midsole design.
The Nucleo 2 is for sure not boring or shouts stability with firm medial elements as traditional stability focused shoes can or is overly broad and blocky underfoot as modern inherent stability shoes have felt on the run for me.
Its inherently stable design and single foam midsole on a not ridiculously broad platform deliver support without ever feeling like there is something in the mix over prescribing that support. As such, they are a good choice for heavy mileage runners of all types as an easier days shoe, as recovery run shoes, for beginner runners, and those for whom more traditional stability shoes are “just too much”.
The upper is comfortable and highly supportive and plays very well with the underfoot platform and purpose of the shoes, everyday road training. It is not a very high volume upper.
Obviously very carefully designed to provide some support but at the same time delivering a smooth fun experience for all runner types, the Nucleo 2 is a great new option as an all around reliable daily trainer. It brings more than enough smiles along the way due to its geometry and midsole foam to keep things from ever getting boring as you log those daily miles or even take them for walks.
Sam’s Score: 9.5 /10
My only deductions are for fairly steep $160 pricing for its general use training category. That said it should prove durable and versatile.
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Comparisons (more to come in our multi tester review coming soon)
Diadora Cellula (RTR Review)
Compared to Diadora’s excellent Cellula, previously one of my 2024 favorite training rides, you will find in the Nucleo the same DD Anima foam on a lowe platform with a slightly more agile feel at about the same weight. For $10 I would choose the Cellula for its deeper cushion and more neutral focus.
ASICS Nimbus 26 (RTR Review)
Almost 1 oz heavier on a considerably broader platform the Nimbus is lumbering in ride and less dynamic in foam feel. Its upper is a bit more plush and also true to size. Nucleo is an easy choice for me here.
Available now for men and women
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Tester Profile
Sam is the Editor and Founder of Road Trail Run. He is in his 60’s with 2024 Sam’s 52th year of running roads and trails. He has a decades old 2:28 marathon PR. These days he runs halves in the just sub 1:40 range if he gets very, very lucky. Sam trains 30-40 miles per week mostly at moderate paces on the roads and trails of New Hampshire and Utah be it on the run, hiking or on nordic skis. He is 5’9” tall and weighs about 160 lbs, if he is not enjoying too many fine New England IPA’s.
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