What happens if you take the most lively and interesting shoe, Asics have made for a long time, reduce the weight and add a carbon plate. Read more here and find out.
Magic Speed is a shoe that many people have been waiting for for a long time. If you tried Asics Novablast, you experienced its soft but also very responsive midsole. Perhaps you thought, just like me, "What would really happen if a carbon plate was added to the Novablast?” Now we have the answer. Or do we?
When I use Asics Magic Speed I don´t get the feeling that I am running in an Asics Novablast with a carbon plate. I don´t experience the same softness. Instead I experience that I get more responsiveness and more speed.
In recent years, it has become fashionable for manufacturers to make their racers able to handle a little bit of everything. So, its great if they invite speedy runs but they should also be able to handle regular runs. This means that the shoes aren´t 100% tuned in for pace/intervals because you also have to be able to use them for regular runs. I think its a bit of a shame because when I want to use a shoe for racing or intervals, I want to have a shoe built for speed. And when I want to do regular runs, I want a shoe built for regular runs. Not these in-between shoes. Magic Speed is built for speed and only for that. (Ok, the allround-like racers also have their justification but you can read about that in another review)
Speed for your need
We might as well start off with the most important thing first: The running experience. As I mentioned in the beginning, Asics Magic Speed is a responsive running shoe. It wants to move you forward. When I run in these shoes, I get a sensation of pure speed. The shoes are designed with quite a lot of Flytefoam Blast-foam (the same as in the Asics Novablast) midsole and I feel this takes part in protecting my legs.
However, the foam is more tight than in Novablast and many of the really expensive carbon plate shoes, and therefore I don´t get the feeling that I sink into the foam before the take-off. Magic Speed is so to speak an honest shoe. And because the foam is somewhat more tight, I am also certain that the shoe is more durable but we will get to that later.
Magic Speed has a 5 mm drop and an explicit rocker (the difference between the height of the midsole in the midfoot reaching out to the toes which creates the roll) which you may also find in Asics Glideride, which automatically makes you move further up your foot which will provide you with a more aggressive running style and relieve your calves a bit. I think this works really well.
The combination of the aggressive roll and the responsive Flytefoam Blast-foam makes the shoe built for speed. And it feels easy to speed up in Asics Magic Speed.
No unnecessary items
The Asics Magic Speed upper is designed in thin mesh which doesn´t weigh very much and is very ventilating. Rather luxurious. On the back you will find a thin heel cap which together with a couple of pillows on top keeps the heel in place. And because its a racer, Asics have basically taken out all unnecessary items. The upper is simple wihout a lot of pillows providing extra comfort. It excels by being light and ventilative.
In spite of that I never experienced anything in the upper creating discomfort. I didn´t lack any pillows on top of my foot or experienced anything being too tight. The toebox is narrow and there isn´t too much room for your toes; but who also needs that when you are racing. When I put on the shoe, I think the toe box is just too narrow, but strangely I never felt it during my runs. The tongue is thin and isn´t attached along the laces, so you need a couple of seconds to make it sit well before you take off, but once you are off, it sits well and doesn´t move.
Lots of grip and durability
I can´t recall that I have ever seen a racer with so much rubber on the outsole. Normally manufacturers don´t add a lot of rubber to their racers because it weighs a lot and racers are typically supposed to be light. Asics Magic Speed is designed with AHAR-rubber compound (Asics High Abrasion Rubber), on the outsole. It doesn´t weigh a lot, but it is very durable. With so much rubber on the outsole, you could fear that the shoe would weigh you down or slow you down, but I don´t think they do.
The outsole provides a great grip and because there is so much rubber on the outsole I am also certain that it is very durable. And this brings us back to the part where I mentioned the foam as I don´t think its only the outsole which is very durable. Because the foam is tighter and the outsole has a lot of rubber, I think this shoe will last a lot of miles. I am guessing they can keep going for 800-1000km without the sole being worn down or the foam becoming too soft. And that is pretty good for a shoe built for speed.
Pure racing
As mentioned earlier, Asics Magic Speed is a racer/interval- or competition shoe. Its not a-little-of-each shoe. It should be used for intervals, racing or competitions. Therefore the shoe is right for you if you have already got a shoe for high-mileage training but need a shoe for your fast workouts, or if you need a competition shoe and you think that the super carbon plate shoes are too expensive. Magic Speed costs a lot less. I want to use Magic Speed myself for my fast training sessions because it has a lot of speed and because its great ”value for money”, thanks to its extended durability.
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