Topo Athletic Cyclone 2

Name: Topo Athletic Cyclone 2
Brand: Topo Athletic
Rating: 5 (5 reviews)

Daily trainer · Neutral · Road · 7 oz · 5mm drop · 27/22mm stack

Discontinued — we no longer see this shoe in stock. The Topo Athletic Cyclone 3 replaced it

How it ranks

The Topo Athletic Cyclone 2 is one of the strongest daily trainers in our data. Comfort and cushioning are its strongest sub-ratings. The rating rests on 5 runner reviews and 2 other rated shoes in the Cyclone product line. Another 7 reviews would set the confidence on this shoe's own reviews.

Excellent

96/100

Overall

Excellent 96

Comfort

Exceptional 98

Cushioning

Very good 92

Value

Very good 90

Appearance

Good 84

Durability

Good 84

Confidence

How settled the rating is against every other rated shoe. A shoe can rate high on confidence with relatively few reviews of its own when its product line has a long record and external ratings from retailer sites agree. Confidence will score low when we have few ratings or when runners disagree.

See the product line's history

Confidence

79/100

Moderate 79

What runners say

“Light, easy to get rolling in, comfortable for easy jogging, feels good at threshold efforts, plenty of cushion for long runs, responsive”

5/5 Full review 30 mpw training for 5K and 10K came from the PUMA Liberate Nitro

“Stride length increased by 6 inches and frequency by 8 strides/minute (COROS tracked)”

5/5 Full review 20 mpw training for 5K and 10K came from the New Balance FuelCell Rebel v3

“Hugs the midfoot and heel and allows for toe splay”

5/5 Full review 30 mpw training for a half marathon came from the HOKA Kawana

“A reasonably priced shoe with an almost spike-like upper; plenty of toe splay room”

5/5 Full review 40 mpw training for a half marathon

“Light and fast but also can go very slow and easy”

5/5 Full review 20 mpw came from the HOKA Mach 5

“Flared midsole in both heel and forefoot for a modicum of stability”

5/5 Full review 40 mpw training for a half marathon

“Pebax midsole heel to toe and not too sloppy”

5/5 Full review 40 mpw training for a half marathon

“Heel is ideal for a person with Haglunds”

5/5 Full review 30 mpw training for 5K and 10K came from the PUMA Liberate Nitro

“Pebax foam is light”

5/5 Full review 30 mpw training for a half marathon came from the HOKA Kawana

“Gives a feeling of control”

5/5 Full review 20 mpw came from the HOKA Mach 5

Prefer this shoe over another

100% 5/5

Where to buy

No offers available

Affiliate links included. They never affect our ratings.

Prices updated daily. Last checked Sep 14.

Pros

At 7 oz, reviewers find it fast and still fine for easy running.
Reviewers praise the roomy toe box and the secure midfoot and heel hold.
All five reviewers so far rate comfort 5 out of 5, and one calls them an extension of their feet.

Cons

Durability is the lowest-rated dimension at 4.0 out of 5 across the five reviews so far.
One reviewer takes a few runs to get comfortable in them.

Cyclone 2 rates 96. This shoe has moderate certainty. See how we rate shoes.

Better Shoes Rating of prior versions of the Topo Athletic Cyclone

Each dot is one version of the Cyclone, placed by its rating and release year. The gold dot is this shoe.

Rating

40 60 80 100

92 2021 96 2023 85 2025

Release year

We use the reviews of past versions to inform this shoe’s rating. See why.

Cyclone 3

2025 · 0 reviews

85 Good

17 Confidence
Cyclone 2 This shoe

2023 · 5 reviews

96 Excellent

79 Confidence
Cyclone

2021 · 2 reviews

92 Very good

58 Confidence

Reader Ratings

5 ratings

5/5 5

4/5 0

3/5 0

2/5 0

1/5 0

See written reviews Write a review

Specs & fit

Sizing and ride details at a glance.

Weight: 7 oz
Release: 2023 Q1
Stack Height: 27mm heel - 22mm toe
Drop Height: 5mm

Runner reviews

Write a review

Great all around road shoe. Flexible heel counter good for haglunds

5/5

Overall

Light, easy to get rolling in, comfortable for easy jogging, feels good at threshold efforts, plenty of cushion for long runs, responsive. Good toe box. Heel is ideal for a person with Haglunds. I could race in it 10k- half. I would rate this as a top 5 shoe I've owned (runner for 13 years)

Anonymous runner · Jun 14, 2024

30 mpw training for 5K and 10K came from the PUMA Liberate Nitro

Comfort: 5/5
Cushioning: 5/5
Durability: 4/5
Appearance: 4/5
Value: 5/5

Pebax midsole is great

5/5

Overall

I got this shoe to replace my NB Rebel V3 (400+ miles) while I wait for the V4. This is an awesome shoe! From COROS watch tracking my stride length has increase by 6 inches and frequency by 8 strides/minute. I'm 77 and have been running for 60+ years, I've gotten slower so this is a big help to me.

Harrier46 · Jan 26, 2024

20 mpw training for 5K and 10K came from the New Balance FuelCell Rebel v3

Comfort: 5/5
Cushioning: 5/5
Durability: 4/5
Appearance: 4/5
Value: 4/5

Great shoe

5/5

Overall

Took a few runs to get comfortable but now feels like they are just an extension of my feet. Light and fast but also can go very slow and easy. Give me a feeling of control. I’m very injury prone (knee, hip) and these are my go to shoes right now.

Natalie · Nov 26, 2023

20 mpw came from the HOKA Mach 5

Comfort: 5/5
Cushioning: 4/5
Durability: 3/5
Appearance: 5/5
Value: 3/5

superfoam w/ a super price

5/5

Overall

Honestly, why hasn't this been done before? A reasonably priced shoe w/ an almost spike-like upper; plenty of toe splay room; flared midsole in both heel and forefoot for a modicum of stability; Pebax midsole - heel to toe and not too sloppy; stack height of around 23/28; what's not to like?

Have been in the Asics Evoride Speed (very nice w/ discount pricing), adios 8, and Mach 5 - but, as most of the shoe tubers agree on, this Cyclone does it all - whatever you throw at it. Nicely done, Tony Post designers.

Anonymous runner · Aug 10, 2023

40 mpw training for a half marathon

Comfort: 5/5
Cushioning: 5/5
Durability: 5/5
Appearance: 5/5
Value: 5/5

Lightweight comfort and speed

5/5

Overall

Appreciate the way the Cyclone 2 hugs the mid foot and heel and allows for toe splay --the Pebax foam is light --great shoe for training or racing shorter distances

Karen Gillespie · Jun 25, 2023

30 mpw training for a half marathon came from the HOKA Kawana