It’s hard for sprinters with choice stress. Despite this niche, today you have a wide range of spikes to choose from. At Runners’ lab, you’ll find at least three different sprint spikes from adidas alone. We dig them out.
In this article, we put the adidas Adizero Finesse, the adidas Adizero Ambition and the adidas Adizero Prime SP 2 under a magnifying glass. In doing so, one shared feature immediately stands out. The adidas Adizero Finesse, Ambition and Prime SP 2 all out themselves as fast sprint spikes.
Yet it isn’t so difficult to suppress your choice stress. The trio maintains individuality among themselves due to technical differences. To begin with, they are not interested in the same distances. The adidas Adizero Finesse and Prime SP 2 focus mainly on distances such as the 100 and 200 meters, with occasional forays into the 400m. The adidas Adizero Ambition effortlessly whirls one or more laps around the athletic track. Making speed and balancing between hurdles this spike also manages quite well.
adidas Adizero Finesse
Rewind four years and you can’t look next to types of spikes like the adidas Adizero Finesse. Afterwards, there was plenty of experimentation with new materials in the sole, causing the Adizero Finesse to fade into the background. Despite the absence of a resilient foam, it is still a responsive spike. This is due to the rigidity of the sprint plate.
“Very light,” our consultants say about it. “Also very reactive and stable in turns. At distances longer than 400m, you make heel contact faster and it feels less nice. Everything below is perfectly fine. Those who run on suppleness and less on strength will benefit even more from this spike.”
adidas Adizero Prime SP 2
The adidas Adizero Prime SP 2 shows clear differences from the Adizero Finesse. Under the forefoot is a solid layer of Lightstrike PRO that sets off an explosion with every step. The premium material also provides a soft, cushioning feel. Finally, the carbon and nylon plate make you shoot forward like a slingshot .
This sprint spike was also tested in-house. “Because of the plate, you feel like you are immediately propelled forward with every ground contact. The Lightstrike PRO foam provides responsiveness as promised. It is an excellent competition spike – up to 400m (hurdles) – for the more powerful athletes.”
adidas Adizero Ambition
Although adidas categorizes the Adizero Ambition as a medium-distance spike, we believe it is also an excellent sprint spike. Several top athletes, including multi-champ sensation Anna Hall and world record holder in the 100m hurdles Tobi Amusan, share our opinion. Hall used this spike in her record-setting heptathlon in the 100m hurdles, the 200m and 800m. The Adizero Ambition features an extra supplement Lightstrike PRO foam compared to the Adizero Prime SP 2. So it has reactivity combined with extra cushioning ability. This explains the wide range of distances the spike can handle.
“Although some people use the Adizero Ambition at the 100 and 200m as well, I would rather use the spike from 400m. In terms of responsiveness, it still feels weaker than the Adizero Prime SP. His softness is also less than ideal for sprinting. From 400m, this does make for a very successful combination,” the Runners’ lab’s pioneers say.
Put on the sprint with a visit to our (web) shop
Are you interested in any of these spikes or want to know which ones we still have in our selection? Feel free to stop by one of our six stores to test them or shop them in our web shop.
