SC Rebel 1 vs Pegasus Premium 1

The SC Rebel is New Balance's carbon-plated super trainer: a running shoe built to handle your long runs and faster sessions during the week, then line up with you on race day. It pairs Infinion foam with a carbon plate on a 40mm heel and 36mm forefoot with a 4mm drop, and at a listed 218g it is light for a shoe with this much underfoot. Put the numbers next to the SC Elite 4, New Balance's marathon racer, and they read almost identically: same stack, same drop, and the Rebel is listed lighter. At £180 against £280, that is the story. In our view it suits runners who want one plated shoe for tempo work, marathon-pace long runs and the race itself, rather than an expensive racer saved for a handful of days a year. It is not an easy-day shoe or a stability shoe, and the low drop asks a lot of your calves.

Nike built the Pegasus Premium around bounce, and on that one point reviewers agree it delivers. The full-length Air Zoom unit in its triple-layer midsole gives a springy, trampoline-like ride that most testers enjoyed. The trouble is everything around it. At 308g it's heavy for a super trainer, the fit is narrow, and several reviewers found the tall platform unstable. RunRepeat rated it great and another tester would tell you to try it, but Doctors of Running were far harsher, and one of their testers couldn't run in it at all because the tapered toe box pressed on the big toe.

At £190 RRP that is a lot of compromise. We see it as a fun shoe for easy and steady runs if you're a neutral runner with narrow to medium feet, not a versatile super trainer. If you want Nike bounce in a lighter package, the Zoom Fly 6 is easier to live with, and the Vomero 18 makes more sense for plain easy mileage.