Current Equipment Setup - Fizik R5B Cycling Shoes

I've had these shoes for slightly over 2 weeks now and have done about 200 kilometers in them. My older pair of Sidi mountain biking shoes (picture below) had seen better days. Even though they were a little over 2 years old, the state in which they were in was terrible to say the least. In fact, by the time I began writing this blog, the soles of the shoes had pretty much disintegrated to the point where I was walking on the metal cleat and the inner nylon midsole. The velcro straps (both) on the right shoe had pretty much lost their stick and leather uppers of both shoes were slowly separating from the midsole that you could feel yourself slip ever so slightly forward in your shoes when you brake hard whilst standing.

They've seen better days.

If you've read my review on my Crank Brothers Eggbeater pedals, you'll know that I got the shoes from the same bike shop in the Damansara Uptown area. Now, I have no definitive way to prove it, but I sincerely believe the store sold me a very old pair of shoes they had kept in stock at a ridiculous price. But I won't go too much in to that. Long story short, I felt cheated.

Fast track to today and I've learned a little more about the cycling world and have improved my decision making a tad bit. Which is why for my new pair of shoes, I did a fair amount of research online, reading up on numerous reviews and watching a number of video reviews on YouTube. Eventually, all of that lead me to my current and first pair of road-specific cycling shoes, the Fizik R5B.

Fizik, initially known for making high-end saddles, decided to enter the shoe market only a couple of years ago but practically hit the ground running and have since been able to put out top-quality shoes since then. If you subscribe to cycling-oriented YouTube channels like GCN for instance or read cycling-specific magazines, you may be familiar with their top of the line full-carbon R1B model with an organic leather upper, which is the exact model their sponsored riders use and retails for about RM1100 here. Unfortunately for me, not only is such a shoe way out of my price range, but honestly speaking, such a shoe would be 'too much shoe' for me, or rather I'd be 'not enough rider' for the shoe.

Fortunately for most of us mere mortals, Fizik also has their entry level R5B, which is the one I decided to pick up. However, don't let the 'entry level' term fool you. These shoes, priced around RM480 (which was the price I paid), still cost a decent premium. From the start, the packaging alone is pretty unique. A simple cardboard shoe box yes but the extra attention to detail with the quotes and what not definitely add a sense of prestige to it.

Inside the box, you'll find an instruction booklet written in a couple of languages regarding general shoe care, warranty, and how to operate the Boa dials. Apart from that, of course are the shoes themselves, wrapped in white crepe paper.

Within moments of picking them up and holding them in your hands, even though they're no where near the price range of an S-Works 6, Shimano Sphyre, or the R1B, you can't help but be impressed by the degree of quality they possess. And lets not forget that 'new shoe' smell!

The R in R5B stands for Road, as in road cycling while the B stands for the Boa retention system or Boa dial that's on the shoe. Boa technology has been around for quite sometime now although they've only made their foray into the cycling shoe scene a couple of years back. Essentially, the dial you see in the picture below tightens the wires that go across the shoe in millimeter increments, allowing for precise adjustments not only when you put them on but on the fly while you're riding as they can be operated with just one hand. For those of you who are skeptical about the structural strength of the system, the Boa Systems company has a lifetime guarantee on the Boa dial and laces (wires) but I'll talk about that a little more later.

The uppers of the shoe are synthetic, which is expected for most shoes at this price point. Just anterior to the Boa laces in a conventional-looking velcro strap that, in my opinion, does very little to add tightness or compression around the foot. This doesn't mean that the stickiness of the velcro is inadequate or that it comes loose or anything. It's just that the Boa system, while appearing to only provide 2/3 of the compression, is actually sufficient to provide an ample amount of uniform compression over the entire foot without any hotspots, almost making the velcro strap an unnecessary addition.

The possibly unnecessary velcro strap. 

The heel cups are able to hold the heels of my feet very snugly even during periods of out-of-the-saddle aggressive sprinting. On the outside, they have a layer of reflective grey material on which the Fizik logos can be found. These bits of grey act as built in reflectors and add a small but appreciated layer of safety to the shoes, especially when cycling at night.

Reflective heel cups.

The inner soles of the shoes are relatively stiff for what they are, with a spongy material underneath where the balls of the feet (metatarsal joints) are located. I assume that it's to dampen vibrations and provide more comfort to the rider. The back half of the sole has a softer material composition, presumably to add more comfort too. I'm no shoe scientist but I can confidently say, for whatever it's worth, these shoes are significantly more comfortable than my old mountain biking shoes when I first put them on.

