New Balance enter the “Super Shoe” race with a cracker!

Footwear ⋅ July 20, 2020

New Balance has had a very strong road running range for a long time now, and they have produced some very impressive and highly technical recent models, including the NB5280 and the Fuel Cell TC.

Both of these models, it would be fair to say, seem quite specialised, and there is nothing wrong with that. BUT, while every other company was demonstrating indecent haste to compete with the ubiquitous Nike Next % and Alphafly, NB was perhaps not a fully paid up member of the “super shoe” fraternity.. until now!

And the wait has been worth it, because in September we will see the launch of the New Balance FuelCell RC Elite, and the patience and attention to detail New Balance has shown in developing this shoe is shining through in spades. I can’t wait to get my hands on a pair!

Cosmetically it is the pick of the pack so far, it just looks fabulous, but it is what is in the engine room that really impresses me.

New Balance is keeping  some of the tech data in house for the moment, but my mate and National Technical and Field Of Play Category Manager for New balance Australia, Matt Spicer, very kindly gave me a sneak peak into some of the key tech of the NB Fuelcell RC Elite.

First up, how much is it?  No idea coz Matt will not tell me, but it will be announced prior to the September launch date!

The Dynaride outsole helps keep the weight low whilst providing reliable traction (born from the Hanzo and 1600, also seen on the FuelCell 5280), and I really like the direction story told by the outsole reflecting braking and acceleration loads.

I am a little surprised none of the other manufacturers playing at this level have cottoned on to the potential for dramatically improved forefoot traction to parlay into improved performance and decreased times…

Did I mention low weight?

The NB Fuelcell RC Elite tips the scales at 201 grams for men’s size 9.5us and 162 grams for women’s size 7.5us stripping 26 grams off the weight of the Nike Alphafly. It is now second In class, behind only the Skechers Speed Elite Hyper

The Fuelcell RC Elite features a full-length FuelCell midsole – the most premium New Balance have ever made, and promising their most responsive, best riding midsole.

New Balance are stating they want this to be the pinnacle of New Balance running.

This is a “Super Shoe’, so of course it has  a full-length carbon plate. We have no details of the geometry or placement of this plate at the moment.

The shoe runs off an 8mm drop, but to date there is no data on the stack heights.

The NB Fuelcell RC Elite has a lightweight Synthetic engineered mesh upper – with minimal overlays and fast NB-branding. It looks nice and clean.

And finally, the shoe has a traditional collar construction.

Like all the other shoes in this rarefied category, I believe the NB Fuelcell RC Elite is aimed at those runners with the technique and strength to exploit the features of the shoe.

Here is an image direct from New Balance. The RC Elite in the foreground with FuelCell TC in the background. Playing the cards close to the chest still.. not too much given away just yet!