If you’re a fan of the recent trend for running shoes with massive-stacked, pillowy midsoles and carbon plates, you might want to skip this video. Because INOV8’s first road shoe in a while, treads a more traditional, more minimal, path. The Roadfly is INOV8’s is a throwback to simpler running shoes, with less midsole, no carbon plate and a more direct ride. It’s a shoe that translates tech from the INOV8 Trailfly running shoes for the road, shooting for just-enough cushion while keeping firmly connected to the road underfoot. So is it a daily trainer you need in your rotation? Run Tester Kieran has logged the miles to find out. Hit play for our inov8 Roadfly review.
0:00 – Intro
0:33 – Details: Stack height & drop, weight, price
1:12 – Shoe Whip Round: What’s new with the INOV8 Roadfly
2:20 – How’s the fit?
3:08 – The Run Test
5:20 – Verdict
6:39 – Now watch this
Hey people welcome to the run test it's Kieran here now it's been a while since Innovate treated us to a road shoe but The mainly Trail brand is back with its First road shoe in a while we've got the Innovate Road fly this shoe takes a lot Of cues from its off-road namesake the Trail fly it's the first of a suite of New road shoes from innovate and I've Been putting in the test miles to find Out how it performs spoiler alert this Isn't following the recent trend for Daily trainers with big soft Stacks but More on that in our innovate roadfly Review Some quick details then in the midle Stack is comparatively low with a Conservative 27 Ms in the hill 21 Ms Under the 4T for a 6 mil drop that's the Same offset as you'll find in the Innovate Trail flight it comes in at 9.5 O or 268 G in a UK men's 8 and a half Wide fit that's at the lighter end of Things but perhaps a shade heavy for What you've got for the stack here Pricewise it's £100 in the UK or $130 In the US that's down at the cheaper end For daily trainers alongside excellent Value shoes like the Puma velocity Nitro 3 the Hoka Ron and the Adidas ADI SL so let's give you a quick shoe whip Round then and innovate is better known For its off-road credentials shoes like The innovate Trail flight are popular
Among regular Trail and Ultra Runners Now the roadfly attempts to translate That trail DNA to the pavement and by Innovates own admission it's basically Taken in a trail shoe and stripped out The technology that you don't need the Roadfly features a firmer tuned more Responsive EA based powerflow Pro foam Midsole along with a TPU insole here to Add a bit of cushioning on landing and To boost the energy return that's Something we've seen in inovat trail Shoes as well that Boomerang footed up Top the upper a cut from a single piece Quite thick engineered mesh it's nicely Flexible it's got a slipper light Comfort there are gusseted tongues that Are padded and plush medium padded heel Collars and some support from a flexible Internal heel counter meanwhile the out Soole features a full covering of Durability boosting innovate rubber with 2 mil lugs here plus there's a metaflex Groove here cut into the outsole to Provide some extra flex and add to the Natural ride Feel so fit then and the innovate road Flly comes in a standard and a wide fit The latter is designed to offer wider Foot Runners of room toe box and a wider Platform in the hill for more comfort in Testing I ran in the UK 8 A2 which is my Regular shoe size in innovate running Shoes and I went for the wide fit on
Recommendation I found it wonderfully Roomy I love the outra style kind of Sweeping anatomical toe box and the Oodles of room that you get toplay and Wiggle your toes if you like room your Shoes and a flexible fit the innovate Roadfly really ticks both of those boxes I got good heel hold as well good Midfoot lock down with no slipping or Hot spot spots and overall I would Recommend going true to size in you Innovate roadfly if you like a rumia fit Then absolutely go for the [Music] Wide now in testing I covered close to 50ks in the innovate Road a mix of Paces From slow and easy to 5K Pace it offers Great step- in Comfort with an Accommodating unfussy fit right from the First lace up super kind of slipper Likee hugging flexible uppers that you Get then when you get moving you Instantly notice the mort additional Feel of the midsole particularly when You're coming from hulking great shoes Like the Brooks Glycerin Max or the New Balance SC Trainer V3 that I've been Testing recently as well alongside this The smaller stack here in this innovate Roadfly is on the firmer side but still Soaks up the road really well for a low Stack shoe with good cushioning for what Is considerably less foam underf foot Some of that softness actually coming
From the TPU footed that's inside that Boomerang footed now this is definitely A shoe that encourages and benefits from A faster foot turnover it's one of those It's Nimble it's agile it's responsive But it works best when you're moving With lighter footed agility I found it Had good versatility across a range of Paces but it gave back more when I was Moving with good form you know moving With nice light feet on runs where I Felt fatigued and heavy and dare I say It a bit lazy I sometimes wanted a bit More cushion protection um but maybe We're all getting used to just running In bigger stacks and that's part of that The longest run I clock was 10 miles and I think Runners who are used to minimal Shoes will find enough comt Comfort here To go longer runs like that however I Think a lot of Runners will want more Underf foot for runs that extend beyond 90 minutes for the fastest sessions you Also may want more energy from livier Midsole plate combos this isn't a shoe I Don't think to trouble the super Trainers like the sock indorfin speed 4 Or the hok X2 and all of those things For example it's a bit more of a yeah Sort like a casual running shoe for me However I do enjoy the more natural ride And unlike the bigger bounci of shoes You run this it doesn't run you so if You like that kind of ride then that's
Good if you like a reliable Landings and Toofs too you know the kind that you Control then this is definitely worth The look the grip from the out soole was Also great in the wet and the durability Looks solid too these are things that We've come to enjoy from innovates trail Shoes and they seem to be present here In this new road show as Well verdict then and in a world of Mega Soft super springy big stack plated Monster shoes the innovate Road flies Definitely a throwback and it certainly Won't suit all Runners because of that However if you're in the market for a Versatile shoe that can handle a range Of paces and distances and you've really Been longing for a more traditional Natural ride with a lower stack this is An excellent shoe and it does that Really well the roadfly keeps you Connected to the road Under Foot it Delivers a Snappy responsive reliable Ride the benefits from a fast foot Turnover all those things we used to get In traditional shoes it's a good Combination of a wonderful roomy fit Just enough Road softening cushion if You like things firm with bucket loads Of Responsiveness all at a really Competitive price I think this is a shoe That's worth looking at I mean I repeat I don't think it will suit all Runners
Because I think some people have moved On with their cushioning they want but For those looking to Buck the trend and Tread a more traditional path it's a Very capable shoe it's hard to draw Comparisons because it's really quite Different from the main shoes that we're Now getting but I would say maybe it's In The Bard Park of something like an Old hoker ring Kong that kind of vibe So there you have it that's the verdict On the innovate Road flight I hope you Found it useful drop us a like if you Did if you're not subscribed to the Channel we'd love you to do us the honor Of doing that and ring the bell to find Out about new videos when they land if You're hunting for a cheaper daily Trainer I'm putting a couple of vids up Now up on the channel That should Definitely be of interest otherwise Thanks for stopping by and until next Time happy running people
