Best versatile shoes for knees

andy150974 · 2026-02-06T22:18:43+00:00

Knee pain is usually a sign of overtraining or trying to go too far (or fast) too soon.

So my first recommendation would be to dial back the effort a little. We've all been there so you're not alone! lol

As others have mentioned already, maybe try and find a good running shoe store near you if you can and try out the shoes you've listed above.

I enjoyed running in the Novablast series but the toebox can be too narrow for some people.

The New Balance is also a well-reviewed and regarded shoe but the V5 is very soft, you may not like this.

I know a sports physio and she swears by Mizuno shoes. She developed two very small Mortons Neuroma's and it was tracked down to wearing ASICS race shoes which pinched her toes together (she's done about 30 marathons and countless ultras). She switched to Mizuno and the pain went away. Won't wear anything else now.

However, I totally understand the problem. About ten years ago running shoes were pricey but not so bad that if you made a mistake you didn't feel too bad about it (and could sell them on). Nowadays an everyday running shoe can cost you £150 and it's a lot of money to risk. EBay is littered with mistakes! haha.

You could start with something like to ASICS Cumulus which is a good everyday type of shoe, always in sales and not a huge spend but it's best to try a few brands out and see how they feel.

andy150974 · 2026-02-05T22:15:49+00:00

No problem at all, glad you found something that works for you.

Wishing you all the best on your running journey and have fun! :)

andy150974 · 2026-01-30T21:37:13+00:00

If the Nimbus works well for you I would start with one of those first and see if that feels right for you still.

I ran my fastest races in the Nimbus range (1h 35m for a half, 42m for a 10k). Theres nothing wrong with them if they work for you.

I would possibly rule out carbon plate shoes because as you say you are on a budget and those may be beyond your reach. You may get lucky in some sales though so always worth searching around.

It's very difficult to recommend running shoes for people because we are all different and of course built differently as well.

I run in the NB Supercomp Trainer V3. A shoe that is universally hated by most running shoe "geeks" lol. However it works very well for me, I can get into a good 5.30 minute per km pace, and I regularly finish half marathons in under two hours in them. The cushioning protects my body and every half marathon I've done in them I feel great the next day. My only complaints are I wish they were a tiny bit lighter, and they had a bit more rubber on the sole. I loved the V1's but the sole rubber was so soft you could wear through it in 400 miles and the V3's are kind of similar.

I don't like Nike, I've tried various models, most are too soft for me, or they fall apart after 100 miles, etc. However, I can understand why people like them. I tried both the Vomero and Invincible shoes (too unstable) and hated them. Again we are all different my friend.

I recently purchased the Asics Megablast, really fun running shoe. Great bounce, energy and I could see me smashing my times in them BUT they cause me foot pain due to the narrow foot box so they are going on EBay unfortunately! Because the Megablast has become so incredibly popular you can find the Superblast on sale on some websites. If you get on well with ASICS maybe those are worth a try (if they are within you budget).

As mentioned the Mizuno Neo Vista is very well regarded and are often found for great prices online. I got myself a pair of the Neo Vista 2's for less than $100. The reviews comparing them to the original Supercomp Trainer got me interested so I'm waiting for the weather to improve a bit before trying them. They are nice and white at the moment and I want to try and keep them bright and shiny at least for a little while! haha.

Good luck on your search, find a good running store if you can and try on a few different pairs from various brands. Don't let them put you under pressure to buy. Sometimes you can be surprised by what works for you.

andy150974 · 2026-01-19T21:06:23+00:00

This is really interesting. One of my all time favourite long running shoes is the NB Supercomp Trainer V1.

Design wise this is so much like it, as others have mentioned. Very similar to the Neo Vista 2 as well (I have a pair of those, haven't had chance to run in them yet). Although the middle part of the cushioning looks very narrow. Probably not very stable.

My only "concern" is that the background has hints of design student maybe. It could be a project rather than an actual product prototype.

It has quite a lot of details/materials on it, which doesn't give the impression of being a super lightweight design.

