Nike super-light Flywire track shoes to make Olympics debut

Reuben Lee | Jul 23, 2008

Major sportswear maker Nike looks set to steal the limelight at this year's summer Olympics with its latest innovation, the Flywire track shoes. The company will supply the US track and field team with two Flywire footwear, the Zoom Victory Spikes (top left image) and Zoom Matumbo (bottom left).

Already creating quite a buzz in the industry with its revolutionary lightweight construction, the Flywire design is said to be inspired by the cables from a suspension bridge. It basically makes use of a strong Vectran thread arranged in a fan-shaped pattern at anchor points around the shoe. The result is a shoe that is extremely light, yet reportedly cheap and easy to manufacture.

But, just how light are the new Flywire track shoes? The Zoom Matumbo will be Nike's lightest distance track shoes at about 96.3g per pair, while the Zoom Victory Spikes for middle distance events like the 800m and 5,000m will weigh just 90.7g. For the record, Michael Johnson's famed pair of golden track shoes at the 1996 Atlanta Games tipped the scales at about 112g, which is lightweight even by today's standards.

Nike has made the Flywire technology available commercially with the recent launch of its Flywire series of running shoes in the US. The company also plans to release the track shoes to consumers later in October.

Filed under: Gadgets
1 Comment | Bookmark | Share

Slashdot

Digg

Facebook

Twitter

Delicious

Google

StumbleUpon

close this

Add tag

To add tags, you need to become a member. It's FREE.

Cancel

Log in or sign in

dgcortez

View profile

dgcortez says...
We would like to purchase a couple of pairs of these Nike super-light Flywire track shoes. Where may be go on line or shoe store in San Antonio, Tx to purchase?

Thanks,
Diane

Nov 28, 2008 07:24