Adidas Terrex Agravic Speed Ultra review

After testing the Adidas Terrex Agravic Speed Ultra on trails and in the lab, we found that it's:

• A true trail supershoe built with high-end materials from heel to toe.
• Perfect for ultra races with minimal elevation and technical terrain, delivering outstanding cushioning and leg protection.
• A crazy ride for midfoot and forefoot strikers, excelling in both training and racing.
• A reliable option for marathoners seeking a durable shoe for long training runs on dirt roads and gravel paths.

We believe that runners with wide feet or those who prefer extra room for toe splay should steer clear of the Adidas Terrex Agravic Speed Ultra. In our experience, the narrow toebox feels restrictive, especially during long efforts. Instead, for training-focused runners, we suggest the Nike Zegama 2, while those seeking a race-day option may find the Altra Mont Blanc Carbon a much better fit.

Additionally, we found that this shoe’s design and aggressive rocker make it a poor choice for heel strikers. For a more suitable alternative, we recommend the Hoka Tecton X 3, which not only offers superior rearfoot support but also delivers the same explosive energy return and a wonderful Vibram outsole.

Adidas lists this shoe with a 38 mm heel, but our measurements at World Athletics’ official points revealed just 30.6 mm. The reason? Its ultra-rockered design sinks the heel significantly—something we’ve only seen in a handful of the hundreds of shoes we’ve tested in the lab.

Due to this aggressive geometry, we strongly believe it’s a poor choice for heel strikers, as we noted earlier. Instead, it’s far better suited for those landing where the stack truly reaches 38 mm—just behind the midfoot.

The forefoot measures 30.3 mm—just 0.3 mm off from Adidas’ stated spec. This accurately reflects the ride, as we found it superbly cushioned in this area when compared to other trail shoes, and making it far better suited for midfoot and especially forefoot strikers.

According to our measurements, the actual drop comes out to just 0.3 mm, but that only applies to heel strikers landing at the very back.

For everyone else, we can guarantee that this shoe feels more like a 6 mm or 8 mm drop.

With many brands incorporating their top-tier foams into trail shoes, Adidas needed to step up—and in our view, they absolutely delivered.

The Adidas Terrex Agravic Speed Ultra features a full-length Lightstrike Pro midsole, loaded with superior energy return. As expected, it retains the somewhat firm nature of this material due to its dense composition, which we confirmed with a 20.5 HA reading on our durometer.

We’ve long believed that Lightstrike Pro is a perfect match for trail running due to its ultra-durable composition and naturally stable feel. Finally, Adidas has brought it to the trails, and it performs exactly as we anticipated.

Lightstrike Pro is crafted from TPEE, an advanced foam that outperforms EVA by maintaining its properties in cold conditions. In our tests, it became only 22% firmer after 20 minutes in the freezer—a good result for temperature resilience.

The insole is slightly thinner than average at just 3.7 mm.

The rocker on this shoe is extreme, creating a wild ride that some midfoot strikers will find exhilarating. However, based on our tests, extreme heel strikers will struggle to find a natural rhythm, as the aggressive curve disrupts their stride mechanics.

In the forefoot, the toe spring initiates early, generating a continuous forward roll. Through our evaluation, we believe that runners who thrive in highly-rockered designs will love this unique geometry for a trail racer, while those preferring a more natural-feeling ride may want to buy the Nike Ultrafly.

The Terrex Agravic Speed Ultra features EnergyRods, but unlike Adidas' road racers, this one uses an X-shaped design with four rods instead of five and a split-heel construction.

Made from plastic rather than carbon fibre, this setup prioritises stability while maintaining flexibility—avoiding the extreme stiffness of carbon-based EnergyRods and offering a better balance for trail running.

This shoe boasts an ultra-aggressive geometry, and we can confirm the fit follows suit. Adidas pushed the limits with an exceptionally snug midfoot, so to quantify the toebox space, we filled it with our custom gel solution and allowed it to set.

We discovered a measurement of 94.8 mm, which is slightly below average, but this number alone doesn’t fully capture the restrictive feel we experienced while running. Let's keep testing then!

Our second measurement provides a much clearer picture of this shoe’s fit and highlights why taking multiple readings (rather than just one or... none) is essential.

At 70.5 mm, we discovered one of the most pointy toeboxes we’ve ever recorded in the lab across both road and trail shoes.

On the positive side for runners with high-volume feet, we found a generous vertical space of 27.7 mm—an essential feature for ultra races.

This deeper toebox helps prevent black toenails and the discomfort that comes from running long distances for extended periods.

In our experience, assessing the stability of this shoe isn’t simple at all—it varies significantly based on foot strike.

Midfoot and forefoot strikers benefit from the broad front platform, making the ride feel relatively secure. However, heel strikers may struggle despite the oversized midsole sidewalls, as the rear lacks support.

With its PEBA-based EnergyRods, the Adidas Terrex Agravic Speed Ultra avoids the extreme stiffness of carbon-fibre plates while still maintaining a well-balanced torsional rigidity for added stability. Based on our manual assessment, it scored a solid 4/5.

The heel counter is reminiscent of a race-day supershoe offering extreme flexibility and almost no structural support. We found it to be highly minimal at 1 out of 5, providing barely any resistance to movement and leaving the heel largely unsupported.

