Brooks Glycerin GTS 19 vs Glycerin 19 vs Transcend 7 Comparison Shoe Review
Josh reviews the high mileage Brooks Glycerin GTS 19 running shoes that fit spot-on into the stability category, providing overpronation guidance to motivate you to go the extra mile.
The Brooks Transcend 7 paved the way for the Brooks Glycerin GTS 19 – setting a precedent for an ever-reliable blend of support and cushioning, now with a new name and refined fit and feel.
The Brooks Glycerin GTS 19 shares much of its engineering with its neutral family member, the Brooks Glycerin 19. This includes a full ground contact outsole with strategic zones of harder wearing rubber and super plush full-length DNA Loft cushioning.
What sets it apart is the GuideRails technology of the midsole – a support system that reduces the rate of pronation to align your body into its most efficient motion path. In terms of feel, it’s a softer and slightly more flexible sensation underfoot over the Transcend 7 to elevate your comfort out on the road.
Next to the Brooks Glycerin 19, the upper of the Glycerin GTS 19 is identical with both featuring breathable engineered mesh and a more dialled in toe box compared to the Transcend 7.
Check out the review with full transcript below.
Hey guys, Josh here from Sportitude Running and it's shoe review time. I'm going to be introducing a new shoe to you today and it's the Brooks Glycerin GTS 19. This shoe has taken over from where the Brooks Transcend 7 has left off. What that means for you the runner is a little bit of confusion regarding names.
However, let me get into today's review because we're going to talk about the engineering changes from the Brooks Transcend 7 to the Glycerin GTS 19 and also talk about the differences between the Brooks Glycerin 19 and the Glycerin GTS 19.
This will help you understand what each shoe does and who its targeted market is. It will hopefully give you all the information you need at home to potentially throw this into your daily training. Without further ado let's get stuck in.
Runner Profile
First things first, let's profile the runner that could be considering the Glycerin GTS 19. It’s a stable running shoe and Brooks are using their GuideRail technology on that medial side so it's catering for a mild overpronator.
We're talking about the runner that makes contact on the entry point and as they transition through to midstance, there might be a little bit of bias towards that medial side, resulting in mild overpronation as you get ready to come out of your gait cycle.
We might have a foot type with an ever so slightly splayed arch area. As this runner transitions through their gait cycle from contact point to midstance, there'll be a tendency to collapse through that arch area. The GuideRail technology has been strategically placed to give the arch a little bit of assistance. It's not going to stop that pronation, it's just going to guide it.
Just like the namesake, it's there to assist the foot through that transition and hopefully reduce the impact of overpronation for that runner.
It’s a high mileage running shoe so there's a lot of cushioning underneath the foot. You have a full-length DNA Loft cushioning system, so it's designed for your everyday running and someone who's seeking as much cushioning as they can get on a relatively light package.
Outsole
We’re going to talk about the outsole of the Brooks Glycerin GTS 19 first. I want to break it down from the Glycerin 19 to the Glycerin GTS 19.
Again, the Glycerin GTS 19 is a support system shoe. If we compare it to the neutral Glycerin 19 you can see that the colours are almost identical and the outsole is exactly the same.
Brooks have not changed anything with regards to the surface area, the rubber compound where they've placed the strategic harder wearing rubber and the flex grooves for the forefoot.
Everything in the outsole is the same, the only difference between the two of them is as you come up to the midsole which we'll touch on next. You have GuideRails in the Glycerin GTS 19 and you have a neutral support system in the Glycerin 19.
Let's talk about the outsole of the Brooks Transcend 7 and the outsole of the Glycerin 19 GTS. There is a little bit that's changed. With regards to the outsole of the Transcend 7, you have a slightly narrower surface area. In the Glycerin 19 GTS, they've increased the total landing area of the heel and then increased the surface area through the forefoot as well.
There’s also a subtle change on the flexibility of the forefoot. The Glycerin GTS 19 has a little bit more flexibility through that toe-off phase of your gait cycle which I think is a great asset.
The feedback on the Brooks Transcend 7 was it’s very stable which is fantastic but it lacked a little bit of flexibility on toe-off. It could be that Brooks recieved that feedback and changed the performance of the Glycerin GTS 19 to offer more flexibility.
Midsole
I'm going to touch on the midsole of this shoe. I've given you some information regarding the fact it is designed for an overpronator with the GuideRails on the medial side.
I’m going to compare it to the Glycerin 19 which is a neutral shoe that has nothing changed from the medial side to the lateral side. The Glycerin 19 GTS on the other hand has the GuideRails on the medial side and a bucket-like construction on the lateral side. Your foot sits a little bit deeper inside this shoe and you get that assistance with that arch support.
