Hoka Cielo Road Review
Are you wondering whether the Hoka Cielo Road is suitable for you? Well thanks to our friends at Hoka, we’ve managed to put in some miles before launch and produce our Cielo Road review. The Hoka Cielo Road is Hoka’s lightweight 5km/10km racing shoe. Weighing in at 213g in a men’s UK9 it is light, but unlike 5km/10km shoes of yester-year, the Cielo Road has a good amount of midsole underfoot. It doesn’t feel in anyway minimal.
The stack height is 33mm in the heel and 30mm in the forefoot. The midsole is made from PEBA foam, which is the same resilient & springy foam that Hoka use in the Rocket X 2. The early-stage meta rocker and low 3mm heel to forefoot drop help encourage a midfoot landing with a quick cadence. Both are conducive to running fast!
As you would expect, most of the weight is in the midsole. The upper is a very light open mesh so the wind will freely flow through the shoes. This is just the same as the upper of the Altra Escalante Racer, which also has open mesh in the toe area. This is to save weight and keep your feet cool when you are running quickly. There is no heel cup in the Hoka Cielo Road. It has the same construction as the Hoka Rocket X 2, with the same lightly padded tubes that run under the heel bone. Like all racing spikes and racing shoes, the fit of the Cielo Road is snug and secure, but not tight. The big toe line is straight and allows room for my average width feet to spread a little in the shoes. The rocker is quite noticeable and pushes you onto your toes quite forcefully, driving you forwards.
The Cielo Road is designed as an out-and-out 5km/10km race shoe. However, I suspect that for most runners the Cielo Road will become their session shoe. The rubber on the outsole makes the shoe durable enough to be used for regular fast sessions. It is not an everyday training shoe or cruiser. The PEBA Foam is resilient enough not to wear out quickly, so this makes it ideal to use for your interval session, threshold sessions or hill efforts. The rocker helps improve posture and cadence. I noticed during review that my stride was shorter and my knee lift was higher when doing efforts in the Cielo Road. I could feel my quads get tired on any rises and more upright, like I am moving over the ground rather than leaning forwards and pushing up the hill.
Cielo Road vs. Carbon Plate
Is the Cielo Road a good choice for you? Well how much ‘help’ you want from your shoes is the critical question. Most runners will run faster in a carbon plated shoe with a rocker like the Hoka Rocket X 2. The problem with shoes like these is that they do a lot of the work that your feet, ankles and lower legs should be doing. Although you will be giving your heart and lungs a workout, these systems will be getting weaker. This is the root cause of a lot of calf, feet and Achilles problems. For this reason, a lot of professional runners use running shoes that help retain strong feet, ankles and lower legs with no carbon plate in the midsole and reserve the carbon plated running shoes for race day. The fast ‘training’ shoe usually uses the same foam and rocker as the carbon shoe, so that the posture/form tis the same. The feel of the shoe underfoot is similar but the level of ‘help’ is less, so you continue to get stronger.
I have used the Cielo Road for mixture of sessions on the road and track. They have always felt cushioned and comfortable but, on the first session which was a Threshold Session on some country roads that involved just over 30 minutes at threshold pace the Cielo Road didn’t feel particularly springy or bouncy. This is in complete contrast to the Hoka Rocket X 2 which feels like you have spring on your feet. However, after a few sessions the midsole seems to become more bouncy and although it still has more ground feel than the Rocket X 2 it does not have a bit of spring to the midsole too. I did notice that the rocker put me on my toes as soon as the shoe touched the ground which initially left me with soar calfs after the session as they had worked more than they usually do. After a few sessions use my legs got used to things and my calfs are no longer stiff. My posture is similar to what is like in the Hoka Rocket X 2 in that my hips feel higher, my stride shorter and my cadence quicker. This makes me feel a lot lighter on my feet and my stride a lot smoother and more even. I find that my muscles do initially remember to run with good posture as on the following days recovery run, I feel taller and lighter on my feet too. Sadly, this effect does wear off gradually until the next session where the shoes give me a reminder of good posture.
I have to say that I prefer running in the Cielo Road to the Rocket X 2. It has more feel for the ground and you feel a lot more like you are doing the running. The Rocket X 2 feels like it gives you a push when you push off. Which doesn’t feel quite a fluid and natural to me.
As I prefer, the feel of the Cielo Road these would be the shoes I would use to race 5km or 10km. I haven’t found that the Rocket X 2 is any faster. What the Rocket X 2 does is help you maintain the pace with less effort. So, I am sure that they would be the quicker shoe to use over distances more than 10km. Which is what Hoka suggest in their usage recommendations for each shoe.
In Summary the Hoka Cielo Road is a worth considering if you are looking for a 5km/10km race shoe or a ‘session’ shoe.
Other Considerations
Altra Escalante Racer: A broad rounded toe box and zero drop. These are a very popular race shoe for those that want a more natural feel to their shoes. The toe box is more rounded to allow more foot function and broader which gives more room for feet to spread or for those with higher volume feet. https://www.northernrunner.com/blog/altra-escalante-racer-review-zero-drop/
Brooks Hyperion and Hyperion GTS: A higher heel to forefoot drop than the Cielo Road and available in a GTS version as well a neutral one. The Hyperion has similar feel for the road with some spring to the midsole. https://www.northernrunner.com/blog/brooks-hyperion-hyperion-gts-review/
Comments are closed here.