A daily training shoe that can take you from slow sessions to going all out
With the release of Saucony’s Endorphin range, the brand has been receiving a lot of attention over the past few months. Thankfully that hasn’t taken away the focus from some of its already established shoe lines – like the Ride 13.
- Upgrade your footwear: The best road running shoes to buy for men | The best road running shoes for women
The Ride sits somewhere between the Kinvara and the Triumph, offering a balance of cushioning, durability and speed. It’s a daily trainer that Saucony claims is built for smooth miles as well as a good level of responsiveness for picking up the pace.
We’ve spent the past few weeks putting the Saucony Ride 13 through its paces over 60 miles of running. Is it worth investing in as your next daily trainer? Let’s take a look.
The specs
Price: £125 | Weight: 277g/ 9.7oz (men) 244g/ 8.6oz (women) | Type: Road | Stability: Neutral | Heel to toe drop: 8mm | Sizing: Fits to size | Alternatives: Brooks Ghost 13, Nike Pegasus Turbo 2, Hoka One One Rincon 2
Design
The Ride 13, like its predecessors, is a neutral shoe predominantly designed to offer an all round running experience. Everything about the shoe places it firmly in the centre of the running shoe spectrum, delivering cushioning, comfort and energy return at an impressive weight.
As with all good daily training shoes, the Ride 13 doesn’t particularly excel at anything, but everything it does do – and there’s a lot – it’s extremely competent at.
There have been a number of updates made to the design when compared to its confusingly named predecessor, the Ride ISO 2. The most noticeable of these elements being the addition of a PWRRUN midsole, a lighter foam than that found in the previous iteration that offers a mid level cushioning that still feels responsive.
On the outsole is a generous layer of blown runner for durability that also incorporates a series of angular grooves Saucony calls TRIFLEX. This is designed to offer more flexibility when running for a smoother transition and a more comfortable feel.
The upper combines FORMFIT – basically an overall design that incorporates cushioning, 3d printed layers and the insole to produce a comfortable, secure fit, and a new engineered mesh upper built to feel stretchy whilst retaining a stable structure.
The shoes also feature extremely thick and squishy laces. For us, these work very well with the upper and make it easy to tie down a nice, secure fit straight away.
The fit for us was true to size and we felt the shoe was roomy in the toe box and across the midsection whilst still feeling secure and comfortable.
Road testing
As we mentioned previously, the Ride 13 is a shoe that doesn’t particularly excel in any area when it comes to performance. Instead, it balances a number of elements that deliver an overall experience for a wide range of uses.
For an all rounder shoe that’s clearly a very good thing. Over the 60 miles of testing we did in the shoe we found it delivered a competent experience in every type of road running, whether that was a 5k training run, a slow half marathon or a 10k race.
The PWRRUN midsole offers just enough cushioning to make a run comfortable, without feeling like the softness will negatively impact your performance when picking up the pace. In fact, the cushioning is almost unnoticeable and in comparison to the something Saucony Triumph or Brooks Glycerin 18 it can feel quite hard initially.
After a few runs, we found that the Ride 13s softened up slightly. At no point do they overly cushioned, but over longer distances they do a very good job at keeping your legs feeling fresh, allowing them to maintain a consistent speed.
In race conditions, the Ride 13 fell quick and snappy. Not to the same level as a shoe specifically designed for racing, but enough to satisfy the needs of those runners looking for one pair of shoes that will take them from training to crossing the finish line.
The upper is actually the one area where the Ride 13s do excel. The soft, cushioned mesh design feels extremely welcoming as you slip your foot in. Once you’re laced up they manage to retain this feeling whilst still feeling like the shoe is firmly held in place.
Summary
The Saucony Ride 13 offers a great mid-range option for those runners looking for a one-size-fits-all running shoe. It successfully balances comfort and cushioning with a relatively lightweight design that delivers the good when it comes to picking up the pace.
The updated upper material and inclusion of a PWRRUN midsole are improvements that have taken the already popular line-up to new levels.
If you’d prefer to watch a video covering the Saucony Ride 13 check out this review from our friends at The Run Testers YouTube channel.
