This shoe?

http://www.newtonrunning.com/mens-boco-at-ii

Looks available to me.

I would have bought a lot more of their shoes over the years if they didn't charge $175.00 for the Gravity. Even at that price, or slightly lower prices for other models, I had about 12 pairs of Newtons and loved all of them. The Gravity is my favorite shoe but I can't justify it when there are equivalent shoes for $50 less, or more.

I can understand those prices 6 or 7 years ago when they were new and seemed fairly novel, but not anymore.

I might have tried them if they were near the same price as other popular shoes

Totally with you.

This year I made the executive decision to not pay over $100 for a pair of shoes. It means that for some of the stuff I want I have to wait and buy last year's model but that isn't too much of a hardship. I have several pairs of Newtons that I have paid less than $75 for. They seem to work fine at that price.....

Crazy prices on running shoes are, well, crazy.

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Jason
None of the secrets of success will work unless you do.

Yes it's still avail if your size fits. I asked my vendor for a specific size and he said they can't order it anymore because it's discontinued. Obviously there's inventory for various sizes around the internet, for the time being!

Any shoe that forces you to change/altar your mechanics, even if those same mechanics are inherently sound are gimmicks. I tried running in Newtons and they lasted a week. I rarely see them at races anymore.....conversely, I see Hoka's everywhere!

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"I would definitely smell her seat after a century ride"

That's not what the jobs shoe counts say... or last year's Oceanside shoe count

Half their workforce was laid off, ceo was fired sales down etc. Basic google search tells all.

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"I would definitely smell her seat after a century ride"

The $175 price point was, in part, due to the first factory that Newton was in, and the overall margins they were able to generate.

Considering that the baseline transaction has edged up so your "basic" shoe is at about $120, with a premium neutral model floating in the $150-$160 range...the Gravity really isn't an outlier on the pricing front anymore.

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Editor-in-Chief, Slowtwitch.com | Twitter

I go through 4-6 pairs of shoes a year and I've never paid more than $90.

That's great, but I'm guessing you're not paying MSRP, which is what we're discussing. And if you are: what shoe is that?

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Editor-in-Chief, Slowtwitch.com | Twitter

I used to get my zoot shoes for $50 when MSRP was 120 for those. My gravity V pair I got for $100 and MSRP is like 170. Never pay MSRP!!!

Agree here. I don't buy ANY shoes for more than like $90. Running warehouse is my go to. I don't mind going with last years colors of a brand. It's like pulling teeth me spending money on anything really...

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Twitter - Instagram

I hope not. Every time I try to switch shoes I hate them and end up back in the Newtons (Gravity and Fate).

Alternatively - anyone have any suggestions for a substitute?

Aren't Hoka the latest craze/fad?

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29 years and counting

Shoes I've bought this year:

Mizuno Wave Rider MSRP $120
Saucony Fastwitch MSRP $90
Saucony Type A6 MSRP $100
Asics DS Racer MSRP $110
Asics Hyper Tri MSRP $100

All purchased at runningwarehouse.com except the A6 which I bought at a Saucony outlet store

You're absolutely right, I rarely pay MSRP for anything. At local shoe stores I see Newtons all near $175

Do Hoka's promote a midfoot strike, slight forward lean in running posture etc? Providing cushioning in a running shoe isn't a fad.....having to completely change your mechanics to run in Newtons is a fad. See the difference?

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"I would definitely smell her seat after a century ride"

Completely agree, newton/vibram and a bunch of other weird gimmicky brands out there id call a fad. Not Hoka. Ive been wearing Hoka for a long time and I remember I started wearing them when the minimalist barefoot fad was around and I got a lot of weird looks and comments. I'm pretty confident Hoka will be around for a while.

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2x Deca-Ironman World Cup (10 Ironmans in 10 days), 2x Quintuple Ironman World Cup (5 Ironmans in 5 days), Ultraman, Ultra Marathoner, and I once did an Ironman.

Half their workforce was laid off, ceo was fired sales down etc. Basic google search tells all.


Compounding the micro issues they may be having - numbers are now coming out that running participation, is down, and has been trending down over the last couple of years. It was first noticed about a year ago (big stats numbers likes this are always invariably a year or two behind), and it was THE talk coming out of the Running USA Conference last winter - that the whole of the specialty running business, either at retail or race/event participation is flat or down!

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

I agree, but providing cushioning in a shoe is not a novel idea, so why is Hoka so popular at the moment? Is it because they provide more effective cushioning than most other (cushioned) shoes, or simply because they are 'different' that attracts people?

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29 years and counting

I would say that the combination of the cushioning amount with the low drop is what did it for me. I haven't seen a shoe as cushioned as hoka with as low of a drop. I guess altra would now be similar? But Hoka was the first brand that I tried that did this so that's why I stick with them.

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2x Deca-Ironman World Cup (10 Ironmans in 10 days), 2x Quintuple Ironman World Cup (5 Ironmans in 5 days), Ultraman, Ultra Marathoner, and I once did an Ironman.

Altra for sure. The foot shaped toe toe box is a real winner.

I switched to a Hoka that comes out to $120 with my discount at a local shop. It's a difference of about $250/year over the Gravity. I could pay for the Gravity but I kept feeling like a shithead paying so much more when I didn't need to.

I understand the argument of what the market price is for shoes, but I don't think there's a reason to pay $175. They're great shoes but not so much better that I want to justify the price.

My original point was that if they sold the Gravity for $120 or $130, I probably would have bought a lot more pairs by now.

Pretty much, most the newer models seem to be trending to less cushioning (still slightly more than what most would consider 'normal'). It seems that the trend went from minimalist to maximalist and is now going back to a more moderate amount of cushioning, relatively light weight and a lower drop.