Reviews of ASICS Men's Spivey LD Running Shoe

Customer Ratings:

I bought these spikes to replace my old Adidas adiStar MD 05 spikes. First off, these spikes are incredibly light, especially compared to my old adiStars. The asics website says these weigh 5 ounces a piece, but they feel much lighter on the feet. If you use these spikes in competition, you will definitely get a mental boost from them. Secondly, I bought the green/yellow variant, and they are just as vibrant as the display image. Since I wanted a bright pair of spikes, I was happy to find this to be true. Thirdly, the spikes come with a cross country claw that can be used to turn them into cross country spikes. The claw is a yellow plastic star that fits into the bottom of the shoe, with special golden spikes to be inserted into the plastic claw. However, I would not recommend them to be used in this fashion since I don't think the hard plastic on the bottom of the shoe won't hold up very well under cross country conditions. Racing flats should be racing flats and track spikes should be track spikes, but that's just my opinion. These shoes come with the slightly shorter than usual 3/16" pyramid spike as opposed to the 1/4", so be conscious of this fact when buying them.

These are rated for the 3,200 m through 10,000 m, but these should work well for distances down to the 1,500 m. However, the material around the toe box is quite thin so take this under advisement. Once I run a timed mile in these I'll edit my review as to if I've changed my thoughts.

EDIT (3/4/13):

I finally got around to running a timed mile in these and they felt great. Once you put them on and start running, they feel like they disappear on your foot. While running in these, I PR'ed by 10 seconds even though I haven't really increased the intensity or length of my runs. In my opinion, these spikes are a good choice for down to the 1,500 m. Below that though, you'll want to get a middle distance spike for the tougher construction. Even though I'm pretty in shape right now, the day after the timed mile I could feel it in my ankles and my calves. I think this is mostly due to me changing my stride and converting to be a forefoot striker, but the shoes may also have contributed since they are so light because they don't have a lot of cushioning. I recommend doing some barefoot running on the grass or infield in order to get your legs used to the extra forces it will endure without cushioning from regular running shoes.

A word of advice: Make sure you clip your toe nails when you get to run in these. The toe box material isn't that frail, but I'd err on the side of caution. After all, it wouldn't be fun to buy a new set of spikes and then tear the toe box with your toe nails.

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This is an outstanding spike. It snugs up nicely on the foot without feeling tight or cramped in the toe box or mid foot. I tried on every spike in the store before settling on the Asics Spivey LD. On the track, it's the most comfortable spike I've ever worn. With other spikes, there is a very noticeable "spike" feel. That wasn't the case with the Spivey LD. After the first few steps, I forgot that I was wearing spikes and I could concentrate on the workout. Even though it's a long distance spike, I plan to use them for the 800m and 1500m. My old spikes were one of the top-of-the-line Nike models. The Spivey LD fits better and feels like it transfers more power to the track than the Nike. I have several racing flats and a couple of spikes in this weight range, but none have the feeling of power transfer that I get wearing these spikes.

Equally important, after three hard workouts, I have no spike-related injuries. Usually, my feet and ankles get nagging little injuries when I switch over to spikes, but that has not been the case with the Spivey LD.

Another reviewer mentioned that the spikes themselves are slightly shorter -3/16 instead of 1/4 inch. I ran tonight in the rain on a wet track. In my warm up racing flats, I could feel my shoes slipping a lot with every step. In the Spivey LD, I noticed no slipping at all in spite of the fact that puddles were forming on the track. I'm happy with the shorter spikes. The fit is true to size.