Article by Matt Kolat
Diadora Frequenza 2 (&190/ £150 )
Introduction
Diadora is an Italian brand of sporting goods which needs no introduction to regular RoadTrailRun readers. It has been around for many decades, however in the recent 5ish years it has really been making strides in the running world, setting trends often followed by much bigger players. The model which we will be having a closer look at today the Frequenza 2 is the brand's newest offering in the lightweight / tempo trainer category.
Pros:
Lightweight
Beautiful Italian styling
Great for faster workouts
Great racing shoe for 5k-10k for semi advanced runners
Worth considering for HM distance for efficient runners
Fun to run in
Cons:
Very soft midsole - Neutral runners only
Limited colorways
Stats
Approx. Weight: men's 7.9oz / 225g US9 (Frequenza 1: men's 8.15 oz / 231 g (US9)
Sample Weight: men’s 9.59oz / 272g 12US/11UK
Stack Height: 36mm heel / 28mm forefoot, 8mm drop
Platform Width: 92mm heel / 80mm midfoot / 118mm forefoot
Most comparable shoes
TYR Maverick
First Impressions, Fit and Upper
When I first saw the shoe my impression was that it will definitely not be light, because it looks like an average, traditional, medium stacked, daily trainer with beautiful Italian styling sewn in here and there. None of that rings ‘light’, right? Except when I lifted the shoes from the box they did feel exceptionally light and my kitchen scaleconfirmed my theory - 9.5 oz in my size 12US/11UK is a very good result.
In terms of the fit, the shoe fits ever so slightly large. I would not recommend that everyone sizes down, I am happy with my usual 11UK/12US but there is a little bit more room in the front than in most of my shoes for my moderately wide foot. So in other words if you prefer a more tapered fit, if your feet don’t swell too much during a workout you might want to consider sizing down half a size.
The upper itself is, as always is the case with Diadora, very stylish. It can easily double as a “sneaker” increasing the value of the shoe. The heel counter is semi structured, runs about half way up the heel area, ending roughly where the creamy white overlay material meets the whiter mesh.
The tongue is wafer thin, and despite not being integrated, does not travel to the sides on the run. The shoe laces are ribbed, something now more common in race shoes, making them extremely grippy and finding the perfect fit is very easy as there is no chance they will ‘loosen’ on the run.
The area around the heel is very soft and comfortable and the part above the heel counter, despite flaring out, did not cause any issues with my achilles.
The rest of the upper is made from a very thin, see-through mesh which felt very air-flowy on the runs. Not so much of a factor for the coming months, unless you live in the southern hemisphere, but a nice touch on a tempo shoe. What is worth mentioning is that the upper despite being so thin did not cause any irritation or hot spots for me, which is sometimes the case with lightweight trainers and tempo shoes. All in all an exceptional upper, full marks.
Midsole & Platform
The platform does narrow quite a bit in the middle from 92mm at the feel to 80mm at midfoot and combined with a very soft, plate free midsole creates a strictly neutral experience.
The midsole itself is a new version of the Anima, Anima N2 and is now a super critical gas infused EVA foam. Because there is no plate involved, the feeling that dominated my thoughts as I was preparing for this review is one of softness rather than bouncy ness. How does that translate to the experience on the run - please have a look at the Ride section of the review.
Outsole
As you can see in the photo below the outsole has rather limited coverage. The good news is that this does not translate into low traction but potentially offset by a lower expected lifespan of the shoe. Diadora uses Duratech 5000 rubber at the rear of the shoe and a softer rubber upfront.
I do not have too much wear and tear on my pair after about 35km of testing and also one should remember that this is not a daily trainer intended for long runs and clocking everyday miles, so no complaints to be made here. There is a massive midsole cutout through the centre which normally contributes to the stability of the ride but as you will see in the final section of the review the shoe has a truly neutral character. There are two colours of the outsole used as per the previous picture. The orange one in the front is softer while the burgundy rubber in the back is firmer. This rubber configuration is most likely intended at increasing the lifespan of the shoe and providing a touch of stability, both with heel strikers in mind.