Let's touch on the difference between the Brooks Glycerin GTS 19 and the Brooks Transcend 7 midsoles. Nothing has really changed with regards to where they've placed the GuideRails on the medial side from the Transcend 7 and the Glycerin GTS 19.
The shoe is very similar with regards to the overall stability. If anything the Glycerin GTS 19 is softer. That's the feedback we've had from our own tests in-house and the customer feedback in early days.
The Glycerin 19 GTS runs a little bit softer than the Transcend 7, which again I think is a good thing. The shoes are on the same heel-to-toe drop. We're talking a 10mm offset in the Transcend 7 and the Glycerin GTS 19.
While we're talking comparisons, the Glycerin GTS 19 and the Glycerin 19 are on the exact same stack height as well with a 10mm heel-to-toe drop.
Upper
Let's dial into the upper. I'm not going to do a comparison with the Glycerin 19 to the Glycerin GTS 19 because the upper is the same.
We're going to talk about the difference between the Transcend 7 and the Glycerin 19 GTS. The Glycerin 19 GTS has an internal heel counter that’s nice and structured at the back. The plastic system sits inside that heel collar area as well. That's going to provide a stable feel around the back of your heel so when you contact the ground your heel doesn't move around. It stays on top of that platform for a secure fit and feel as you transition through to midstance to your release point.
The internal heel counter does a great job. It's not overly intrusive which is great because the thickness of memory foam around the internal heel collar is just about perfect. I really like the way Brooks have executed this phase of nearly all their high mileage shoes from the Brooks Adrenaline GTS, Brooks Ghost, Brooks Glycerin 19 and now the Brooks Glycerin GTS 19. They really get it right which is fantastic.
Coming through to the midfoot we have a gusseted tongue. That essentially means there's a strap that attaches to the top on the lateral side and to the tongue on the medial side that keeps the tongue in position. It's a slightly thicker tongue than what I've probably seen from Brooks out there but it's not overly voluminous regarding the change of fit and feel.
It just provides a little bit more cushioning on top of your foot. It's more about the comfort really. It's a nice amount of foam inside that tongue to keep that arch comfortable.
In comparison to the Transcend 7 again nothing has really changed. They had a gusseted structure as well and the tongue is probably the same thickness to be fair. Nothing has really changed with regards to the execution of the tongue in engineering.
The main difference with the two shoes is as you come through to the forefoot, with the shoe being slightly shallower in the Brooks Glycerin GTS 19. It has a really dialled in toe box in comparison to a mildly deeper toe box in the Transcend 7.
If you liked the fit and feel of the Transcend 7 through the forefoot because it had a slightly deeper toe box, that may be one small barrier. However, with how they've executed the engineered mesh with the 3D printing through the forefoot, although it's technically shallower you have a little bit of give. This means you won't feel as restricted through that toe box which is a really important thing.
The Wrap Up
That's my take on the Brooks Glycerin 19 GTS. I have a quick couple of takeaway messages. The surface area has increased both the heel area and the forefoot. Brooks have increased that surface area to provide a slightly more stable and cushioned ride in conjunction with this softer DNA Loft cushioning system.
It’s still on a 10mm heel-to-toe gradient which is great and the shoe obviously falls into that support category with the GuideRails on the medial side.
They have executed one of the best uppers in this series of shoes. The Transcend series has seen some ups and downs over the years but the Glycerin 19 GTS has had a real makeover. It's a dialled in fit and feel up top which I absolutely love.
If you have any questions, comments or queries about the Brooks Glycerin 19 GTS or where it sits with regards to the Glycerin 19, or if you've been a Brooks Transcend 7 wearer previously and you want to let us know how you've gone please contact our Sportitude shoe experts.
Please subscribe to the Sportitude YouTube channel to stay notified and we'll continually work on pumping out as many shoe reviews in 2021 as we possibly can for you the running community.
Thank you so much for watching. Stay safe, be kind to each other and happy running. We'll see you on the road. Take care.
FEATURES
Brooks Glycerin GTS 19
- Support: Stability
- Upper: Mesh
- Midsole: Brooks DNA Loft
- Heel Height: 26mm
- Forefoot Height: 16mm
- Offset / Drop: 10mm
Men
- Weight: 303g / 10.7oz
- Width: D (standard), 2E (wide)
Women
- Weight: 266g / 9.4oz
- Width: B (standard), D (wide)
Brooks Glycerin 19
Brooks Transcend 7
