2014 Adidas Adipower
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2014 Adidas AdiPower Weightlifting Shoes
MSRP $199 – Free Shipping!
Adidas has finally, for the first time, changed the colors of its flagship shoe mid way through the Olympic Quadrennial. Color and style changes historically have been reserved for the newest model released each Summer Olympic year, but it appears Adidas has stopped resting on its laurels and succumbed to the pressure by the onslaught of new-comers in the Weightlifting shoe arena.
This shoe, the 2014 Adipower is technically 98% the same shoe at the 2012 Adipower, except for the colors. ( See our full review on that shoe for more details.)
The one structural change, albeit slight, is immediately noticeable when wearing them; it is the elimination of the first loop eyelet. It escapes me why Adidas would do this; it makes the toe box looser. Lifters with wide feet will appreciate the room, but this could have simply been accomplished by skipping lacing that loop for those individuals. It also makes the already extremely flexible forefoot even more pliable. This would be welcome in the Nike Romaleos, but not necessary with the 2012 Adidas Adipowers. Eliminating the loop also gives bad aesthetics to the laced up shoe.
This small modification is slight, but a small step backward in performance and overall rating of the shoe. The color is a much needed update from the previous candy cane version; however, this lace modification is not worth the trade off.
Adidias Adipowers are still the best shoe on the market, but by a very very small margin. If Adidas continues to take steps backwards, and other shoe manufacturers such as Nike continue to make huge strides forward, it won’t be long until they lose their crown as the industry standard.
It looks like Adidas is coming out with a white version and they’re bringing the lower shoelace loop back.
The photos floating around are digital proofs based off the 2012 model, not actual shoes. I have also seen photos of the White / Grey with the loop still missing. I held the prototype 2012 back in 2011 (which is where the black / red photos of the 2012 Adipower came from) but they were changed before mass production.
Gotcha. I just saw photos with the loop missing as well. Looks like Adidas dropped the ball on this one and I’ll be purchasing the 2012 eye-bleeding red edition while they’re still making them.
I recently got a brand new pair of the classic red ones from Zappos and they’re missing the lower loop too. Looks like they’ve eliminated them from the design entirely on newer batches.
Is it worth an extra $60 to get the shoes with the front lace loop? I can get the original version on amazon or ebay, but they cost a fair bit more.
Great review broz! Looks like its time for me to upgrade 🙂
I got my 2004 Adidas Adistar in 2010 and soon they will be 5 years old. If I had known the shoes made after that would not be the same, I also would have tried to purchase a 2nd pair.
Soon I might have to get another pair to replace my 2004. I have narrower feet, so back then, Adidas was my best choice. I also got a 1/2 smaller than I maybe should have (a size 4.5 vs 5), but they broke in and I wanted the snugger fit.
With this new design, especially with the missing lower loop, will this still be ok for a narrow foot or be loose? Should I perhaps try going with the same 1/2 size smaller (4.5) as I did for the 2004?
I have seen pictures of the older model with the first set of loops that had holes on the side of the toe box. I believe it was a fairly common problem, and I assume the idea behind removing the first loops was to prevent this from happening. Feel free to do more research if you’re curious.
As for the narrow foot question – I have a pair of the new ones and have very narrow feet. They fit perfectly. I highly recommend this pair of shoes, and the black/red model is sexy!
Practical advice. They’re wonderful to start with absolutely recommend them. But don’t tighten them by pulling tight from the toe end up. it could just be me but doing it that way pulls the black support to tightly across the foot so rather than flexing naturally it bends the foot at the support quite painful and potentially dangerous
I heard if u wear an adipower on your right foot and a romaleo on your left, your squat goes up 40lbs instantly.