Fizik Infinito X1 Shoes

Fizik perfected their Volume Control upper. They first put it onto a road sole for the Infinito R1. Now they’ve adapted it for off-roading with the X1. This is Fizik’s first off-road shoe that’s the parallel of their pro-level road shoe. The biggest feature of the shoe is how the fit has been improved. They call the system Volume Control. Rather than going with a one-piece upper, they broke the upper into two pieces, creating upper and lower regions and joined at the arch. The lower region snugs around the ball of your foot, with the Boa cable running through five points of attachment as it cinches around your foot. On the side of the shoe facing the bike, you’ll see a triangular panel, this is where the upper and lower portions of the shoe are joined. It supports the arch and allows for separate adjustments on the two portions of the shoe—this is a dynamic arch support, which adjusts to your needs. The upper portion is controlled by another Boa cable and it wraps the back half of the shoe round your ankle and heel. Taken as a whole, this system increases the surface area contacting your foot and reduces hot spots and pressure points. The upper is built out of Microtex and reinforced in high-wear areas. Microtex is Fizik’s preferred synthetic leather, and they use it for handlebar tape as well as for saddles. It’s light, tough, doesn’t stretch much, conforms well, and can breathe well when perforated. And they perforated the material on both sides of each shoe to maximize ventilation while not paying any price in terms of affecting stretch. The stock insole itself is made of perforated EVA foam so that your feet can pressure-mold a bit, and you can get some air to your dogs. As with all cycling insoles, the insole is removable, if you have preferred insoles. The sole is super-stiff, as you’d expect with a molded uni-directional carbon-fiber plate. The plate has rubber tread blocks that are designed to be grippy, light, and rarely build up with mud. The two-bolt cleat plate has ample fore-aft adjustability. The toes have threaded inserts so you can install spikes, which must be sourced separately. A size 42.5 Fizik Infinito X1 Shoe weighs 294g.