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Two top flight trail and ultra trail shoes with very different rides, yet similar stack heights and weights. We closely compare to help you decide!
Written reviews
ACG Ultrafly 2: https://www.roadtrailrun.com/2026/02/worn-to-be-wild-nike-acg-ultrafly-2-and.html
Terrex Agravic Speed Ultra 2:
https://www.roadtrailrun.com/2026/02/adidas-terrex-agravic-speed-ultra-2.html
Samples were provided at no charge for testing purposes with no additional compensation. The opinions herein are entirely the author's
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0:00
In the video, we compare the Nike ACG
0:02
Ultraflly 2 to the Trax Agravec
0:06
Speed Ultra 2. Two top-notch ultra
0:09
running shoes for 2026.
0:12
Hello everybody, Sam from Road Trail Run
0:14
here from Snowless Park City. And today
0:18
we're going to talk about two recently
0:21
releasing ultra shoes or trail running
0:24
shoes. the um soon very soon to come
0:29
Nike ACG Ultrafly 2 which will retail
0:33
for $260
0:36
and the just released Adidas Traxx
0:39
Agravic Speed Ultra 2. So these two
0:43
shoes are um what you might call uh
0:47
Pinnacle Trail and Ultra Racers. Um they
0:52
actually weigh within uh let's see
0:55
uh four grams of each other. The Nike is
0:58
26 65 g uh 9.35 oz in the US 8.5 and the
1:06
Adidas is a little lighter at uh 9.2 O
1:10
261
1:12
gram in the US 8.5. They have very
1:15
similar stack heights almost the same at
1:18
3830.
1:20
I've seen uh the um the Aggravik here uh
1:25
being quoted at 44 uh 36, but I don't
1:29
think that's correct. I think they're
1:30
the same stack height. Um these are the
1:34
two I would call most elite kind of
1:37
focused um ultrarunning shoes on the
1:40
market. Uh there are plenty of others
1:42
that are also near the top of the podium
1:45
or at the top of the podium, but these
1:47
tend to be a bit more aggressive uh in
1:50
ride and fit. And I'm going to explain
1:52
why and how. So the um the Adidas has
1:57
light strike pro foam. You can see it's
2:00
fairly dense. It has a plastic set of
2:04
energy rods, continental outsole, which
2:07
for this version is uh slightly um
2:11
slightly deeper. And I think they'll
2:13
tell us right here what they are. 3 to
2:15
four millimeter lugs with broader
2:18
uh contact. Here's a picture of um the
2:22
last version's outsole.
2:26
Uh the upper is a mono kind of mono mesh
2:31
reinforced
2:32
uh setup much improved over V1. The heel
2:37
hold the overall hold most uh we have a
2:40
multitester written review and now it's
2:42
now true to size. You don't have to size
2:44
down to get heel hold but it is sort of
2:46
the more minimal construction. The Nike
2:51
um has Zumx foam and a full carbon plate
2:55
that's split down the middle. And you'll
2:57
see what that uh looks like in this
2:59
picture.
3:03
Um it has Vbram uh mega grip with um
3:09
with uh traction lug uh outsole uh
3:14
brought again uh similar to what Adidas
3:16
did but maybe a bit more extreme. It has
3:19
now broader, more contact lugs than
3:22
before. Here's a picture of the version
3:25
one.
3:28
Uh, its upper construction
3:31
is a bit more I would almost call it
3:35
conventional or denser. You can see the
3:37
mesh. It's very thin and it's covered
3:40
with
3:41
overlays all over. So, it fits really
3:43
well on the foot. A bit roomier than the
3:46
Adidas in the toe box. Very secure hold.
3:50
Nice padded tongue here. Not overly
3:53
padded. The Adidas has something a bit
3:56
more minimal with padding down the
3:58
center on the reflective um area, that
4:01
gray area. Okay, let's talk about the
4:03
relative fit of both of these shoes. So,
4:07
I have one on each foot. Uh, the Nike
4:09
clearly has more volume in the midfoot
4:12
and the toe box. Um, and the Adidas has
4:16
a more precise uh, fit, I would say. Um,
4:21
both are in my usual 8.5 with my narrow
4:24
to medium foot. You can see that's my
4:27
toe there. And in the Adidas about the
4:31
same place. Um,
4:34
uh, if your goal is super fast running,
4:38
the Adidas Upper, I think, will keep you
4:40
locked to that big rocker platform a
4:43
little better than the Nike. The Nike
4:45
upper, I think, is a a bit more
4:47
comfortable, especially because it has a
4:49
conventional uh, heel collar, a bit
4:52
broader fit. Both have really nice
4:54
tongues. Both lace up really well. These
4:56
are really kind of pinnacle uppers. I
4:58
will say that it's pretty clear even
5:01
though it's winter that the Adidas upper
5:03
will be more should be more breathable
5:06
than the more closed uh Nike. Um uh but
5:11
they're both really really fine
5:13
state-of-the-art uppers. Both true to
5:15
size for me. And then uh what Nike does
5:18
here is you can see the fabric or the
5:22
mesh extends and is glued over the
5:24
front. Uh this provides
5:28
some additional protection to the ZoomX
5:30
and also uh front stability. Um in terms
5:36
of geometry, I'm going to put them side
5:39
by side. I'm going to do a little
5:40
demonstration here to show you the
5:43
difference differences. The Adidas is
5:47
highly rockered,
5:49
whereas our Nike
5:54
is kind of flatter on the ground. There
5:57
are two things in play here. Um, there's
6:00
both. The rocker I showed you, the
6:02
Adidas has much more of a rocker than
6:06
the Nike, flatter on the ground. Um, but
6:10
one thing that's really clear is the
6:13
platform widths at the midfoot. Look at
6:15
that Adidas. It has a 50 millimeter uh
6:19
midfoot to the Nike uh let me look here.