The soles of the shoes are carbon-reinforced nylon and are, in my opinion, stiff enough. Sure, they're not as stiff as a pure carbon sole but then again, stiffness doesn't always equal performance. In this particular pair, they're stiff enough for you to not be able to bend the sole by hand. When out on a ride, flex is noticeable when climbing out of the saddle but only if you really try and pay attention to it. Otherwise, it's pretty stiff to me and significantly stiffer than my older Sidis. 

Overall, the shoes are just plain fantastic. Fizik offers a premium product with exceptional design and value for money and I think you'll be hard pressed to find anything better at this price range. I would strongly recommend them to anyone looking for a pair under RM500.

Coming back to the Boa dial. The reason why my mileage isn't more than it currently is is because the dial on one of my shoes broke about a week ago. I had just finished a ride and sat down to take my shoes off. I pulled the dial outwards in order to undo the laces (which is how you're supposed to undo them) but the entire dial came off instead. Now when I bought the shoes at the Rodalink Putrajaya store, because Rodalink seem to be the only dealers who carry Fizik shoes here in Malaysia, the store attendant at that time told me that the Boa dial and laces have a life-time warranty covering them, which of course, was very reassuring to me. 

However, when I went back to the store to claim my warranty, not only did the attendant I spoke to (a different one from before) say that the warranty only covers, and I quote, "manufacturing defects. If it breaks the first time you use it, then you can claim the warranty. If not, then it's not covered", but he kept suggesting that I "used excessive force" when I undid the dial. 

I thought this was just complete bullshit. Not only that, he brought out a replacement dial and told me it would cost RM100 to replace the dial! RM100! For a tiny piece of plastic?! At this point, I was getting quite pissed. I told him that the previous attendant mentioned the dial has a life-time warranty and asked him to at least try to claim the warranty. After awhile, he agreed and told me he'd get back to me.

Fast forward a few days later, he calls me back, telling me that he has contacted the manufacturer, who I'm assuming is Boa, and claims that the warranty can't be claimed. However, he's offering a 50% discount on the dial. In other words, I was bullshitted before when I bought the shoes, almost conned of RM100 when I tried to claim the warranty, and now, as a form of customer service, they're offering me 50% off for something I shouldn't have to be paying for!

At this point, I was pretty ticked off. I told him no thank you and that I'll be coming by soon to get my shoes back. Then, I immediately went online to Boa's website to find out more about their warranty policy. Within half an hour, I was able to claim the warranty for not one but a few replacement dials and laces that will be shipped to me from the US, all free of charge.

At the time of writing this, I made the warranty claim a few hours ago. The website says express international shipping should take 5 to 7 business days so I'll update this space here when/if they arrive. As for now, back to running shoes.

UPDATE (29/5/2017)

Within 5 days of placing my warranty request on the Boa Systems website, the replacement Boa dials arrived! Their service has been nothing short of great as, despite having no contact with them other than the request I made on their website, they kept me informed regarding the progress of the shipment via a couple of emails as well as the FedEx shipment tracking number.

In the package, I found the 4 Boa dials I ordered, 2 dials for each side (left and right). Inside each packet, you'll find the dial itself, a replacement lace, the lace reel, a small plastic screw driver for the tiny screw in the dial, and an instruction manual that very graphically and concisely guides you through the process of replacing the dial.

Two for the left and two for the right.

A spare lace, dial, lace reel, screw driver, and instruction manual.

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After examining my broken dial, I figured out that the lace reel (picture below) was still intact and functional. The lace was still well threaded in the reel and neither had to be replaced. 

However, the Boa dial itself which interfaces with the reel, was noticeably broken as the one that came in the package was in one solid piece while mine (picture below) was in three pieces.

My broken dial.

The replacement dial.

So, it was just a simple case of screwing the new dial onto the lace reel with the tiny plastic screw driver that came with it. Voila! As good as new! 

You'd never have thought it was ever broken!

I kept the spare lace and lace reel that came along with the dial as well as the other 3 spare kits just in case I need them in the future. 

Overall, my experience with this pair of shoes has been somewhat of a roller-coaster ride. In the end though, I'd still highly recommend this shoe as the warranty policy on the dials did prove to hold weight and the process of getting the spares wasn't too difficult at all. However, I did wish the Rodalink store attendants knew about this policy before ignorantly asking me to buy something that would've possibly cost RM100. 

Either way, if there is a moral to this story, it's that it pays to know about what you're buying into as it may end up saving you from potentially wasting money to replace something you needn't have to pay for.