Brooks Transcend 7, Men’s Running Shoes

Product Information

GuideRails! Brooks keeps making them better. Transcend 4’s chafed my lateral midfoot ever-so-slightly (along with the fact that I wore a half size smaller, and the upper was unforgiving). Launched in 2010, DNA is a cushioning technology that is also present in most of Brooks’ running shoes. Comfort and stability mix nicely here for a plush feel that allows you to enjoy a nice long run or an easy recovery day. The GuideRails, which enforce stability without intruding on the natural arch, ensure that you stay neutral. Similar to past versions, the tongue is one with the shoe’s internal sheath, this year attached all the way to the top of the lacing system. In comparison, the Transcend 3 feels very lumpy. Brooks has replaced the flat midfoot outsole design with raised lugs, and ditto for the forefoot. And this is partly why we said that the shoe loses its ‘Transcend-ness’. The hallmark of the T1 and T2 was its smooth ride, and Brooks has messed with that this year for no good reason.

Launched in 2008, BioMoGo is the material found in virtually all Brooks midsoles. Due to its formulation, BioMoGo is completely bio-degradable. While a standard EVA foam will take approximately 1,000 years to fully degrade in a landfill, BioMoGo can biodegrade in roughly 20 years when placed in the same environment. The Transcend 3’s Guide rail rim and the lower midsole are now co-molded instead of being glued together. So all that saved glue seemed to find its way in form of smudges over the shoe. The GTS or ‘Go To Support’ models in the Brooks range offer additional stability through the use of GuideRails technology. GuideRails is a holistic support system that allows your body to embrace its natural motion path while limiting excess motion. There is something to be said about conviction. Brooks built on the Transcend based on an idea that a highly cushioned shoe could be both supportive and smooth riding without relying on a medial post. They should have seen this through, instead of changing their minds midway and making the Transcend a Glycerin 13 cousin. However, the latest rendition combines better placement of GuideRails onto newly formulated DNA midsole material, with a super-supportive yet not-so-restrictive upper, all of which is softer and more flexible without sacrificing necessary support.

Turns out I wasn’t alone. “The shoe seemed softer than some of the other Brooks I’ve tested, but there seemed to be no issues with speed,” said a wear tester. “Actually, I think I may have improved my pace.” One component that can be attributed to that smooth, fast feel in spite of the Transcend’s weight is the full-length DNA Loft midsole, which is a combination of foam, rubber, and air. The midsole is lightweight without sacrificing cushioning, and more durable. The rubber in the DNA Loft ensures the midsole’s longevity, hindering breakdown over long mileage. A New Offset The plush Transcend 6 is in the company of the Glycerin 17 when it comes to Brooks’s line of cushioned shoes. It’s also another trainer that has joined the brand’s new line of stability shoes enhanced with guide rails technology, a holistic support system that involves denser midsole foam located below both sides of the ankle, which functions to reduce erratic knee movement. The Adrenaline and Ravenna are included in this family of updated stability shoes, but the Transcend is the true progenitor of the guide rails system. The Rails on 6 are softer (on the lateral side only) and put more emphasis toward the lateral heel, thereby working together with the upper’s heel counter to rein in movement.

Stability” is essentially an effort to help the foot move efficiently, which guides the knees, hips, and overall movement toward injury-free performance, and Brooks has tried various technologies past into present.We don’t hold an upper fit change (as long as it doesn’t lead to discomfort) against a shoe, because it ends up being a pro or con based on personal needs of each runner.

Transcend is Brooks’ attempt to build a shoe focused beyond the feet: to the knees, and 2019 bring us a new and improved model, now with a 10mm drop, up from 8mm in past models. Brooks might argue that is how it’s supposed to be (to ‘minimize stress on joints’, they say) but to us it felt like the under heel area is missing a chunk of foam. The Transcend 1 and 2’s heel was curved enough; the Transcend 3 is overdoing it.What I don’t understand about the concept of guide rails is, that it supposedly controls the foot above an uncontrolled, moving midsole. Is this not like expecting a seat-belt to hold you firm in a car with extremely soft suspension? The forces are: foot – shoe – ground. Guide rails would work if the shoe was attached to the ground and the foot was independent, like the sides of a water flume. But it isn’t – the ground is the independent factor and shoe/foot moves together. The stability here is not for severe pronation but more for those who just would like a little extra support some days. Transcend 7 needs 20+ miles to break in I can't attest with the light trail but I did run in some grass/dirt during my runs and the same testament of great grip was true. Not for warm days When I run, I compress the inside (medial) part of the midsole. Holding my foot firmly in place, on top of the midsole doesn’t change that – it doesn’t stop my weight being biased to the medial side?

I am a road purest, not so much to preference but because of convenience. Brooks Transcend 7was wonderful with grip when it came to road/sidewalk and gravel. I felt extra secure and even on wet roads, these babies gripped excellently. A 3D Fit-Print saddle over the midfoot applies stretch and structure to the stretch-bootie-lined Double Jacquard Mesh body of the shoe. Isaac Newton is the 17th century English scientists that brought to us the laws of motion, universal gravitation and coincidentally is the name of a competing running shoe company. I jumped right in with the shoe but they really didn't feel fluid and comfortable until after about 20 miles. They are very stiff at first but free up after some break-in time.What the Transcend 3 has also done is to increase the heel bevel at the edge. On the lateral (outer) heel edge, it curves up more than the Transcend 2. Brooks maintained support in this upper while stripping away the overlay stripes that made Transcend 4 so unbreak-in-able, for me, which were partially maintained into the 5. The Transcend 3 (on right) has an exaggerated heel edge angle. This is clearly noticeable during runs, compared to the subdued edge of the T2.(left)