Nike Rival Fly 4 Review
By David Salas
Nike Rival Fly 4Price: $100 at Nike
Weight: 9.1 oz, 258g (men's size 10), oz, g (women's size 8)
Stack Height: Not Provided
Drop: 8mm
Shoe Purpose: Racing Shoe, Workout Shoe
Pros: Affordable shoe with good racing elements, great at cornering for track and XC
Cons: Definitely a step below the super shoes in tech
RUNNING SHOE SUMMARY
The Nike Rival Fly 4 is a racing shoe and/or workout shoe that comes at a much more affordable package. The Rival Fly 4 is priced at $100. The shoe uses normal Air Zoom midsole and a plastic plate to add a little rigidity and forefoot responsiveness. The shoe takes inspiration from the premium performance lines. It gives the feeling of what used to be a road racing flat prior to super shoes, such as a Nike Streak. The shoe is noticeably different in technology from the super shoes, but does give you a natural and responsive feeling underfoot for hard intervals and racing. This will serve well as a track and road workout shoe/training companion or a budget racing flat for XC and track. For the niche bunch that wants the shoes like Nike Streak for the marathon but can't find them anymore... this should fill that void nicely.
PAST MODEL: Nike Rival Fly 3
FIT
(To learn how a shoe should fit, check out our full podcast on fit by Matt Klein.)
David: The Nike Rival Fly 4 fits true to size in my men's 9.5. The shoe does have a performance fit throughout and fits a little on the snug side. The length is good and the volume is decent. The tongue is thin, but has surprising amount of padding. I did not have much issues with locking the laces down. The width in the heel, midfoot, and forefoot are all normal. There does not seem to be much change in width across the whole platform. There is a decently rigid heel counter with some mild padding. I had no issues with that. The midfoot security was good and integrating well with the lacing system. There are some gentle overlays present as well that help hold its structure. Those needing more volume and width may have a hard time here, but this is very reminiscent of traditional racing flats in how it fits. Those looking for that classic snug lockdown with good security do have that here. I had no issues with cornering or ripping it on the track in these. For the price point, I do think the upper is very good. I think I would have still liked a little more width in the forefoot, but the fit was pretty dialed in for me.
David's Typical Size: Men's US Size 9.5
Shoes that have fit David well: Nike Vomero 17, Saucony Ride 16, Puma Velocity Nitro 3
Shoes that have fit snug: HOKA Arahi 7
Shoes that have fit large: Salomon Aero Glide
Doctors of Running Checklist
Is This a Good Shoe for Walking: No
Is This a Good Shoe for Standing: No
Is the Forefoot Flexible: Somewhat
How Flexible is the Shoe: Mild to moderate
Is This a Good Heel Bevel: Yes
Recommended for Haglunds: No
Recommended for Sockless: No
Durability Expectation: Average
PERFORMANCE AND STABILITY
David: The Nike Rival Fly 4 has performed quite well for me. I do want to preface this by saying this is definitely not a super shoe, and should not be compared to one. This shoe is a somewhat simplistic racing model that gives a lot of reminiscence to traditional racing flats. On the track it is not as noticeable, but on the roads I do find it to be a decent amount more difficult to hit pace at longer intervals. Now that that is out of the way, this shoe reminds me a lot of the Nike Streak series pre-super shoes. The shoe is nimble on foot and gives a lot of ground connectivity. The Air Zoom midsole definitely feels like an EVA midsole that is firmer, but there is just enough cushion to hit longer efforts in them as well if you want to. I have done a 13 mile workout in them fine. This strikes me more as the track and interval companion though. There is a plastic plate embedded in the foam that does make the platform a little more rigid. Despite that, the platform does still maintain a decent amount of flexibility. It is a nice balance of having a natural bend and toe off and also having some snappiness injected into the shoe as well.
The outsole traction on this model is really good and I had no issues hitting the track or sharper turns on the road. The Air Zoom midsole does not have the most pop to it, but its cushioning isn't horrible. You definitely are going to be putting more into this shoe than some of the higher tech racing shoes, but that is what I like about it. This is the type of shoe I love to hit track workouts and shorter road workouts in.
The ride of the Rival Fly 4 is very neutral. The Nike Rival Fly 4 is definitely not a stability shoe. The shoe does
have good upper lockdown and good outsole traction, but runs very
neutral. There is not much sole flaring, guide walls, or width to the
platform in any regions. This is about as neutral as a shoe gets.