6:23
80 30 millimeter difference at the heel.
6:27
Um the u the uh uh Nike is 95 mm and the
6:33
Adidas is 80. And what that's going to
6:36
do along with the rocker is make the
6:40
Adidas
6:41
very much more favoring a constant
6:46
midfoot to forefoot strike. Uh it's not
6:49
as much fun back on the heel. Um whereas
6:52
the Nike with its kind of flatter feel
6:54
but still a very dynamic ride uh is
6:57
going to be a a kind of more stable
7:00
approach. Now, this is the shoe that
7:02
Caleb Olsson won the Western States in
7:05
uh last year. And the uh of course the
7:10
uh Speed Ultra 2, Tom Evans, Ruth Croft,
7:14
uh many have worn this most aggressive
7:16
of um of uh Trail Ultra shoes. Now,
7:21
there are other changes beyond the
7:23
upper. The foam is softer than in
7:25
version one. And you can you'll maybe be
7:28
able to see here we actually have a bit
7:31
of front flex. Uh this pair is super
7:34
clean. Well, I I was lucky enough to get
7:36
a pair of the prototype color at UTMB
7:40
and that's what I did my testing in.
7:42
Here's a picture of that wild looking
7:43
shoe
7:47
looking shoe. Now the Nike
7:51
uh in terms of flex completely rigid.
7:53
There's no flex whatsoever. Uh but
7:57
compared to version one which had a very
8:01
aggressive kind of flat feeling plate uh
8:05
it was basically a road shoe with a VROM
8:08
outsole. Here I'm finding the roll uh
8:11
very very nice. Um and the plate
8:15
forgiving. It split down the middle so
8:17
for a bit of give side to side maybe a
8:19
bit more flex. Um but uh both I would
8:23
say both shoes have and especially the
8:25
Nike which is I think the one of the few
8:29
um Ultra shoes with full carbon because
8:32
most have moved to either the the the
8:35
plastic rods or carbon composite for for
8:38
example the um uh the Cascadia Elite and
8:42
the um Cloud Ultra Pro from On are both
8:46
non-carbon plated. Uh whereas here Nike
8:49
sticking with the carbon uh which gives
8:51
it a very quickly reactive ride but not
8:55
as stiff as one might um might kind of
8:58
assume. Uh I forgot to mention uh the
9:01
heel collar but you can see this is a
9:04
more conventional heel collar than the
9:07
Adidas. Very good hold front to back. Um
9:11
Nike says they're very drainable. One of
9:14
our testers, Zach uh Russell in our
9:17
written review actually wear tested and
9:18
said they do drain well, but there it's
9:21
quite a warm upper. You can see even
9:23
though it's soft, the overlay, it's very
9:26
kind of densely uh covered, but you see
9:29
the little holes. I guess that's where
9:30
the drainage is, but I'm a bit
9:32
skeptical. Well, I'll have to get them
9:33
wet uh soon. In terms of grip, I would
9:38
say very similar with the Adidas. maybe
9:40
a bit more aggressive, but these are
9:44
both outs soles. I know the Adidas
9:46
wanted to get kind of more deeper uh
9:49
traction for technical terrain with now
9:51
3 to 4 millimeter. Uh the Nike has
9:54
3mimeter. They're both uh similar in
9:57
that they can also handle kind of more
10:00
um conventional terrain. Um I've run
10:03
them both uh on um on dirt. more limited
10:07
in the Nike because we don't have much
10:09
dirt here in Park City, but we have
10:11
some. And I've also run them on the road
10:13
where they were really, really fine. So,
10:15
this is actually kind of your
10:17
doortotrail option. And I certainly have
10:20
no hesitation training in them uh pretty
10:23
much any day. However, with the the
10:26
Adidas, you've got to be up front, way
10:28
up front, you know, with that really
10:31
pronounced rocker, with that really
10:33
narrow platform. This is really maybe
10:37
10% of 100 mileers can handle that
10:40
handle this. Our Dom Lfield was in the
10:43
written review uh won a 50 mile race in
10:46
his but he's skeptical that he could go
10:48
all the way to 100 in them. But they are
10:51
super fast and fun if you really really
10:54
were up front and off the heel. whereas
10:57
the Nike again at one western states is
11:00
a bit more kind of forgiving middle of
11:03
the road uh even with its carbon plate.
11:07
So, um, just to sum up, the Nike will be
11:11
available real soon for two $260 US
11:15
uh, and it weighs, uh, 9.35 265 grams in
11:21
the US 8.5 sample. Uh, with a stack
11:25
height of 37 at the heel, 28.5
11:30
at the forefoot. Our Adidas is available
11:34
now. And there'll also be a version
11:36
called the TT, which I think is going to
11:38
be uh much more similar to the Nike with
11:41
a wider base through the middle here.
11:44
Similar shoe, but wider through here.
11:47
Um, it's $230 available. Now, the weight
11:50
in this US 8.5 is 9.2 ounces, 265 gram.
11:56
So, a bit less than the uh Nike. very
11:59
similar stack height 3830 of course that
12:02
narrower platform so I guess you'd say
12:04
by kind of volume it's a bit heavier
12:07
shoe um despite the fact that I think
12:10
it's light it's upper might be similar
12:13
in weight maybe lighter because of the
12:15
the type of construction so full multi
12:18
full reviews over on roadtraun.com
12:22
of both of them more testing to come
12:25
thank you very much for watching have a
12:27
great Fun.
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