For all of you eagerly awaiting the first “zero drop,” neutral-from-heel-to-toe
minimalist/barefoot running shoes to arrive from New Balance, I’m happy to announce that the NB Minimus Zero Road (MR00 and WR00) and NB Minimus Zero Trail (MT00 or WT00) have been released for sale — you can
find both for $110 over at ShopNewBalance.com, and word on the street is that they are starting to show up in your local running store, too. Oh and we have a few (four!) Minimus giveaway winners … you’ll have to read to the bottom to find out if you won!
If you’re an online shopper, you can grab the Zeros over at ShopNewBalance.com via these links:
We’ve done some fairly exhaustive coverage on the Minimus Zero Trails and Roads having done
a group, three-way review of both Trail and Road Zeros and covered the
Road Zeros in wide (2E) and
Trail Zeros in wide (4E). If you’ve been living under a pair of old Nike Frees and this is the first you’re hearing of the new Minimus Zeros, here’s a quick overview:
- Biggest development is that both Road and Trial Zeros are zero-dropped having no differential in stack height at the heel to the forefoot/ball of the foot (the original Minimus shoes all had a 4mm drop). Total stack height is about 10mm.
- The Minimus Trail Zeros are insanely light (less than 5 oz for the men’s) with a welded upper that is basically a thin piece of unique fabric (read all about it in the review) that breathes very well, provides structure to the shoe, and is somewhat translucent. The sole of the Trail Zeros is a cored out foam with pods and only the slightest bit of Vibram rubber capping the spots most in contact with the ground.
- The Minimus Road Zeros are also super light but have a flat foam base with a Vibram rubber specialized outsole. The upper materials of the Road Zero make it about 50% heavier than the Trail Zeros, but that’s still < 7 oz. The upper is super soft and seamless to the barefoot. Both Road and Trail Zeros are available in wide varietals, though the Road Zeros only go to 2E and the sole is the same in both D and 2E; the Trail Zeros are available in D and 4E and the sole of the 4E is actually larger (see the linked reviews for more).
In all cases, I think New Balance is bringing some interesting products to the minimalist footwear market — and major reloads of their original Minimus Trail and Road running shoes. My personal favorite between the two is the Trail Zero for it’s incredibly lightweight build and truly unusual design — it’s just a very unique shoe in my view. That said, I’ve a hunch there will be a lot of fans of the Minimus Road because it’s so comfy on the inside.
As for the colorways available, below are some photos!
Minimus Trail Zero
First two colorways and last colorway are men’s; third from the right colorway is women’s
Minimus Road Zero
First three colorways are men’s; furthest right two colorways are women’s
If you end up picking up a pair, let me know which ones you got and why in the comments!
Giveaway winners!
A lot of people were eligible to win, but only four could be selected! Two for each model. I’ll be contacting the winners via email (or twitter!) so they can claim their prize!
Trail Zero winners! @benkmeans and le*****
[email protected] (asterisks to hide the full email address for privacy reasons)
Road Zero winnres! lor*****
[email protected] and da*****
[email protected]
17 replies on “New Balance Minimus Zeros Released for Sale!”
Should be noted that the Minimus Zero Life/Wellness models are also available. Ordered my pair this morning along with some reduced price original Wellness/Life for beating around in.
http://www.newbalance.com/products/MW00/
Very nice. I can see liking these a lot. However, the colors are unnecessarily loud for my tastes, and, more importantly, Merrell beat them to market with the road glove, which I love, so think I’ll probably pass for the time being. But I definitely like what NB has done here.
Hello.
Does anyone know of any shops in the UK that sell these in-store? I would like to work out what size I’d take.
I’m after the Zero trail, I’m a M42 in FiveFingers KSOs / Treksports, M43 in my Inov-8 Roclite 288 GTXs, M44 in my Walsh PB Elites.
Any help would be great :).
I have to say I am bummed with the new Wellness/Life model. I think it’s mainly that giant strap that ruins it for me. They do look comfy though. Wish I could get last year’s look with the zero drop. Too bad. Guess I’ll just keep rocking last year’s.
Looks like not all the colors are available in wide width 🙁
I have to agree with the Dub – I’m not sure I like the way they look. The others are cool but only the Life comes in size 15. I don’t get the point of stopping the other models at 14. In your first look you say that the Zeros have a wider toebox. I’m not seeing it comparing the pictures on their site, but hopefully that is correct because I couldn’t keep last year’s Life model because it narrowed too quickly on my third toe.
OMG! I love them all! Need a pair for me and the BF asap!
Any chance of a review of the new Minimus Life?
I’d like to make an informed decision on the new model versus last year’s model.
These look great, but I’m stuck with the same old problem regarding minimalist shoes: why do they cost so much? I’d love to have a pair, but I can’t justify paying over $100. For me, the make or break price point for minimalist shoes is $75.
I have really narrow feet (like too narrow for Trail gloves even) and I got a pair of these today and HATED them. the sole is too narrow and my feet would overflow over them. It felt like I was standing on two thin metal ribs. My feet were hurting after 10 minutes of just walking in them. I returned them 2 hours after buying them. The rest of the shoe felt a little big since my feet are narrow too.
Really sucked since I had been waiting months to get them. Oh well.
On a side note, the NB 730’s are pretty rad. I got them when I exchanged the Zero’s and they feel like an ever so slightly more padded version of it. The liner actually feels nicer and the foot bed is wider. It also has a roomier toe box for toe splay. I wish they were a little more soft but I bet they will break in nicely.
@alex
Will review the new Minimus Life asap. Initially I’m still liking last years model better even with the 4mm drop. They are lighter and I think I like the old aesthetic.
Those new Minimus Life are indeed disappointing. The strap is odd. I’d just buy the original Lifes but they don’t come in wide 🙁
I just noticed that you labeled the colorways wrong a bit. The light blue one for the trail is women’s but you wrote “First three colorways are men’s; furthest right colorway is women’s”.
@Justin
Thanks for the impressions! This is a great site.
I purchased the prior incarnation of the Minimus trail. I like it except for one big issue, a very aggressive arch support built in. Does the new 00 have this arch support or is it flat inside?
I am wearing size M48 vibram kso what size should i take from the new balance minimus-trail-zero ???
they are awsome… i feel like running in heaven 🙂