Fizik is running with their simple, lightweight Powerstrap velcro shoe concept, now adding a new fully reflective version of the Tempo Powerstrap R5 road shoe. But velcro & eye-catching isn’t the only project they are working on. A new Concepts project is opening up a faster way to get their latest, most innovative product concepts out onto the feet and under the butts of real riders like you…
Fizik Powerstrap R5 Reflective lightweight affordable road shoes
Reflectivity means visibility, and as us Northern Hemisphere dwellers ride into less light everyday now being more visible in car headlights while out on the roads is something I can fully get behind! These hi-vis Tempo Powerstrap R5 Reflective road bike shoes share the exact same construction as the regular white, black, navy & bright red versions, just here with a reflective finish.
That’s a good thing. The two Powerstrap velcro straps do a good job of fine tuning fit, while being both light & simple, plus they cost a lot less than Boa dials or even house-brand ratchets.
The flexible, perforated Microtex shoes also get the R5-level carbon-reinforced, injection-molded nylon sole for plenty of everyday performance stiffness.
The Reflective finish adds a 20€ to the base shoe price, still only 139€ for the Tempo Powerstrap R5 Reflective. The shiny silver upper material appears to also be a tad heavier, and extra 5g per shoe, for a claimed weight of 255g per shoe (size 42.5). The new shoes come in wholes from sizes 36-48, half sizes from 37-47, and are available now direct from Fizik & regular retail channels.
fi’zi:k Concepts premium prototyping & collaboration project
Fizik has launched Concepts – a prototyping & collaboration project the saddle & shoemaker sees as a unique new path for premium product development. Meant to deliver their newest & most innovative products quickly to riders, it is something of an early release program which allows them to roll out new ideas & new materials more quickly, and often on a smaller production scale.
It’s not that they are using consumers as beta testers – “Every CONCEPTS product is extensively tested, in the lab and on the road“. Instead, it’s more that the project helps gauge consumer interest in new products like 3D-printed Adaptive saddles, more short-nose Argo family saddles, or the combination of light & simple Powerstrap fits on premium open weave shoes, and get them out into the real world.
Those new 130-200€ Vento & Tempo Argo saddles are the first commercially available products to come out of Concepts, with an Antares Adaptive expected to be fast on its heels.
Then the Vento Powerstrap R2 Aeroweave road shoes that we previewed at Eurobike will be trialed via the Concepts program. Update: The Aeroweaves are available now, and even higher performance than we anticipated. Check them out here. Who knows what further “cross-disciplinary collaboration” Concepts will yield, but the project should see a faster delivery path to get innovative new products into the hands of consumers who are dying to try the next best thing!
