Diadora NUCLEO 2 GR Gravel Shoe

Review by Erin Trail

The NUCLEO 2 GR Gravel Shoe is Diadora’s all terrain shoe offering, excellent on surfaces ranging from gravel roads, light trails and even pavement.

Technical Details

• Unisex sizing
• ANIMA midsole, increasing midsole responsiveness by 30%, while reducing its weight by 20%
• A multi-density DDattivo insole, giving the shoe a comfortable ride
• 5 mm drop
• Neutral foot design
• Special Duratech 5000 wear-resistant compound outsole
• Weight of 320 gr / 11.3 oz +/- 3% (US size 9)

Detailed Review

I’ve been wearing Diadora NUCLEO 2 GR Gravel Shoes on weekday lunch runs on mixed gravel + pavement trails, on casual walks and on gravel runs. These shoes fall into the “daily trainer” range of my shoe collection.

Sometimes unisex sized shoes don’t fit my narrow female feet very well.  I’ve found that the Diadora NUCLEO 2 GR Gravel Shoes to actually fit well.  The accommodate my special insoles without issue, allowing plenty of volume.  The shoe’s heel design has a pretty substantial heel collar, both in terms of padding and height. The shoe’s tongue is also on the large side compared to many of the other shoes in my herd.  I wore these shoes with a variety of sock heights and was pleased to see that the collar and tongue didn’t irritate or cause any issues.  The fabric of both of these shoe elements is on the softer side, so my skin was fine, even with no-show socks.

The Diadora NUCLEO 2 GR Gravel Shoes look like they’d be on the heavier side with their substantial looking stack height and design.  In my hand and on my foot, the shoes feel lighter than they appear.  They aren’t light – but they are a nice weight that’s very in line with other daily training shoes.

Underfoot, the Diadora NUCLEO 2 GR Gravel Shoes are a medium to firm cushion.  They’re not as squishy as the Salomon Aero Glide 3 GRVL or several Hoka options.  I did feel like the Diadora ANIMA midsole provided the right amount of cushioning and responsiveness, however, and my legs and feet always felt great during and after running in them.

The upper materials are surprisingly breathable. Again, they look like they’d be on the heavier side but I could always feel airflow across my feet, especially when running in open areas that had a breeze.

The Duratech 5000 outsole might be my favorite part of the Diadora NUCLEO 2 GR Gravel Shoes.  Trail shoes usually feel really weird on pavement, almost like the lugs are sticking or smearing underfoot. Alternately, road shoes don’t perform great on dirt roads or loose surfaces, losing traction easily when things get dirty.  I found the outsole of the Diadora NUCLEO 2 GR Gravel Shoes to be the best of both worlds.  They feel natural underfoot on paved trails but were more than capable to handle most types of non-technical singletrack that I run on.

Closing Thoughts

The Diadora NUCLEO 2 GR Gravel Shoes are pretty close to an all purpose, all terrain running shoe. During my testing, there wasn’t much that these shoes couldn’t handle.  They feel equally good on pavement as they do on dirt, with a comfortable midsole and “just right” outsole. These shoe’s wouldn’t be my choice for speedwork or racing, but they are a great choice as an everyday trainer and workhorse.  They’re also a great travel option when you’re looking for shoes that you can wear playing tourist with the bonus of getting in some run-exploration miles.

The Diadora NUCLEO 2 GR Gravel Shoes are in unisex sizing, ranging from men’s 4.5 to 15 and are available in two colorways.

Erin Trail

Trail Boss of Stoke