In our experience, this is a key weakness of the shoe. The padding in this area is remarkably scarce, and the heel lockdown is one of the biggest shortcomings. In our view, Adidas should focus on improving both slippage prevention and debris protection for version 2.

The shape of this shoe is just crazy—featuring an ultra-wide forefoot that forced us to extend our digital calipers all the way to 120.4 mm, which is staggering. In our experience, this exceptionally broad platform made forefoot striking feel remarkably stable and well-supported.

On the flip side, the heel measures a narrower 86.1 mm, but there’s an important factor to consider—the midfoot is wasp-waist slim. This exaggerated taper makes the heel feel even narrower than it actually is, despite being only slightly below average in width.

In our assessment, Adidas made the right call by opting for PEBA instead of carbon fibre for the EnergyRods. We measured just 28.9N in our stiffness test, which is far from an unforgiving, iron-like feel, and makes the Speed Ultra a solid choice for those seeking a more forgiving ride in a supershoe-like package.

Weighing just 9.15 oz or 259g, the Terrex Agravic Speed Ultra is impressively light for its stack height considering that it's a trail shoe. However, Adidas sacrificed all upper comfort to achieve this, leaving it up to you whether the trade-off is worth it.

The outsole of a trail shoe must balance grip and durability, and the upper faces a similar challenge—combining breathability with longevity. Prioritising one often sacrifices the other, so we analysed airflow first and will examine durability later.

We were impressed with the Adidas Terrex Agravic Speed Ultra's performance in our smoke-pumping test, where it scored an outstanding 4/5. This level of breathability makes it a solid choice for ultra races in hot conditions, ensuring efficient heat dissipation over long distances.

Inspecting the upper under a bright light revealed Adidas’ approach—an ultra-thin mesh similar to what we see in marathon racing shoes, reinforced with extra layers in the midfoot and heel.

Using our microscope, we found Adidas integrated almost-invisible translucent fibres into the blue yarns, creating a lightweight and breathable material. However, comfort takes a clear backseat here.

In fact, padding is nearly nonexistent, with only two thin foam strips in the heel area. In our experience, this provides minimal support and comfort. 

Considering the impressive airflow we observed in our breathability test, we were shocked to award another 4/5 after testing the upper with the Dremel. That’s a remarkable achievement for such an ultra-thin material!

The heel padding secured another 4/5, reinforcing our belief that this shoe is really built for the long haul.

The outsole is another standout feature of this shoe, crafted through Adidas' long-standing collaboration with Continental. This high-performance rubber delivers exceptional grip, making it one of the best trail-ready compounds on the market.

What really caught our attention is the nearly full-coverage rubber layout, with only a central forefoot void designed to enhance torsional flexibility. That's quite impressive given the low weight of the shoe.

Everywhere else, the ultra-grippy Continental rubber dominates, measuring an average 83.8 HC on our durometer.

Continental consistently performs well in terms of durability, and in our final Dremel test today, the tool managed to wear down just 1.0 mm of rubber from the lug.

While not groundbreaking, we think it's still a solid result.

The outsole—excluding the lugs—is on the thinner side at just 1.4 mm. While this sacrifices some protection from sharp terrain, this shoe prioritizes performance, and with ample foam underfoot, we believe it's a good trade-off.

We measured relatively shallow lugs—just 2.5 mm in the centre, increasing to 3 mm on the sides—making it best suited for smoother, less rugged terrain. In fact, it really shines on loose dirt roads and gravel surfaces.

Like every design choice, this comes with trade-offs. The Agravic Speed Ultra thrives on non-technical trails, but when conditions get rough, it won’t be the most reliable companion. In other words: Adidas clearly designed this shoe for long ultras where technical sections are rare, like Western States.

The Adidas Terrex Agravic Speed Ultra comes with a long name and a hefty price tag, yet it delivers a glorious ride on easy, non-steep trails. From our perspective, its premium materials justify the cost—especially compared to pricier competitors—but not everyone will be eager to spend over £200 on a trail shoe.

Reflective details would have been a reasonable addition given the price of the shoe, but Adidas skipped them.

The tongue prioritizes performance over comfort. With just 2.9 mm of padding from a thin foam layer, it's crucial to tie the laces carefully—especially for long distances—to avoid unwanted pressure on the instep.

Most trail shoes feature fully gusseted tongues, but the Adidas Terrex Agravic Speed Ultra opts for a semi-gusseted design. This reinforces the idea that it's built for easy trails, prioritising weight reduction over debris protection.

Most trail shoes feature a heel tab, but Adidas omitted it—likely to shave off a little more weight.

The insole lacks perforations, making it rather basic—but at least it's easily replaceable with a better one!

At RunRepeat, we purchase every shoe ourselves—ensuring that we can speak freely and without bias. This independence allows us to be honest, which is why we've often called out Adidas for their lacklustre laces in premium running shoes like the Adizero Adios Pro 4 or the Adizero EVO SL.

However, for the first time in a recent Adidas racing shoe, we found high-quality laces. These are reminiscent of those in the ASICS Metaspeed Sky Paris and Nike Alphafly 3, and completely won us over. That’s the right move, Adidas—hopefully, your next road shoes carry over this improvement.