Adidas Micro Pacer

Adidas Micro Pacer This high- tech running shoe came with an endless number of new features. Its look was on a whole other plain: like something from the future. The color, shoelace cover and microcomputer were all unique. The original model had a sensor in the big-toe area, which was triggered whenever the wearer pushed off the ground. Whenever they would stop running, the Micro Pacer reacted accordingly. The microcomputer calculated distance, average pace and even calorie burn. At that time, having such a feature on a shoe was mind-blowing! Adidas stopped producing the Micro Pacer in 1987, but reissued the model in 2001 in the silver colourway, and in all white in 2002. Since then, numerous amounts of colourways have hit the market, and in 2003, a special edition was released, packed away in a wooden box.

Adidas released the Micro Pacer at a launch tied in with L.A. Olympics. What hit the stores was so far ahead of its time that its initial failure isn’t at all surprising. Aesthetically, the silver leather shoe was shocking. Sneakers simply weren’t silver back then. (actually, the earliest models cam in a more mundane light brown color.) Another first for adidas was the use of color - a shocking red- in the blocks in the soles. Adidas thought of every detail: on the right foot was a small pocket for your change or keys.

However, this shoe’s main claim to fame was its innovative on-board technology. The shoe shoe was so advanced that a pair is now displayed in the Computer Museum History Centre in Boston. The technology that caused such a stir was a sensor in the toe connected to a microprocessor embedded in the tongue of the left shoe. The face of the computer resembles a digital LCD watch face. After entering information into the face unit, it calculates the speed, distance and calorific outfit of te wearer. One drawback, however, its that the clock is only good until the end of 2009.

Like other innovations that are too different for the average buyer, the Micro Pacer was not a big seller initially and was discontinued. The shoe was also expensive (the first to retail at a more than $100 in the United States).

However, in time, demand grew for this design classic. Adidas reissued it in 2000, with only 600 individually numbered shoes being released on the first run. The demand for the Micro Pacer is still huge, with the sneaker often seen changing hands for considerably more than its original price tag.