Fizik Vento Stabilita Carbon road shoe

The Fizik Vento Stabilita Carbon road shoes are one of the most innovative, adjustable, and comfortable pairs of shoes I have used. They also deliver exceptional stiffness from the carbon sole, for excellent power transfer. The price is high, putting them at the top end of the market, but the performance is excellent.

What sets these cycling shoes apart is that they are designed to offer fully adjustable arch support, alongside maximum sole stiffness and comfort, so I was very keen to test them.

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A few years ago I decided to take up running, but every time I tried I would injure my right knee after just a couple of weeks. I eventually went to a physio who told me I needed more arch support in my shoes, as this was causing the weakness in my knee that kept resulting in injury.

I've used Giro's Empire SLX shoes for the past few years, which come with three different inserts that offer some additional support but don't offer the kind of adjustability you get with these Fiziks.

The way this adjustability works, as you can see from the photos, is with a section cut out from the carbon sole, with the top Boa dial connected to a strap that tightens from the middle of your foot all the way over the top and around your instep, securing basically at the bottom of your foot.

Inside the shoe, there are cutouts along the instep of the insole, allowing it to bend and support a huge amount of adjustability.

How effective is it? Very. There's a little discomfort – or perhaps just strangeness – initially, from your feet being in a new position, but this soon fades. Funnily enough, I bought some custom insoles for my running shoes just a few days before I started testing the Fiziks, and they felt very similar, taking a couple of weeks before they felt right.

It's not just down to the innovative straps, but also because of the micro-adjustability of the new Boa dials. I found the difference between comfort and slight discomfort could be down to only a couple of clicks on the dial, so being able to micro-adjust on the go meant I could consistently maintain comfort while my feet were adjusting to riding with more arch support.

On top of the benefits that come with the arch support, the shoes also grip your feet well without needing to be tightened as much as some. This took a bit of getting used to because around 75 per cent of the foot is held under tension, rather than about 15-20 per cent with laces, for instance. I did wonder whether it might mean looseness around the heel cup, but didn't find this to be an issue, and Fizik has included silicone grippers up the back of the heel which also keep everything in place.

They're Boa's top-of-the-range Li2 dials, which are made from recycled plastic and have a lower profile than the previous IP1 dials. The lower profile allows for improved aerodynamics and helps overshoes to fit more comfortably over the shoes, which, given their design, is likely to be useful.

This is because of the makeup of the shoe, with the main upper being a kind of coated mesh with a lot of ventilation holes within it, while the area of adjustability within the instep basically just doesn't have the rubberised coating, so when you use these in the wet they just let water through.

On the plus side, given this cutout and the mesh on the uppers, they are very well ventilated, so much so that I would almost classify them as summer shoes. I have used them on dry, cold days and they have been fine, but you might want to chuck on an extra pair of socks when the temperatures begin to drop.

On top of all the adjustability and ventilation, these are among the stiffest shoes I have used – which is particularly impressive given that about 25 per cent of the carbon sole has been cut away. This is potentially made up for by the increased thickness of the carbon around the rest of the shoe, which appears thicker than other carbon-soled shoes I have. I am a little bit of a shoe fanboy, and have used many top-end shoes over the past few years, and there is little doubt that these are among the very top in terms of stiffness and power transfer. When sprinting or giving it the full beans up a hill you really notice it.

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Fizik has also positioned the cleat holes slightly further forward than other shoes I have used, so if there were any flex you would really notice it more than others.

Getting the right position for your cleats is simple, with engraved measurements on the bottom allowing you to fit your cleats with accuracy.

These shoes hit the scales at a very impressive 439g for these size 43s, which puts them among the lightest shoes we've seen on road.cc. The Specialized S-Works EXOS weighed 340g and the Giro Prolight Techlace shoes were 386g, but then both pairs are very much aimed at weight reduction.

Value and conclusion

With an eye-watering rrp of £374.99, the Fiziks are at the top end of the market, but they hold their own against some of the big hitters. The Sidi Shot 2s, for example, are the same price but weight around 180g more, and Anna didn't find them particularly comfortable. Gaerne's Carbon G.STLs are £5 more and about 150g heavier, but are perhaps a little more hardwearing.

Overall, I was very impressed with these shoes. Yes, they're expensive, and they let water in freely around the adjustable area, but they are also comfortable, stiff, light, and have excellent ventilation. But it's the arch support that is truly innovative and a real game changer for people like me who need it.

Verdict

Expensive, but excellent – stiff, comfortable and innovative