Adidas Adizero SL vs Adidas Takumi Sen 9: Like Ford vs Ferrari
Both the Adidas Adizero SL and Takumi Sen are great options for building strength and speed. Let's get into the differences and best uses here.
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For years, Adidas was lagging in the daily trainer game. Nike had the vaunted Pegasus. Brooks the Ghost. Saucony the Ride. And for a long time, Adidas only had the Solarglide and lifestyle-oriented Ultraboost to answer. But in the racing and speed day department? Adidas was crushing it with the Boston (until the infamous iteration 11) and Adizero series—the Adios, Pro and Takumi Sen. So how does Adidas’ latest crack at a speedy daily trainer match up to its fastest training option, the Takumi Sen? Let’s get into it.
Overview: Adidas Adizero SL vs Adidas Takumi Sen
The Adidas Adizero SL is an everyday running shoe designed to have a faster feel, while the Takumi Sen 9 is positioned by Adidas as a 5k and 10k racer. The running experience of the Adizero is firm at everyday running paces and comes alive with a more responsive feel at uptempo efforts slightly slower than marathon race pace.The Takumi Sen has a bouncy and explosive ride that lights up at half marathon race pace and below.
The Adizero SL is lightweight for an everyday running option, coming in at 8.0 ounces for US mens size 9. For comparison, the Nike Pegasus comes in at 9.4 ounces and the Tracksmith Eliot Runner comes in at 9.2 ounces for that same US size 9.
Adidas Adizero SL
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The Takumi Sen 9 weighs 6.2 ounces for a US mens size 9, which makes it one of the lightest performance running shoes on the market today. While the SL is light for a daily trainer, the Takumi Sen is lightweight for any shoe—especially since it has a decent amount of midsole foam with a 33mm heel stack. Nike’s dedicated 5k and 10k racer, the Streakfly, narrowly beats the Takumi Sen in the weight game, coming in 0.2 ounces lighter (6.0 ounces).
Adidas Takumi Sen 9
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Similarities Between Adizero SL and Takumi Sen 9
Both the Takumi Sen 9 and Adizero SL are lightweight shoes relative to their class and have flat, non-rockered rides that encourage and reward forefoot striking. Both have snug-fitting uppers that are true-to-size if a touch narrow in the midfoot. While the running experience and intent of the shoes are different, their overall spirit is the same: flat, firm and feels best when pushing it.
The SL and Takumi Sen also share Adidas’ design language. They have angular and aggressive profiles with purposeful sections of foam cut out from the midsole. Both use Lightstrike Pro foam in the midsole, though the amount, application and result of the compound is different in the two shoes.
Midsole: Lightstrike vs Lightstrike Pro
The biggest difference between the Takumi Sen and SL is in their midsole foam and technology. The Takumi Sen uses a full-length bed of Lightstrike Pro, which is a TPE compound that’s gone through a supercritical process, meaning its been injected with gas to make it lighter and bouncier. The Takumi Sen also uses Adidas’ classic carbon fiber EnergyRods to reinforce the platform and add rigidity and pop.
The Adizero SL uses a full-length chassis of Lightstrike foam, which is an EVA-based material that skews firm and inflexible. Doing the bend test with the SL in hand, it’s much more rigid than comparable daily trainers like the Nike Pegasus and Tracksmith Eliot Runner. The flexibility is more akin to a max-stack EVA-based shoe like the Saucony Endorphin Shift 3.
The Adizero SL has a puck of Lightstrike Pro foam in the forefoot that’s surrounded by the EVA Lightstrike. We can’t feel the effects of the super foam as much at our normal racing paces, but it’s more noticeable once we get into speeds where we’re forefoot striking or putting more force into the platform.
Ride: Sports Car Fast (Takumi Sen) vs Pickup Truck Fast (SL)
The Takumi Sen is Ferarri fast—flat-out speed—and the Adizero SL is Ford Raptor fast: not really designed for that, but fast compared to competitors.
