The adidas City Cup combines the style of the 90s with modern skate technology. We’ve tested how that feels with our 20-hour wear test of this new adidas silhouette.
First Impression
As can be expected to from adidas, the City Cup shows great workmanship. All materials are of exceptional quality, all seams are in perfect order and innovative features are used in a clever way.
The removable insole is a plus if you like to skate special kinds of insoles. Of course, we used the standard ones to see how the skate shoe feels directly out of the box.
First Session
It only took a very short break-in period to get used to the adidas City Cup. This shoe offers a snug fit and great comfort from the first moment you wear them. Thanks to the herringbone profile that even wraps around the midsole, you get immense grip and flick.
After just two hours, the first signs of wear could be seen in the Ollie area because there are two seams running right through it. The great support of the adidas City Cup was very impressive right from the start. It simply feels great and safe to skate this shoe, which is additionally very comfortable.
Durability
5 hours
The adidas City Cup fit perfectly and wrapped around my feet like a second skin after a short period of time. Only the quick wear on the Ollie area was a bit of a downer at this early phase of the wear test. Additionally, a small amount of wear could be seen in the heel area of the outsole. boardfeel and grip remained great and because of its low weight, the adidas City Cup felt very good to skate in.
10 hours
Even at higher gaps, the impact protection really worked well, and the outsole gave sufficient support. The fit was still perfect, and the shoe simply offered a lot of comfort – flexibility and strength at the same time. The wear at the Ollie area kept growing and the ankle seam got lacerated as well.
15 hours
The fit remained great as well as the impact protection. Only the Ollie area seemed to take more of a beating, which resulted in a little hole after approximately 17 hours. In comparison, the outsole showed no wear at all and still had substantial grip. Whilst the ankle seam continued to tear open, the joy of skating the adidas City Cup kept growing.
20 hours
Sadly, after twenty hours the Ollie area had a decent hole in it. On the other hand, the outsole looked nearly the same as it did in the very first session and still provided a lot of grip on rough surfaces as well as on super clean concrete skate parks. The ankle seam ripped further and continued to do so. All in all, the adidas City Cup became a bit softer but still fits snugly around the feet.
Points: 7/10
Fit & Comfort
Since skate shoes from adidas are known to run a bit bigger than expected, I ordered the adidas City Cup half a size smaller than usual. My first doubts were that the shoe was too tight, especially on the sides. However, those diminished right after the first few pushes. Thanks to the mesh liner, the shoe wraps around the feet tightly and only needs a very short break-in period. Thus, it offers a great amount of flexibility and comfort.
This feeling persisted the entire duration of the test period. It simply always felt great to have the adidas City Cup on my feet. Even after 20 hours, the fit remained stable and the shoe only got a little bit softer. Altogether, the adidas City Cup offers a lot of comfort, great support on hard landings, and a good stability of its form.
Points: 9/10
Performance & Break-In
It took less than 10 minutes to feel comfortable in the adidas City Cup. It is therefore almost exaggerated to speak of a period of adjustment. Fit, grip and flick proved to be excellent on this skate shoe – technical skaters, in particular, will be satisfied with the adidas City Cup. The outsole keeps you rock-solid and the raised herringbone profile provides a very good flick all around.
If you usually skate high gaps and long stair sets, you will get good support and a sufficient impact protection – but in my opinion, the focus of the adidas City Cup is more on grip and flexibility. Only the ollie area worried me because of the seam in the wear area, but thanks to several layers of material, it lasted almost until the end.
Points: 7/10
Boardfeel & Grip
The cup sole with the vulcanized midsole wrap provides an excellent board feel and you always get a very good response from the board. The grip of the adidas City Cup is outstanding and the sole showed no weakness during the entire wear test. The profile is barely worn even after facing a total of three fresh setups & griptapes and shows only slight signs of wear in the heel area.
Points: 10/10
Cushioning & Impact Support
As already mentioned, I think the adidas City Cup is more about grip, comfort & flick. Nevertheless, the vulcanized outsole of the shoe, especially due to the midsole wraps, provides sufficient impact protection in gaps and harder landings. Regular skate park stair sets are no problem either and the adidas City Cup proves to be a very good all-around skate shoe. If you’re not regularly exceeding the 10-stairs limit, the adidas City Cup is a safe choice.
Points: 8/10
Conclusion
First things first: skating in the adidas City Cup feels really good. Whenever I put the shoe on, the desire for a session rose even more. The fit and comfort are excellent, and flick and grip were outstanding even after the end of the test period.
The fact that the Ollie area showed a good amount of wear relatively quickly is in my opinion, due to the seam running through there. Nevertheless, the multi-layered material lasted a long time and had to endure a great number of ollies and three fresh griptapes. Since the shoe hardly suffered otherwise, I will continue to skate the adidas City Cup despite the small hole.
Points: 8/10
Note: I am not very much into flip tricks. My skateboarding is characterized by a lot of Ollies, gaps, a lot of grinds and shove-its. That said, your wear profile might be slightly different if you’re doing 100 Kickflips during a regular session.
+
- perfect fit
- massive grip & flick
- very durable outsole
- good impact protection
- stylish design
–
- High wear at the ollie area
- Lacerated ankle seam
