Imagine a paper-thin shoe whose only support comes from threads. This is Flywire. A revolutionary technology, its high-strength threads work like cables on a suspension bridge with support engineered precisely where a foot needs it. Flywire allowed Nike to make its lightest and strongest footwear ever, transforming how footwear is engineered by reducing the amount of material required for the upper of a shoe to the bare minimum. Thanks to this innovation, track spikes with Flywire are now under 100g – a weight never before achieved – without compromising on durability or integrity and support.
When Asafa Powell saw his long distance track and field brethren wearing the new sub-100g Zoom Victory Track Spike, he asked Nike designers if they could make a version for power sprinters. The fit of the shoe was created by taking a 3-D scan of Powell’s foot in the Nike Sport Research Lab. From there, the Vectran fiber placement was adjusted because Powell is on his toes for the duration of his sub 10 second race. In all, the Aerofly’s Flywire construction features 65 supportive cables per foot. The collar is constructed with a new lobe technology that is lightweight and comfortable. The soft lobes fill the space between the calcaneous and the maleolus bones making sure that the foot is locked down to the plate. Finishing touches include an aerodynamic upper that was wind tunnel tested to reduce as much drag as possible, since Powell’s legs can move up to 100km per hour. The final weight of the Aerofly is an astonishing 186 grams, roughly 25% lighter than the average power sprint spike.
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