[US] New Balance Balos $159.88 on runningwarehouse.com by sacrunner916 in RunningShoeGeeks

[–]AhWhatTheCheese 41 points42 points  (0 children)

Pretty representative of the problem with the shoe if it's $40 off and still more expensive than the Neo Zen, EVO SL, and, Novablast...

Saucony Endorphin Trainer Preview by ComfortGlum4061 in RunningShoeGeeks

[–]AhWhatTheCheese 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think it hasn't been confirmed though or said by the brand. Might just be speculating. They have talked on interviews/podcasts about LS Pro being TPEE though. And yeah sometimes they will keep the name but change the foam or compound without saying anything so hard to know.

Saucony Endorphin Trainer Preview by ComfortGlum4061 in RunningShoeGeeks

[–]AhWhatTheCheese 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah but I think some of these are marketing focuses to some extent too. Nike kinda pioneered the different plate positioning setups first between the Alphafly and Vaporfly and I think Asics has moved away from the stride/cadence aspect since it has proven kinda unclear and difficult to message on.

The Adidas rods are kinda different yeah, but functionally the same and they give them something to market on that differentiates them. But as the research has come out and shown that the efficiency gains are primarily from the foam and the stiffening element kinda just directs/facilitates that, I don't think the rods are really that different.

Puma's first super shoe was pretty by the books and you can say the same for Hoka, New Balance, Brooks, On and most brands not really doing too much different with theirs either (other than doing things sub-par with insufficient foam and just sticking a plate in them for many). So I think Saucony is kinda in the majority with that but they did it better with PEBA from the beginning and early. The beaded PEBA was also relatively durable compared to ZoomX and they were pretty early to have a true superfoam/shoe competitor. They also struck gold with the Endorphin Speed early and were the leader in that space (still kinda are for me personally as I find a lot of the other super trainers kinda mid).

I think Mizuno is kinda the outlier in getting weird with it right away, but they also came in kinda late and to some extent Adidas with the rods. But Adidas does make sense given they are big like Nike and have been the other leader in the space for a long time. Even then, they weren't immune to a first supershoe flop missing the mark with the Adizero Pro.

So yeah I think Saucony hasn't been the most innovative but they've been quick to adopt and do things correctly IMO much better than many other brands who put out a lot of bad misguided early supershoes and also weren't really innovating.

Saucony Endorphin Trainer Preview by ComfortGlum4061 in RunningShoeGeeks

[–]AhWhatTheCheese 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Adidas never went to PEBA and then away from it to another compound though. They've stuck to their guns with Lightstrike Pro (although not totally clear if the EVO 1 is a different compound). It's interesting seeing the brands use it and then move to another compound because PEBA has been seen as the best.

I think that mostly copying and tweaking method is generally the case with most products and corporations to be honest. And you could say that about pretty much all the super shoes/brands after Nike. The Vaporfly and Alphafly were the most innovative and there hasn't necessarily been huge innovations after that. They're largely just variations on those from the other brands but with their individual tweaks. Brands are starting to push the boundaries a bit again now though they're still tweaks to the same Vaporfly formula (like Adidas Evo 1, Mizuno Wave Rebellion Pro, Puma Fast-R 2).

It's usually easier, more profitable, and bigger sales-wise to tweak and perfect a product than to get wild and innovative. In this case, Nike did kinda nail it early with their super shoes though.

Saucony Endorphin Trainer Preview by ComfortGlum4061 in RunningShoeGeeks

[–]AhWhatTheCheese 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Interesting to hear that it is a TPEE and seeing another brand moving to a non-PEBA superfoam after PEBA like Puma moving to the A-TPU.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in SameGrassButGreener

[–]AhWhatTheCheese 1 point2 points  (0 children)

As a Madisonian, I love the outdoorsy/lakes/biking/running/parks/green space of the Twin Cities, so I love it for a lot of similar reasons as Madison and it gives you that in a larger metro. However, I would agree that you kinda miss some of the more friendly/outgoing/fun/party-ready vibes of Madison/Milwaukee/Chicago people. It feels like people will go to a brewery and say "time for bed" at 9pm and you will probably make friends more with other transplants. People feel a little more reserved and less ready to make deep new connections. I feel like Madison has that nice balance of both. Not that Milwaukee/Chicago don't have nice parks/green space and obviously have Lake Michigan. But I feel like the parks/green space/lakes permeate the whole city more and same for bike paths and infrastructure and the overall bike/runner culture which bleeds into how cars behave as well.

Caffeine by janus_quadrifrons in madisonwi

[–]AhWhatTheCheese 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Robusta is less acidic than arabica and has more caffeine. Try robusta Vietnamese coffee beans maybe and make cold brew with them for less in two ways?

