fi’zi:k Vento Ferox Carbon Shoes

I am a bit of a shoe whore. Mind you, this hoarding ethos doesn’t apply to most aspects of my life; I have a very limited number of shoes I’ll wear casually and for business or formal settings. But for sports I have what my significant other may have characterized as “small mountains” of footwear. Most of these shoes are cycling related. Warm weather, cold weather, gravity shoes, gravel shoes, and everything in between. Oh and wet weather shoes. Oh and while most of them are clipless, there’s a number of flat pedal shoes as well.

While I’m not about to replicate Paris Hilton’s shoe closet, I’ll admit I have more riding shoes than any one person could conceivably need. Not only do I select a pair based on riding style for the day, I can get more granular; if it's 10 degrees, I’m in different shoes than 14 degrees.

This is where the new fi’zi:k Vento Ferox Carbon comes in - despite adding a pair of shoes to the repertoire initially, the result is I’m going to ditch at least two other pairs. I really like these shoes, considering they’re 400 CAD*, they damn well better be good.

*as of writing this, they’re on sale at one of the local shops here for 320 CAD

Highlights and Features

As regular readers will have been able to guess given my predilections, the Ferox Carbon is a bit of a tap-dancing shoe. A stiff carbon sole, thin technical PU upper, and one Li2 BOA dial paired with a large Velcro "Powerstrap" on each shoe brings them to the weigh in at a paltry 297 grams in size 42. The Li2 dials are a significant step up to me over the lower end dials - they’re adjustable in 1 mm increments in both directions, whereas the L6 dials can only be tightened or fully released. The uppers are thin, dry very quickly, and have some additional abrasion resistance around the toebox and heel pocket. They’re moderately breathable, but not airy. These are an EU42.5, and they fit my feet very well.

Riding in the Ferox Carbon

These are comfortable shoes for my feet, and it's easy to get them dialed in each ride. I initially had questions about the Powerstrap, but I've grown to like it; it's easily adjustable on the go, and provides a very secure feeling hold across a broad portion of the top of my foot that feels strong and efficient for pedaling.

My only concerns with these shoes are 1) the color is going to start to deteriorate as they get dirty - I’m afraid a foot down in a muddy puddle will do irreparable damage, and 2) the Powerstrap Velcro may clog with grit or wear out quickly. The first is easily solvable; they sell this shoe in black. The second… well, we shall see. Realistically I’m sure it will be fine, but only having one nit to pick was priming myself for commenters to shout about how I'm just a shill for Big Tapdancing Shoe.

While fi'zi:k says the Ferox Carbon scores a full 10 points on their stiffness scale, the shoe manages to not feel like you're pedaling (or walking) on a 2x4. I've been on short rides and appreciated the efficient power transfer, and long rides where no hotspots or other issues arose - all positive marks. Clearly you're not going to be out for huge hike-a-bikes in these, but for short walking sections they're comfortable, and the rubber sole lugs are soft and grippy enough to give more confidence than many rival shoes in this bracket. Around here, that's important - even the best routes occasionally have the odd 20' high forestry bridge to cross on foot... and only the stringers are left.

KonMari in Action

So what am I ditching now that these are in the quiver? For one, the Specialized Recon Lace I’ve been using for the better part of three years; while the SWorks branded shoes share a sole design, construction, and stiffness I’m not a big fan of laces on shoes (although they do make things lighter). The Ferox will also take the place of my Shimano XC7. The XC7 is a great shoe but has lower-end BOA dials, and the fractionally wider fi'zi:k fit my feet just a hair more comfortably. The XC7 feels more "race fit," but I can’t say I have a lot of start gates in my future (and my most recent one was just a wee bit different than the riding these shoes are geared for).

I’m going to try and be ambitious and also move my Adidas Gravel Cycling Shoes out of the house as well but we’ll see; the mid-height ankle on those can be a bit of a blessing on specific weather days. Wish me luck, changing out three pairs of shoes for one seems ambitious in my mind, but I’m sure it’s what Ms. Kondo would demand.

Conclusion

If you’re shopping for an XC or gravel shoe that you’re not going to be walking heaps in, and like a stiff, lightweight BOA shoe, these would be high on my list of recommendations. I’ve had excellent success with the longterm durability of Fizik shoes in the past (the Terra Artica GTX winter shoes I reviewed are going strong after another full winter), but I’ll be sure to update this if there’s any significant issues down the line.

If they sound pretty good, but you'd like to trade a few less of your hard earned dollars, and don’t mind a couple extra grams, fi’zi:k offers the softer--soled Terra Atlas. Alternatively you can get a Ferox that say PNS on the side for an extra ~$40.

fi’zi:k Vento Ferox Carbon Shoes