Review: adidas Adios 2
February 2, 2012
by John Schrup
I would tongue kiss this shoe if it weren’t socially unacceptable.
Before I get started, I’d like to begin by noting that I still think the previous version might be a nicer shoe—a hair lighter, a wee bit more flexible. But when these bad girls are on, I’m pretty sure you’re going to want to time this.
The Adios 2 is a marathon racer, originally designed for the Emperor himself, Haile Gebrselassie. But don’t be fooled, you don’t need to be a 119 lb. Ethiopian giant to wear these. The last three men’s marathon world bests have been run wearing this shoe, the last of which by a Kenyan who isn’t even an Ethiopian. The Adios 2 is bomb proof and can take whatever you dish out. It is, essentially a racer-weight trainer, in our opinion. The midsole offset is almost standard—11mm from heel to forefoot—but the lightweight and uber-responsive ride allows forgiveness of that extravagance. The midfoot Torsion piece is superfluous, and will likely soon be surgically removed when I get a spare 15 minutes and a Bennu quad Americano. But that too is forgivable because the Adios 2 has Porschesque responsiveness and a shocking color palette that makes you think you are Michael Schumacher when you strap into your Yaris. Formula I. Marathon. Same difference. And praise be that adidas didn’t use that Formotion heel piece on the Adios 2, as it does on many of their trainers. That thing is Prophecyesque. Here nor there, the Adios 2 is one of the best shoes on the wall. End of story.
