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New Balance 1906: the oldest year, one of the youngest shoes

New Balance stamped its founding year on this shoe, and that puts readers on the wrong foot: the 1906 is no century-old classic but a running model from 2009. The name honors the year the brand began in Boston, not the year of design. In the archive this is actually one of the youngest numbers, a premium runner from the short period when running shoes looked like concept cars, full of metallic lines and visible tech.

In 2022 the model returned as the 1906R, and that R stands for remastered. Take it literally: the upper is the one from 2009, but underneath New Balance slid in the complete sole unit of another model, the 860v2. That same borrowed sole sits under the 2002R. So if you are torn between those two, you are only ever comparing uppers; underfoot they are identical.

Look at a 1906 up close and the era turns tangible. The upper is open mesh with thin stitched accent lines running over it like traces on a circuit board. Beside the N logo sits a small tab reading N-Lock: there the logo is no decoration but the anchor point of the lace lock, which cinches the midfoot the moment you pull the laces. The back reads 1906 with a cursive R set apart, N-ERGY is pressed full into the sidewall, and the heel makes a display case of the cushioning, chambers stacked open in plain view.

Under that spectacle a serious set of tech works together, a light ACTEVA LITE midsole, ABZORB SBS cushioning chambers in the heel and N-ergy rubber in the outsole. In 2009 that was about the ceiling of what New Balance had in house, and it explains why the reissue never became a museum piece but a shoe that simply does its job.

The 1906 is also a small family of its own, and the letter after the number gives away the member. The 1906R is the lace-up; the 1906L is the exact same shoe as a slip-on, with a band over the vamp instead of laces, a loafer on a running sole; alongside sit A-codes and kids’ versions with elastic closures. On this page they stand mixed together, so watch that one letter in the title.

Within the New Balance archive the 1906 is the futurist. The 990 is the tidy American standard, the 9060 the blown-up rebuild of that same heritage, and the 1906 the proof the brand once dared to build full science fiction. Want the same era in soft materials, and you land on the 2002R.

On this page you can see which versions of the New Balance 1906 are running hottest right now according to the Hypescore, from what price they’re available, and how many shops have them in stock.