Adidas extends Adios Pro 5 outsole after wear complaints

Adidas has changed the outsole on the Adios Pro 5 to deal with wear some runners were seeing, according to a Men's Health review of the shoe that is being passed around on r/RunningShoeGeeks.

According to that post, Adidas confirmed it will extend the outsole coverage on the model. A company rep is quoted saying the brand made "some small changes to the latest Pro 5 model to address an issue with cosmetic color wear that has been affecting a small number of runners," and that runners can expect the same performance "but with an extended outsole for extra durability to keep the shoe looking its best."

Asked what the change actually was, the rep specified there have been "some minor modifications to the LIGHTTRAXION outsole to provide more coverage and therefore reduce any risk of cosmetic color abrasion." LIGHTTRAXION is the name adidas uses for the rubber on the bottom of the shoe, and more coverage simply means more of the foam underneath is protected from the road.

What is actually being claimed

Two separate things are in play here and it is worth keeping them apart. Adidas is describing a looks problem, color coming off the outsole on a small number of pairs, fixed by covering more of it. That is the only explanation on the record in the source.

The pushback is one poster. The r/RunningShoeGeeks post that flagged the review says the thing that stood out was that adidas is "still not admitting that in some cases it was more than cosmetic wear," and wonders how much the controversy will hurt the shoe's popularity. That is one person's read, not a survey of owners, and the source does not include photos, a count of affected pairs, or any independent testing of how fast the outsole wore down.

What it means if you own a pair

If you already have Adios Pro 5s, nothing in the source says anything about a recall, a replacement program or a refund. The change is to the latest version of the model, so it applies to shoes coming off the line, not the ones in your rotation. The source does not give a price, a date, or a way to tell a changed pair from an earlier one at the shop.

So the honest summary is short. Adidas quietly tweaked a race shoe mid-run, said it was about how the shoe looks, and the only challenge to that so far comes from an anonymous poster who thinks the wear went deeper than color. Anyone deciding whether that matters is, for now, choosing between a brand statement and one person's doubt.