The super foam midsole and carbon rods of the Takumi Sen gift the platform with a bouncy and joyful ride that feels like how running should feel—pure simplicity. The 33mm heel stack and 27mm forefoot stack feel like just the right amount of cushioning for those days when you want to sharpen your speed with intervals, race pace repeats or short bouts of threshold work. The sweet spot in these is for working intervals 10 minutes and below—anything longer and we’re wishing for a bit more stack and comfort. We also prefer to warm up and cool down in different shoes and then put the Takumi Sen on for the fun stuff, as the ride is not the most natural at everyday aerobic running paces.
The Adizero SL has a firm but cushioned ride. While the EVA Lightstrike foam isn’t as soft as an EVA blend like ASICS’ FF Blast Plus found in the Gel-Nimbus and Novablast, nor as responsive as Saucony’s PWRRUN found in the Kinvara and Ride, it absorbs impact well and will help you build strength. The Lightstrike Pro in the forefoot helps at faster paces, but generally the ride feels unencumbered and natural. If you’re used to running in max cushioned shoes, bouncy shoes or highly-rockered shoes, the Adizero SL will be a good addition to your rotation that encourages you to work underused muscles in your legs.
We consider the SL a tweener, similar to the Tracksmith Eliot Runner—not comfortable enough to be a daily trainer for those slow everyday running sessions and medium long runs up to 10 miles, but not quite fast enough to be a true uptempo shoe. It’s most at home in that zone 3 gray zone: marathon pace and slightly slower. Lightstrike is much maligned in certain corners of the running internet, but we believe that running with different types of shoes—yes, including firmer ones—can be good for your running development.
Comparing weights of daily trainers and uptempo shoes, we also see that the SL slots in between those two categories:
Weight of Daily Trainers vs Uptempo Shoes
- Nike Pegasus 40 (daily trainer): 9.4 oz
- Tracksmith Eliot Runner (daily trainer): 9.2 oz
- Adizero SL weight: 8.0 oz
- Saucony Kinvara 14 (uptempo): 7.0 oz
- ASICS Magic Speed 3 (uptempo): 7.7
Outsole: Continental Rubber vs Non-tinental Rubber (See What We Did There?)
The Takumi Sen has a light covering of outsole rubber while the SL is more generous, which will enhance the shoe’s durability. However, the Takumi Sen uses Continental rubber in the forefoot, which is super grippy and helps with snappy toe-offs. The rubber on the bottom of the SL doesn’t feel as nice underfoot, it can feel a bit slippy, slappy and sloppy.
Upper & Fit: Snug vs Snugger
The Takumi Sen has a snug race-day upper that’s about as tight and minimal as they come. There’s no cushioning or padding anywhere in the upper, and the laces can bite the top of your feet when you cinch ‘em down the first few times. There’s a thin tongue that is staunchly guested to the sides of the upper. No sugar coating here: it takes some getting used to the feel of the Takumi Sen, but once you do, you’ll be ripping off your fastest paces with confidence and ease.
The Adizero SL is also snug for a daily trainer. The toe box is bit narrow and feels less voluminous than competitors, though is more accommodating than the Takumi Sen. However, the material of the SL’s upper is soft and a touch stretchy, and the heel collar is quite padded. It’s comfortable feel if your fit fit foots, so we could also envision this being an around-town walking shoe if you want to be the avant garde dude that wears something other than Hoka, On or Air Maxes to the coffee shop. Scary thought.
Who They’re Best For
The Takumi Sen is best for those runners deep into structured training or looking to tackle a new training block and push their fitness. This shoe is going to be a great training companion for you as you crank out those faster paces and sharpen your speed on the track or at the greenway. Tuesday track day? Reach for that Takumi Sen, no question.
The Adizero SL is a good option for new runners looking for an everyday running shoe who prefer a firmer ride. If you’ve tried something like the Hoka Clifton and don’t like the soft, squishy feel, then this will be a great option. The SL is also great for advanced runners who want a simple shoe that can handle a variety of paces while encouraging a forefoot strike that will build strength in the lower legs.
Final Thoughts
Both the Adidas Adizero SL and Takumi Sen are great options for building strength and speed. The SL is more versatile and can be used for everyday running, while the Takumi Sen is best for shorter races and workouts at the track. You wouldn’t race a Ferrari against a Ford Raptor, but they’re both be welcome in our garage.
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