Adidas’s Mysterious New Sneaker Is Ready to Reclaim On’s Signature Look

It’d be irresponsible to credit the explosive growth and success of On Running on a single design choice.

Yet it’s also hard to downplay the impact of the company’s signature CloudTec in distinguishing and defining On’s sneakers from established competitors.

The unique, tunneled outsoles, combined with the clever “cloud” branding, look futuristic and light, inspiring instant curiosity about how different they might feel underfoot compared to other shoes.

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But as innovative and appealing as CloudTec is, On wasn’t the first footwear brand to eschew midsole designs that relied on a single foam layer.

In fact, roughly a decade before On came on the scene with the release of the Cloudracer in 2012, Nike and Adidas were locked in a battle to popularize similarly novel shoe designs via their Shox and Megaride sneaker lines.

Now, 20 years later, as has been typical in the fashion world until recently, what was once cool is becoming on trend again.

And as such, Adidas appears to be seizing the opportunity to revitalize Megaride in ways that should remind the larger footwear community of the three stripes’ earlier innovative contributions to sneaker design.

A Sneak Peek from Trusted Source

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Adidas’s latest addition to its reborn Megaride line was first revealed online by Tyler Mansour, a.k.a. Arabstotle, a well-known sneaker photographer whose career included a stint as senior photographer for Kith before, and uses the handle Arab_Lincoln on Instagram.

As is typical of his work, Mansour snapped and shared various compelling images of the sneaker from all angles as part of the reveal, alongside a note that appears to be from the marketing team at Adidas Originals, noting that the shoe was part of only a sample run of 60 pairs.

It Goes by Many Names

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Adidas’s men’s Megaride lineup currently consists of three different sneakers.

There’s the original Megaride, the Megaride 01, and the Predator Megaride, the latter of which is inspired by one of the three stripes’ most iconic soccer cleat lines from the early 2000s.

However, a few other iterations have also appeared since the Megaride was revived in 2024 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Adidas A3 Megaride.

It’s still unclear, however, what this new silhouette will be called when it officially goes on sale.

In the note that Adidas provided to Mansour, the shoe is called the Mega X. But in the caption posted alongside the photo gallery, Mansour calls the shoe the Megaride AG.

What’s Different?

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Compared to the current standard Megaride (shown above), the newly teased version stands out in a few key ways.

In true 2000s style, it’s a much busier shoe overall.

Each of the brand’s signature stripes appears outlined in metallic-colored borders, blending with other metallic striped waves starting at the toe.

A yellow-colored and semi-transparent plastic section also replaces the perforated base bordering the distinctive outsole on the standard version.

The original’s traditional flat shoe laces have likewise been swapped for more modern round versions, held in place by prominent lacing loops around the sneaker’s tongue.

Pricing and Availability

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At this point, little else is confirmed or known about the release beyond its two possible names and the fact that the colorway shown is part of a very limited run.

Usually, it’d be safe to think that a strategic reveal like this would imply the shoe was imminently destined for release.

But as Matt Varga at Sneaker News astutely points out, Mansour has a history of revealing Adidas silhouettes far in advance. He originally posted early images of Adidas’ ultra-futuristic Climacool sneaker 8 months before they officially went on sale.

As such, there’s a chance the Megaride AG or X might not reach shelves until late 2025, or even 2026 if history is any guide.

We’ll be sure to share updates as more information comes though.

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