Fizik R3 shoes

Fizik's new R3 is a light, supple and very comfortable race shoe.

Fizik – fi'zi:k, if you want to get all precise about it – have completely revamped their shoe lineup for 2013. Read our news story from Eurobike for the full SP on the entire range.

The R3 is the middle priced of the three men's road shoes and it's also available in a women's version. It's the lightest model in the range by just a few grams and it'll be the one that Fizik's professional riders use next year. It has been designed with athletes in mind.

Fizik have changed the R3 loads this time around. Whereas before it was quite narrow with a very high arch, now it uses a last that should be far more popular.

It comes with a different carbon-fibre outsole from before – the one previously used on the R1. Like most these days, it's super-stiff. If there's any flex at all in the sole, I can't detect it.

The uppers are made from kangaroo leather and nylon mesh – it's obvious which bits are which. The leather is amazingly supple and the mesh lets air blow more or less straight through to keep your feet cool. That's great news in hot weather like we had for our initial rides at the Italian launch, but back in the colder UK it meant we had to resort to overshoes sooner than with most other shoes. As I said, these are intended as high-end performance shoes so that's not a criticism.

The straps are made using sailcloth to resist stretching and Fizik reckon they'll last ages. The two lower straps are fastened with Velcro while the top one gets an aluminium ratchet closure, and they're all easily adjusted from the saddle.

I was disappointed to find that the ratchet wouldn't tighten enough for my foot... until I discovered that I could shorten the strap. It threads through a loop and doubles back on itself, and is held in place by more Velcro so adjustment takes seconds. Result!

In use, the R3s feel incredibly soft. Yes, the outsoles are stiff but the EVA insole, the padded tongue, and lots of foam padding around the ankle all add loads of comfort. The same goes for the kangaroo leather and mesh; they're not stretchy but they are both flexible enough to conform to the shape of your foot. Don't get me wrong, they hold your foot firmly in place, but comfortably rather than through coercion and violence. As well as loads of shorter rides, I've done several all-day rides in these and they've felt as good in the last 20 miles as in the first 20 so, although everything else might have been aching, at least my feet still felt good.

You might think that £220 is a lot to spend on a pair of shoes, and you'd be right, of course. It's not my job to convince you to buy a pair but you might want to consider that these are handmade in Italy and the quality is excellent. As well as the materials I've mentioned, the embroidered logos are a neat touch, for example, as is the fact that the back of the tongue is decorated as an Italian tricolore.

These things won't make a jot of difference to the performance, they're just... cool. I reckon the R3s look stylish all round. As well as this white/royal blue option, they come in black/red/white too.

Verdict

Lightweight, supple and very comfortable race shoes.