Ride, Conclusions and Recommendations
The ride of the shoe is best described as very soft with a gentle rebound and a truly neutral character. There are a few factors contributing to this. The midsole is completely superficial, very soft and with not too much rubber outsole to harden the landing and provide a stronger rebound/response.
What is more, there is no plate in place, which is not necessarily bad news as there are plenty of ‘fast day’ plated shoes out there. However the offset of that is even less elements stabilising the gait on the run. I am a runner who performs best in either stable neutral shoes (geometry plus a firm-ish midsole) or mild stability shoes.
I was happy to take the Frequenzas out for a 5km tempo but when I was doing my 10k runs I could feel my body putting in extra effort especially my right ankle which had been injured more times (luckily not in the past 5 years) than I would like to admit. Please keep this in mind, if you have stability requirements off the bat or if you need a bit of support after a number of miles this shoe might not be the best option for you.
That said however I did have lots of fun in the Frequenzas as the combination of light weight and soft midsole lends itself to the shoe feeling fun and carefree. Not the biggest performer but great fun even if some would not want to admit it due to the lack of a plate.
With regards to applications, the intention of this shoe is to be a tempo shoe. And I believe this can be a great tempo shoe but probably most for runners with a big rotation of shoes in play. The reason why I say that is because there are faster racer shoes out there so the application of Frequenza 2 is quite narrow - a tempo day shoe only.
For most neutral runners I would say it is sufficient for the 10k to HM distance but again only for runners with very neutral mechanics and great form especially if targeting the longer distance of the two.
In terms of recommendations I would not change much about this shoe. I know I’ve made a point about how the midsole is super soft and is in character a truly neutral shoe which is not ideal for me. That said, however, there are plenty of neutral runners who will have a great time in this shoe.
If Diadora tried to make it more stable via a wider base, firmer midsole,more outsole coverage or any other supportive elements it would inevitably make the shoe heavier. As a result, it would become more of a fun daily trainer rather than a tempo shoe. Therefore I do not have any strong recommendations for this shoe to change one way or another. It’s a great shoe in its class.
Score: 8.4 /10
Road: Ride 8/10 (50%): Fit 9/10 (30%): Value 8/10 (15%): Style 10/10 (5%):
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Comparisons
Diadora Frequenza 1 RTR Review
I did not test the Frequenza 1 but the RTR team did with their review noting the listed stack height in that review is midsole only. The Frequenza 2 stack height is essentially unchanged and the weight dropping about 12g in a US9 mostly likely due to the use of lighter supercritical Anima N2 foam in version 2
TYR Maverick (RTR Review)
The Frequenza and Maverick sit in the same market of lightweight trainers / tempo shoes. How do they differ? The Frequenza definitely has a much more forgiving upper, there is almost a luxurious factor whereas the Maverick’s upper is firm, and for people with sensitivity issues I would recommend wearing thicker socks. That said however the Maverick is much more stable due to its geometry than the truly neutral Frequenza. In terms of weight the Frequenza has a 25g advantage but I can’t say it’s noticeable, it's in the same ballpark.
Tester Profile
Maciej 'Matt' Kolat - 40 years old, hailing from Poland but pounding Scottish roads and trails since 2007. Mainly runs shorter distances on pavement 5-10 km and reserves longer runs for beautiful Scottish Glens. Matt’s opinion sometimes may differ from other RTR testers as he is the slowest of the bunch (5k at 25:38). Matt also uses running as a way to stay healthy having shed 106 lbs so far (and counting).
Samples were provided at no charge for review purposes. No compensation was provided by brands for writing this article. RoadTrail Run does have affiliate partnerships and may earn commission on products purchased via shopping links in this article. These partnerships do not influence our editorial content. The opinions herein are entirely the authors'.
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