I had never described shoes (cycling or otherwise) as 'delicious' until I slipped on the Fi'zi:k M1 shoes. The box arrived, I ripped the shoes out, slipped my foot in, fastened up the lower Velcro straps (high-tech sailcloth fed through titanium loops) and cranked up the micro-adjust buckle. I didn't take them off for hours. I didn't even ride my bike, I was just hanging out. I tried to think of other ways to describe the M1 shoes, but could come up with nothing better than 'delicious'.
The Fi’zi:k brand has been around for many decades. In the last two decades, however, Fi’zi:k has become known for its premium saddles. More recently, the company has expanded its horizons to focus on the other two 'touch points' on a bicycle and has started producing a range of shoes, road handlebars and bar tape. The M1 Uomo shoe on test here is the top of the line mountain bike shoe from Fi’zi:k and sits above the M3 and M5 All shoes in the range are made in Italy.
Like a lot of Italian made items, the M1 shoes are a beautiful product, but as well as looking the goods in black with flashes of silver, a lot of thought and technology has gone into them The heel and toe box are made from anti-scratch cowhide leather. The inside (crank-side) panel is made from supple kangaroo leather while the outside is nylon mesh with the exception of a strip of cowhide on the widest part of the foot to protect the outer side of the shoe. Fastening is taken care of by two Velcro straps and a micro-adjust lever, which pulls the kangaroo leather (from three titanium loops) over the tongue {did I mention that there is an Italian flag on the underside of the tongue?) and across to the nylon mesh. The lower Velcro straps and the upper strap that attaches to the plastic ratchet strap are made of a sailcloth material which looks trick and won't stretch. The length on the top strap can be adjusted for a perfect fit with the micro-adjust buckle.
Inside the shoe is a heat-mouldable inner sole Fi’zi:k have partnered with French company, Sidas Technology, to develop a sole which is customizable in three areas: the longitudinal arch, metatarsal button and heel cup. These three areas have three different mouldable materials, in particular, a low-rebound foam over the pedal axle to reduce numbness. Underneath, a full carbon sole is covered by generous amounts of rubber and lugs for studs. A nice touch is that the plate under the ball of the foot (which the cleat faxes to and which covers about a third of the shoe) is replaceable.
The shoes weigh in at just over 400 grams each (size 43). This is in the ballpark for a top-end shoe, although it's far from the heaviest and a long way off the claimed 310 grams.
As noted in the intro, when these shoes were taken out of the box and put on the foot all the technology in the Fi’zi:k M1 came together. In particular, the suppleness of the uppers matched with the sturdy ratchet and wide Velcro straps resulted in a snug but comfortable fit, while the carbon sole was rock solid. Out of the box, the heat mouldable inner soles provided positive support. The heel cup was sturdy but was not as firm or aggressive as other brands of shoe. The fit of the M1s was perfect for me, other than a tiny bit of heel lift while walking and flat out sprinting. I didn't have an opportunity to mould the inner soles before the test (as the test was done prior to the footbed machine arriving in the country), but there was little need to as the fit out of the box was close to perfect. Generally speaking, the fit of the M1s is pretty neutral and will fit most riders other than those with particularly wide or narrow feet.
On the trail the M1s continued to impress. The suppleness of the uppers matched with a rock-solid carbon sole and supportive inners were highlights throughout the test. When the power went down, the foot was held snugly in place and when the hours ticked on and the temperature rose, the shoes remained comfortable, supportive and didn't overheat. In particular, there was a six hour ride which came early on in the test with hour-long climbs and 30 minute-long descents, hike-a-bike sections and some river crossings. The M1 s didn't miss a beat. There were no hotspots or pinches, the tread provided good traction when off the bike and the cowhide sections took a number of beatings from rocks to logs, but didn't scuff up at all.
A couple of months down the track and the Fi'zi:k M1s are still performing well The black uppers (clearly the most sensible option for mountain biking) have faded slightly but still look great The cowhide upper has managed to stay fresh looking, despite copping a decent amount of trail abuse and they fit even better than they did out of the box now that they have worn in. The only cosmetic blemish is that the sailcloth on one of the straps has frayed a little (easily fixed with a snip of the scissors).
While these are probably the most comfortable bike shoes I've worn, the suppleness in the uppers comes at the expense of some stiffness in that area, although not in the sole, which is rock solid. Those wanting a pure XC race shoe might want to look elsewhere for something with a more aggressive heel cup and more solidly constructed uppers Also, as I got further into the test I found myself cranking the Velcro straps up to the point where the male/female (for want of a better term) Velcro sections joined. There was a little ridge at this point, which meant you couldn't just crank the strap. This was a minor thing and will probably affect only a small portion of buyers, but it started to bug me after a while.
Overall, the Fi’zi:k M1 shoes live up to the price tag as a top end shoe. They are more comfortable than any other shoe I have ridden and for day in day our riding, they tick pretty much all the boxes.