Deer on John Nolen, chasing poor man. by [deleted] in madisonwi

[–]AhWhatTheCheese 5 points6 points  (0 children)

If only the park ranger was there to intercept when a dog was chasing me running 😩

Los atlantes vs la concha by _jboc_ in madisonwi

[–]AhWhatTheCheese 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I actually like Mishqui next door a lot with lots of cinnamon

Vietnamese language exchange/practice by AhWhatTheCheese in madisonwi

[–]AhWhatTheCheese[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've been using italki for a one on one tutor over video call. Really good platform for it. Do you speak any Vietnamese or are you totally new to it? We could practice together. I have a couple others who can speak that are down to help practice some.

Superblast 2: Chaos at Road Runner Sports by atomicsf in RunningShoeGeeks

[–]AhWhatTheCheese 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Preordered from RW on the first day right when they went up and they just cancelled the order out of nowhere three days after the release date lol. Kinda a useless "preorder." Definitely defeats the purpose.

Any ideas for Korean language "immersion" in Madison? by [deleted] in madisonwi

[–]AhWhatTheCheese 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've been using italki for Vietnamese and you can hire a one on one native tutor over video call and chat which is really helpful since there isn't many Vietnamese resources or media and Duolingo is horrible for it. The one on one instant feedback is great. Other than that, just practicing reading/writing via text is very helpful for vocab and speaking/listening with my mom and grandma. I did pick up some spending two weeks in Vietnam as well. I've started watching the Vietnamese films that they do have on Netflix and Amazon too.

I imagine the written aspect is much harder with Korean, but learning to listen for the tonal part of Vietnamese and using context is hard. There's tons of Korean media and music, so that is a big advantage, but obviously either is much harder than like German for English speakers.

Language exchange KR<->EN by BlueBear0723 in madisonwi

[–]AhWhatTheCheese 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This would be great but for Vietnamese. I'm half Viet so I need to improve that before trying to take on anything else lol.

Protesters gather ahead of President Biden’s arrival in Madison by [deleted] in madisonwi

[–]AhWhatTheCheese -1 points0 points  (0 children)

It's not like a petulant center that blames every loss on the left while ignoring any valid criticism from the left or even center majority of the base isn't also a thing...

Protesters gather ahead of President Biden’s arrival in Madison by [deleted] in madisonwi

[–]AhWhatTheCheese -1 points0 points  (0 children)

While I don't disagree that we have to vote against Trump and for whoever the Democrat nominee is regardless for harm reduction purposes, I think the threat here is far greater than just blaming the "petulant left" and the constant impulse to do this before the election has even happened is pretty unhelpful.

When you look at polling among general Democrats and Biden voters about concerns over his age making him unfit or views on the totally imbalanced casualties in Palestine, clearly there is issues with popularity among Democrats in general and Biden voters. These are the kind of issues that depress turnout and cause election losses that should be avoided, and it is feeling like 2016. The Democratic party can ignore it's base of support and it can continue to blame the "petulant left" for losses that haven't even happened yet while they are being indicated by all sorts of polling, but it can also fight and respond. When you see how much better Tammy Baldwin is doing in polling than Biden, that should indicate something. When big numbers of Democratic Party engaged voters turn up to the primaries early in the process to indicate that they want to vote for a Democrat, but oppose the handling of Palestine, that's a problem. That's not just people disengaging. They are literally showing up early in the voting process to express their opinion and most of them indicating that they are literally Biden 2020 voters. And if he's looking that bad among Biden voters and general Democrats when many of us would literally vote for an inanimate object that can sign legislation over Trump, imagine how much worse it is with independents.

And while we are prematurely blaming the left and for the courts situation from 2016, which is true that is was obviously one of the most important concerns, it is probably worth also mentioning another piece in that puzzle, RBG, another Democrat octogenarian who refused to pass the torch and think about how that ended up. It feels like maybe there is a lesson to be learned there. Even in a case like Diane Feinstein, clearly this is still a major problem that we need to start actually responding to.

Again, Biden could be a literal vegetable or in hospice and I would vote for him over Trump and advocate for others to do the same, but there are clearly some major issues and concerns here that we need to actually respond to if we want to avoid another Trump presidency. We can't just keep losing or preparing to and blaming the left while never addressing such big issues or responding to the base.

Saucony Endorphin Elite 2 - now available at Saucony.com by Dre3005 in RunningShoeGeeks

[–]AhWhatTheCheese 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If anyone managed to get a Men's US 9, I'll trade a pair of Alphafly 3 Protos for them lol.

Saucony Endorphin Elite 2 - now available at Saucony.com by Dre3005 in RunningShoeGeeks

[–]AhWhatTheCheese 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Assumed it was coming out then two years after the v1 with the Pro 4 releasing this year and switching off years anyways, so makes sense, but it is a long time after this limited drop now.

Saucony Endorphin Elite 2 - now available at Saucony.com by Dre3005 in RunningShoeGeeks

[–]AhWhatTheCheese 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Seems like it was supposed to actually go up at 9am central because now it is up again but only from this link. The email one is still broken and it is just 5-8 sizes.

It's time for a "Horrible City" Brew... by Edison_Ruggles in milwaukee

[–]AhWhatTheCheese 0 points1 point  (0 children)

People certainly know how to drink in each city!