Fizik Infinito R1 Knit shoe review
New knitted upper race shoes
GBP £350.00 RRP | USD $450.00 Skip to view deals
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The R1 has been Fizik’s top race shoe for a few seasons now, and for 2018 it has been joined by this intriguing Knit version. Unlike most knit fabric running shoes, or Giro’s knit Empires, the R1 uses the high-stretch, highly breathable fabric far more sparsely.
The idea behind the R1 is to create a shoe that has a stiff exoskeleton bonded onto a stiff and light carbon sole. Laid into this are areas of knitted fabric to allow for a more comfortable fit.
The exoskeleton, which the upper is forged around, offers great control over the fit, with the offset tongue position and widely-anchored dual Boa wires combining to create a closure that wraps around your foot without folding, creasing or pinching.
It’s similar to the way in which Northwave’s impressively comfortable Extreme RR encapsulates your foot, and I love the way in which it holds feet in place.
The R1s really perform at their best when you’re working hard and the temperature is rising. The double-layer knit fabric allows for great breathability and when your feet swell a little — as they are prone to do when conditions get hot — the fabric has plenty of stretch. As a result, that great comfort you feel when you first put them on is maintained throughout your ride.
The water repellent treatment on the shoe’s upper does its job, as a short Italian Riviera shower during testing showed me. I wouldn’t recommend the R1s if you’re planning to ride in heavy rain though, these are more three-season options, but certainly not summer-only like Giro’s equally-priced flyweight Prolight Techlace.
My size 45 test pair weighed 636g, which means these aren’t the lightest shoes available, but they are certainly not heavyweights.
The all-day comfort combined with the race shoe stability they provide is among the very best around, and for long hot rides I don’t think you’ll find much better.
The downside is the price, you are certainly paying for the technology and comfort. If your budget can stretch, I’m sure that you’ll be as impressed as me.
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Product Specifications
Product
| Name | Name, 0, 10, Name, Infinito R1 Knit |
| Brand | Brand, 0, 20, Brand, fi'zi:k |
| Shoe Closure | Shoe Closure, 2, 0, Shoe Closure, Double Infinito IP1-B |
| Shoe Size Tested | Shoe Size Tested, 2, 0, Shoe Size Tested, 45 |
| Weight Of Pair Tested | Weight Of Pair Tested, 2, 0, Weight Of Pair Tested, 636 |
Authors
Warren Rossiter is BikeRadar and Cycling Plus magazine’s senior technical editor for road and gravel. Having been testing bikes for more than 20 years, Warren has an encyclopedic knowledge of road cycling and has been the mastermind behind our Road Bike of the Year test for more than a decade. He’s also a regular presenter on the BikeRadar Podcast and on BikeRadar’s YouTube channel. In his time as a cycling journalist, Warren has written for Mountain Biking UK, What Mountain Bike, Urban Cyclist, Procycling, Cyclingnews, Total Bike, Total Mountain Bike and T3. Over the years, Warren has written about thousands of bikes and tested more than 2,500 – from budget road bikes to five-figure superbikes. He has covered all the major innovations in cycling this century, and reported from launches, trade shows and industry events in Europe, Asia, Australia, North American and Africa. While Warren loves fast road bikes and the latest gravel bikes, he also believes electric bikes are the future of transport. You’ll regularly find him commuting on an ebike and he longs for the day when everyone else follows suit. You will find snaps of Warren’s daily rides on the Instagram account of our sister publication, Cycling Plus (@cyclingplus).