There is not much sole flaring or sidewalls embedded in the shoe. This shoe is "all you" in some regards. There is a posterior lateral heel bevel that I found to be quite smooth, especially at faster efforts. The midfoot is normal width and did have a crash pad area along the midline of the shoe for some gentle guidance and weight reduction. The forefoot has a waffle adjacent pattern that grips well. The forefoot tapers a little bit as it goes towards the toes, but the width is still enough to have a trust worthy platform. The moderately flexible forefoot gives you a very natural feeling at toe off. For the price point of $100 I do think this is a very good training companion for the track and intervals. If budget is a concern, this is definitely a shoe that you can still race in, especially at 5k/10k distances. Being at 9.1 ounces in Men's 10, I would love to see the shoe lose a little weight if possible... but otherwise this is a very refreshing type of shoe that I have been looking for for a while.
Thoughts as a DPT: Budget Racing Flats
By David Salas
It is crazy to see how far footwear has come over the last decade, and even the last five years. I remember running in high school and college, where no one even looked at stack heights or weights for racing shoes. This was mainly because they were all minimal, EVA, and relatively light weight. The only exception would be the Adidas Adios model that debuted boost in my sophomore or junior year of college. The shoes did not have much materials to them, and were not that expensive to make. Companies made much more money on other categories of shoes, so these racing flats were actually pretty inexpensive. Since the super shoe boom, the racing line has gotten crazy with pricing. I remember getting my flats around 60-80 dollars depending on the model. Racing flats now are averaging around $250 if you want the top shelf option. I am ranting about this because there are many people who have been getting left behind in all of this technological boom. There are a lot of runners out there that do not need, or maybe even want, the highest technology racing options. I think of the high school, beginner, and to some degree the really experienced populations. The road racing flats were an affordable staple for those wanting to take a crack at cross country and track and field (if you did distance). They were faster than your normal daily trainers and didn't break the bank. Now there are really only select shoes in that demographic.
I do think it is important that we keep that category alive, because it actually promotes a few things. The first would be that it is an introduction and entry into the racing side of the sport. The second is that it allows you to work on using your muscles in a more natural rhythm than super shoes. These lower stack and more flexible shoes require more range of motion at the ankle and calf usage. For the more experienced, they can use this as a tool to indirectly work calf strength and natural mechanics at speed. Super shoes are great, but the extreme rockers and foams do take some load away from the calves and change how we run some. These types of shoes can also help the transition into spikes as well. I personally like these types of shoes as a workout shoe that helps save miles on my super shoes.
RECOMMENDATIONS
David: I really enjoyed my time in the Nike Rival Fly 4. My main recommendation would be to find a way to widen the forefoot fit and platform just a tad. It isn't too bad as it is, but I think more would appreciate the shoe with that slight change. The other would be to find some more ways for weight reductions. Daily training shoes are starting to get under the 9 ounce mark, and this shoe is a little bit heavy for being a racing shoe. I love it as a training companion, but it is a little bit of a hard-sell to race in.
WHO IS THIS SHOE FOR?
David: I can think of a few demographics this shoe can be for. The first would be the runner that wants a neutral and traditional racing flat as a training companion for track and road intervals and is trying to stay out of super shoes. The second would be for the runner that misses the old marathon racing flats and has a hard time finding replacements as that category is getting few and far between models. The third would be for those that are looking for a budget friendly track, road, and XC flat for the 5k-10k distances.
GRADES
David
Fit: A- (Good performance lockdown throughout, forefoot could use a little more width though)
Performance: A- (Not compared to a super shoe) (A natural toe off, great traction, and a traditional road racing flat feeling. It does come with a little bit of weight though)
Stability: B- (Not horrible for what it is, but this is about as neutral as it gets. The upper lockdown and outsole traction do help with some stability though.)
Value: A (For $100 this is going to be someone's workout or short distance racing monster. It seems like it will last a decent amount of time too.)
Personal: A- (I do wish it was a little lighter, but this is a type of shoe I have been looking for and having a hard time locating.)
Overall Design: A-
SHOP | SUPPORT DORNike Rival Fly 4Price: $100 at Nike
Shop Men | Shop Women
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FURTHER READING
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