Daily Trainer

Diadora Nucleo 2

Diadora's neutral daily trainer — a low 5 mm drop over an Anima midsole, for long, fluid runs at an ordinary pace.

The Nucleo 2 is Diadora's plain neutral trainer, rebuilt around the Anima midsole. The heel stack is 35 mm and the drop is a low 5 mm, and that drop is the thing to check before you buy: if you have only ever run in 8 or 10 mm shoes, your calves will notice the difference for a week or two.

It suits you if you want one road shoe for most of your week and you already get on with a low drop. The midsole is wider than the first Nucleo's and the outsole rubber runs further along the medial heel, so it holds a tired stride better than the numbers suggest. A wide-fit version exists.

It is not fast and it is not a race shoe. At 280 grams it is an ordinary weight doing an ordinary job.