With all the Vitruvian love in the air, I fear poor Nike must be feeling unloved.
The waffle racer seems like the ideal shoe for those minimalists among us. I used to wear them for X-country, and I don’t think the model I used back then would hold up on asphalt too well. But I see on Nike’s website that the “Zoom Waffle Racer” is suitable for all surfaces. Anybody know if it’s true?
If it can take the wear of pavement, I might need to buy a pair- only $40, too.
It would be the shoe that pre-dated, the original Waffle Racer that you would have liked, if you like minimal - the Oregon Waffle. It was essentially a track spike, in yellow and green Oregon Duck colours of course, that had a waffle outsole the full length of the foot. This was circa 1975. I loved those shoes. Those were the first serious racing shoes that I ever bought. Back then if you can believe it, Nike’s were not even sold at retail - they were sold out of the trunks of reps cars at track and cross-country meets.
Fleck
P.S. It’s running nostalgia day on Slowtwitch. I love it. Great to get away from the endless drone of what aero - wheel, bar, tire, bottle, frame, helmet . . . . . . is faster!
"Nike’s were not even sold at retail - they were sold out of the trunks of reps cars at track and cross-country meets. "
I remember that. Talk about a little company that grew.
I use the Waffle Racer 3. I do most of my training on trails, but I still do some road. I don’t see much appreciable wear when compared to my other shoes. They are definitely sized small, so you need to order it from half to a full size larger than most other shoes.
For $35 you can’t go wrong, how can this be a product of Nike? And I got to say, it’s very stylish!
People are always quick to dump on Nike, but they really invented the modern day sporting goods company. They also were the first company to really make shoes in large quanities and redily available to runners, that were designed by and made for runners. It’s a giant world wide beometh and phenomenon today, but the reality is it had very humble and modest beginnings.
Fleck
Close.
Even before Phil Knight started Nike (originally Blue Ribbon Sports) he was selling overstocked Onitsuka (later ASICS) Tigers, out of the trunk of his car.
The designer of the Nike Swoosh was paid $35 for her efforts with the promise, “We’ll pay your more when we come up with the REAL one”
Read “Swoosh: The Unauthorized Story of Nike and the Men who Played There”
They are definitely sized small, so you need to order it from half to a full size larger than most other shoes.
That’s strange, too, that you have to order it. I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen a waffle racer at a retail shop. Why is that?
I like their stuff. I look like a Nike sponsored athlete when I’m working out -hat, outwear, sweats, shorts, socks shoes, bag, cyling wear. All that goes to goodwill once I get my new Viturvian sticker.
{The designer of the Nike Swoosh was paid $35 for her efforts with the promise, “We’ll pay your more when we come up with the REAL one”] reply
she was well taken care of later.
If you were a store owner, would you rather sell $125 or $35 running shoes?
If you were a store owner, would you rather sell $125 or $35 running shoes?
Yeah, that’s what I thought. But the question is really, if you were a store owner, would you rather have me buy a pair of $35 dollar shoes from you, or off the internet?
Bring back the original Red, Gold and White Spiridon! The Brown with Orange swoosh Day Break would be good too.
the Waffle Racer 3.
Where do you order these?
www.eastbay.com has various models available, some for real cheap. Just run a search for ‘waffle’ under the keyword serach.
Talk about nostalgia! When I first went out for HS cross-country in 1974, I got myself a pair of Nike Cortez! White with red swoosh. I ran in the Waffle Trainer (blue with yellow swoosh?) the next year (or was two years later?).
I got mine from footlocker.
"The waffle racer seems like the ideal shoe for those minimalists among us. I used to wear them for X-country, and I don’t think the model I used back then would hold up on asphalt too well. But I see on Nike’s website that the “Zoom Waffle Racer” is suitable for all surfaces. Anybody know if it’s true? "
I don’t know about the current models, but I ran in the old yellow waffle shoes around '80-81 in southern California for marathon training and marathons, entirely on paved roads. They worked fine for me.
Hit up your local running specialty store and they should have these. The store I work at carries 6 or 7 different waffles in season and they are popular with XC runners, track runners who don’t like spikes, football players and guys like me who use them for trail/XTERRA racing.
The Nikes are nice but for most heel-strikers on the road I would watch out. This shoe has a true negative heel and Nike has put almost all the cushioning up in the ball of the foot (there’s almost a bump of EVA foam under the ball of your foot, kinda weird). I guess if you were a Pose runner this would be okay…
Very flexible midsole so if you need arch support watch out and NO stability features whatsoever. The upper is pretty comfy though and the traction is good as long as it’s not wet hard surfaces in which case they seem to slide all over. I’m actually racing my off-road tris in another waffle but a spikeless waffle for a little more traction. The best waffle I’ve ever tried on was the Kennedy waffle, damn that was a nice shoe. Only Narrow feet and high arches should apply.
Sizing, they run small as they are expected to fit small. If you wear a 10 training shoe and bought a waffle for racing you’d probably want the waffle to fit a bit tighter and that’s how they fit. If you want the same fit as your training shoes plan accordinly and size up. Also watch out as most of the waffles on the market run pretty narrow. The Nikes aren’t bad though.
I have a pair of those shoes. Original (as in not a copy), hardly worn, in my closet. I am too scared to wear them as I am only one year older than them. They look great.
I laugh when I go into these hip shoe stores and see these fashion shoes that are really knock-off’s of what the Oregon Waffle was 30 years ago. I minimalist nylon runner/racer with a waffle sole.
I had a few pairs of them back when I ran cross-country in high school. Usually trashed a pair in a one cross-country season as we always seemed to be racing in muddy and wet conditions. I have a picture of me after one race, where you can’t even tell that I have shoes on there was so much mud on my legs and shoes. We used to just walk in the shower with the shoes on!
Fleck