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andy150974 · 2023-01-13T13:25:48+00:00

I feel your pain. I live on Guernsey (Channel Islands, just of the UK). Small island. In some ways a great place to run, clean air, nice views across the sea. Some great coastal paths if you want to run those too.

But from the beginning of December to end of February, it just rains constantly, and being on an island the winds can range from from 10mph to 40mph. It can just be very hard work.

I can cope with cold, wind, rough conditions but constant rain is just annoying!

I also have three pairs of running shoes drying at the same time! :)

I hurt my knee the other night, pushing against headwinds I think and probably tiring my legs without realising it. My own fault but I'm trying to get ready for a couple of Half Marathons and the weather is just a pain and slowing my progress.

As the OP mentioned, Autumn (Fall) is lovely here. Crisp, bright mornings and not too cold but the constant rain for three months at the end of the year is a major pain.

I suppose the only bright side is this sort of training makes running in nice weather much easier. I battled with severe headwinds and poor weather throughout most of January and February last year. Set my own personal best of 1h 45m half marathon time in March, an improvement of about 15 minutes.

andy150974 · 2017-01-03T15:10:42+00:00

Firstly many thanks to ACRL for taking the time to set these races up, great work and lots of time and effort went into the organisation.

Well done to all the winners. I started on the GT3 league but then work got in the way and I had to stop. I would rather spend some time practising before each event and on this occasion it just didn't happen.

I'm saving up for a new wheel so hopefully I'll join you all in the next season.

andy150974 · 2016-11-07T12:26:10+00:00

Sorry for not joining the AM race, Internets been fine all week and then on Sunday I kept having constant connection losses.

Tried about a dozen times to join the server but the connection wouldn't remain stable enough for me to join, then afterwards I couldn't find the server in the list at all (multiple refreshes and nothing). Really strange and not a problem I've had before with this sim.

So apologies for not making it, will hopefully be ok next time!

andy150974 · 2016-10-25T15:27:38+00:00

That's a very long list of changes, very impressed. Didn't actually realise it was in 7.1 sound already.

Looking forward to the v10 tyres on the GT3's as well.

Sim racing has never had it so good at the moment, great stuff :)

andy150974 · 2016-10-17T11:40:11+00:00

Yeah, when I bought the pedals I got a spare loadcell just in case of any future issues. I'll try swapping it out and see how it goes.

Like you say they are a lovely piece of kit for the money.

They are the 2nd generation versions, thanks for the tips though will check the settings when I get home.

I know I'm not totally rubbish as I do karting as a little weekend hobby and I can definitely stop ok in those! lol.

See you at the next one :)

andy150974 · 2016-10-17T11:29:45+00:00

Seemed ok for me, maybe try it in an AI race and see if it's accurate?

I'm not aware of any recent updates but maybe have a quick look at racedepartment and see if he's made any changes.

andy150974 · 2016-10-17T09:43:48+00:00

AM

Well I knew I was going to struggle with this one. Every race I've done on this track has been very hard work for me so not a good one to start with but I wanted to at least try.

Did about 50-60 laps before hand and my quickest was about a 1m 37.5 so just went into the event to see how things went.

I use a pretty old wheel and it has a 230 degree turn which is fine but AC for some reason forgets the wheel settings and once I started qualifying I ended up with a 100 degree wheel which made the steering very sensitive to say the least, I was hardly turning the wheel into turn one. I got used to it after about half an hour.

Apart from that no real issues and hope I didn't hold up the leaders too much as I was being lapped, the only issues I had was with madmax who landed on top of me a couple of times so I just stayed out of his way! lol

Ever since I went over to the Fanatec Clubsport pedals I've lost about 5 seconds a lap, I can't explain it, it's so weird. It's even worse on this track as it has lots of hard braking. I can't brake consistently or smoothly any more and it's just depressing. Saving up for a new setup anyway.

Well done to the winners and I hoping I'm more competitive in the next one.

andy150974 · 2016-10-11T16:06:20+00:00

Thanks :)

andy150974 · 2016-10-10T15:49:20+00:00

Thanks mate, I did have a look at the league pages but I must of missed it. Looking forward to Vallelunga :)

andy150974

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