Has anyone tried .......

Because I love my skinny F-Lite trail shoes and X-Talons, I've been eyeing up the Inov8 Bare-X Lite range and the Road-X range.

They're not available at the running shops in my neck of the woods yet, so I wondered if anyone had tried them and could give me feedback.

Comments

  • I bought a pair of inov8 255 road x last year when i was toying with the idea of slowly working towards barefoot running. In the end I just went straight to minimalist shoes on the advice of my podiatrist.

    Anyway, they are very good shoes if that's the sort of thing you are after, the build quality is good and they fit true to uk sizes in my experience. I also just bought a pair of inov8 roclite 400 gtx boots for walking. Top brand in my opinion.
  • I started barefoot running last summer and love it.  Otherwise, I use minimalist shoes.  Thanks for the feedback on the Inov8 roads.

  • I've been doing a lot of forefoot landing recently, and am enjoying my first pair of Inov-8s: 312 GTX for wet trails. Since I need a pair of lighter road shoes too, I was wondering about the Road-X 255. The one thing that puts me off a bit is the statement on Wiggle, presumably from the manufacturer, that you shouldn't consider these "Unless you’re very light, these aren’t for you if you run a marathon outside 2:45, or 1:30 for a half". I was indeed hoping to work up to run road marathons in these instead of my present ASICS 1160 but my mara time is a long way away from that (3:36 or WAVA-weighted 3:09) but OTOH I am light at a bit over 9 stone or 58 kg. Would I get on with them?

  • i am a fairly heavy weight runner and i run in barefoot shoes, i have no issues over any distance, i would say it depends much more on your form than it does your weight, if you have a good running form then weight isnt an issue, you could be 8st and stomp the ground with your heel, 

  • Ok I take the point. I do like the option to heelstrike without battering my legs too much. I doubt I'm dedicated enough to run most of a marathon forefoot.
  • I have the Inov-8 Bare X-Lite 150s for road running.  Since starting running more regularly last year I've switched between Inov-8 Mudclaws and Vibram Five Fingers on the trails and hillsand until recently had some very lightweight Adizeros for the track/road, so I've been used to failry minimalist footwear.

    I am however still getting used to the X-Lites. Maybe because I use them on the road but they seem to put even more strain on my calf than the VFFs, though not to the point of actial pain - and I'm sure they are building my muscles.

    They are also very comfortable and I love the lacing system. As with all Inov-8s though, I've found I needed to go down half a size to my normal shoes to get the perfect fit.

  • touie2touie2 ✭✭✭
    I thought f-lites were road shoes? I wear mine on the road and love them, there's not much cushioning though which can take a while to get used to!
  • I wanted to transition to minimalist running this year & bought a pair of Road X 255's, they're great for short distances for me but I prefer more forefoot cushioning due to age/joint issues. I started to get calf muscle problems which wouldn't go away. I've already decided to try the Saucony Kinvara 3 next. Inov 8 shoes are good quality but I found I needed a 10.5 whereas I normally buy Nikes in a 10.

  • Andy please post how you get on with the Kinvaras. I was thinking of trying those next too but have put off buying while there is snow on the trails. I came to kind o th same conclusion as you with rockite 312 gtx and although I can probably run a trail half forefoot landing in them, I prefer a bit extra cushioning from my asics fuji sensors also forefoot anding.
  • I will Steve, I certainly won't say the Inov 8's aren't good as they really are, they just don't suit me. I was torn between the Kinvaras & trying the similar Brooks Pure Cadence, but it seems the Saucony's are much more durable for less money.

  • I'm currently running the Road-X233, the Bare-X180 and the Bare-X150.  So far the 180's and 233 have shown themselves to be much more durable than my old Kinvara's (260miles).

    The 233 is a funny shoe mind you, it's got a 6mm drop so 30% more than the Kinvaras but the ride is much closer to the ground giving an awsomly responsive ground feel.  Of the three I mentioned, the 180's are by far the most minimalist.

     

    I havnt tried the Brooks but I think I ought to.

  • Just to add; they size up the same as my X-Talon 212's; a bit roomier in the toe but certainly the same size.

  • Quite possibly with Inov 8 shoes the first thing to go would be the upper, given the minimal cushioning in the soles, very interesting to see you only got 260 miles out of the Kinvara's though Sean! I take it they were the 2's? When reading about the Brooks Pure Cadence it seemed that the general opinion was that Kinvara's last longer. The new 3's apparently are pretty much the same as the 2's only with carbon lugs etc on the soles for more durability. Still waiting for my local runshop to get some in my size to give them a try.

  • Re. Inov8 uppers, I just bought a pair of Trailroc 235s; the shop advised me to get some shoe goo or similar and use it to extend the area of fabric that's covered with another material back from the toes to where the chevrons start supporting the sides - apparently that's where they usually wear first, so it makes sense to reinforce that area immediately. (I usually run in VivoBarefoot Neo and for offroad the Neo Trail but I got the 235s for a little extra underfoot protection on Lake District trails).

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